Summer Student Review

I really enjoyed my internship as I was given a wide range of real client work. Everyone in the team was so welcoming and friendly I never felt scared asking for help. I felt like a true team member and felt the work I did was highly valued which added to the experience.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. They trusted me to do real client work and showed a lot of appreciation once completed. Even when I made mistakes instead of being frustrated they used it as an opportunity to show me the correct way of doing things which made me feel very welcome.

There were a plethora of people on hand to give useful guidance during my 8 weeks, from partners to new grads which made the influx of new terminology and technical skills manageable. If I ever felt I couldn't complete a task there were a range of people I would happily go and ask for help.

My workload varied from day to day. Some days were filled with lots of different tasks whereas others were quieter and I could catch up on some of the case studies we were given. We were told straight from the beginning if we ever felt we didn't have time to finish a task to let someone know and we wouldn't be in trouble. We were also encouraged to say no to jobs if we had lots of work on so there was no real pressure.

Right from the beginning of my internship I was given a good amount of responsibility. We were given real client work but with the knowledge everything was checked by at least one additional person (standard practice not just for interns) before anything was finalised. This meant I felt valued as I was given real work but no pressure that I could jeopardise the company.

The skills I have developed are not specific to Barnett-Waddingham or actuarial work and will therefore be extremely useful for the future. Excel is a universal tool and so my new knowledge of excel functions is very useful. I have new analytical skills which will also be useful which I am glad about.

The general atmosphere was friendly, everyone was approachable. The office was an easy place to get on with work in as it wasn't too noisy but not really silent either. There was a good level of friendly chat. People are always keen to help each other out if anyone is stuck on work.

The internship was extremely well organised. Everyone was aware of who we were and the outline of the programme. We were given two days in Leeds to meet the other interns which meant it wasn't too much at once. The distribution of work also seemed very well planned out and executed.

Throughout the eight weeks, myself and the other interns were given numerous training sessions on the various tasks we would potentially given. These were beneficial not only for learning new skills but to also meet some of the team. It made me feel like the firm wanted me to learn.

I would be thrilled if Barnett Waddingham were to offer me a graduate position. I got a good vibe from the company and felt like they treated all of their employees the best possible way. I feel working at Barnett Waddingham would be really enjoyable and rewarding as well as hard work, which is a good thing.

There was a really good social scene amongst my fellow placement students and colleagues. During our time we were asked to organise socials for the team, mine being the great British beer festival. This was just one of the numerous socials arranged during our time here. It was nice having three other interns with me as we made good friends and could share the experience with each other.

The office is based in London and so you can expect London prices. However as I am from London this did not come as a shock for me. Luckily as I live in London I did not have to find a house and then pay rent. Barnett Waddingham has 8 offices around the UK so I would recommend looking for one nearest to where you live.

The nightlife was as expected as it is London. There are numerous pubs, bars and clubs about but you have to be willing to pay the price! Luckily Barnett Waddingham are not shy of supplying free alcohol on big occasions such as new qualifiers and promotions, this was definitely one of the perks at work.

There were so many opportunities to take part in activities outside of work. These included charity works, football tournaments and even a weekly lunch time run club. Barnett Waddingham encouraged team activities outside of work as much as possible which was really nice to see. I would definitely recommend getting involved.