Group Internal Audit - Commercial Banking Review

Overall the internship was a great experience. The work was very interesting. Several events and presentations had been arranged for us to learn more about the business and department which helped us learn more. My team were very welcoming and got me involved with work and social events. There was some issues with other interns which meant I did not fully enjoy the internship.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, especially my immediate team. They instantly welcomed me and helped me in any way that they could. They were there to answer any questions and assist with any work I was doing. My colleagues involved me in social events and made me part of the team.

I had a great network of mangers and senior people that I could get support and guidance from. I had catch up and 121s with my manager and team buddy, enabling me to get any support I needed and get feedback on what I had done. I felt that I didn't need to rely on my manager as I could get support and guidance from my wider team.

How busy I was varied on a daily basis, depending on deadlines, tasks I had and meetings. Some days were busy when I had several meetings, tasks to do and people to talk to ect. Other days were not as busy as I had smaller tasks to complete or I was waiting on information from someone else to be able to carry out my task. Overall, it was a good balance, there was several projects and training to work on so there was usually always something you could be do in spare time.

I was given a good level of responsibility. We were given an intern project that related to our department. This project was something that was important to the department. I was given work from my team that I was responsible for and that they relied on me to do. They trusted my skills and that I was capable of doing the tasks they had set me. I feel that I could have been given more responsibility.

I learnt many skills throughout the project that I will use in the near and distant future. Having worked on several different projects, with different teams, it improved my time management, organisation, communication and team work skills. All of which will be useful at University, especially with my dissertation as I will need to connect and work with a range of different people.

Overall there was a good atmosphere in the office. It varied by the different areas and teams. Almost everyone was friendly and welcoming around the office. The atmosphere in my team had a good balance of being professional and a good working environment, but also being friendly and fun. I am not sure if this was the same across all teams.

There was a team of people from the department who set a great 10-Week plan for the internship. This involved an induction, presentations and site visits. This was organised really well and helped give structure to the internship. The work set by my immediate team could have had more organisation.

There was a 10 week training programme, with different themes for each week to help develop your skills. This involved videos, talks, quizzes ect. We had access to training websites that we could use as and when we liked to learn about anything we wanted, such as Excel or agile working.

The culture and environment makes the organisation appealing to me in the future. They have a wide ranges of jobs and areas to work in. There is a lot of different prospects within the organisation, that you can do professional qualifications alongside and learn a lot about different areas. They have had a recent reorganisation of graduate schemes, involving further assessment. The schemes are appealing, but the process is not.

As all interns working for the organisation were all placed in the same accommodation there was a good social scene there, with different events and things going on. It meant you could get to know other people other than those who worked in your office or area. The social scene in my direct area wasn't as good.

London is an expensive place to live. Our accommodation was paid for by the organisation, which really helped to reduce costs. Food can be quite expensive, but it depends where you go and you can chose to spend what you like (i.e eat out more or make your own lunches). Most social activities and events can be quite costly, but you can find some cheaper things to do.

The nightlife was good. There's a wide variety of clubs and places to go in the evening. Places can be very busy. Clubs and bars can be expensive, with high entry fees and drink prices which is the main downside. I think some places are better than others. Sometimes the London nightlife and areas can feel unsafe.

Yes, my team held many social events which I could get involved in. There was some events held for interns, but there could have been an initial event to help us all get to know each other. It was up to you how much you wanted to get involved in.