Intern Review

My scholar internship at Lloyds Banking Group was characterised by long periods of inactivity and hours spent at my desk with very little to do. A lack of structure and infrequent interaction with other interns and other divisions led to a feeling of confinement. Although, a few individuals on team and nearby desks were good to be around, but overall, much work could be done to improve exposure and a more transparent approach at the beginning of what is to be expected in the role.

Naturally, tasks given to me were of a very mediocre nature but attempts were made to engage with me, with more challenging work being presented when requested by me. Regarding the social aspect, I was invited to practically every social event, and therefore did feel part of the team then. There were very many instances of the majority of my team working from home, and left me feeling ostracised at times.

There were weekly catch up sessions over the internship evaluating my performance, what I had learned and potentially what I could improve on. Although, during the meetings, there was an expectation that I continually challenge myself despite the clear lack of opportunity to do so regarding the nature of work given to me.

The first few weeks were incredibly boring, with virtually no work being set for me, and long periods of surfing the internet due to a lack of guidance or understanding on my remit for the internship. Often I felt like the team did not need me in terms of work, and it was only when I reached out to people in other teams did I feel I was learning.

I was given the responsibility of producing a monthly document within the team which in total required around four hours of work. The document I produced was distributed to another team which did have somewhat importance. Producing the document did encourage me to learn more about the product and understand.

The use of Microsoft Excel during my internship was probably the most important skill I learned during my internship. The utilisation of Excel shortcuts and Excel formulae will prove to be helpful over the course of my degree and will certainly help if I do a dissertation. Otherwise I did learn to network effectively which will help in my career,

Despite the fact that Lloyds Banking Group is/was in the midst of transitioning from a larger number to a smaller number of offices, the atmosphere was good, with a very floor, but good teams to be around. There were often offices events which did brighten up my week, and an environment certainly preferred to the intense and packed atmosphere of other offices.

Apart from the initial induction session, there was basically no physical and tangible training set out to develop my skills. However, there were biweekly emails sent out regarding some aspects of development, but these were quite hard to follow and I did not fully understand what was required of me.

As a scholar on my first internship, I was unable to convert the placement into a graduate offer. However, an individual is required to complete an assessment centre during the placement. I feel that if an individual is alright with a 9-5 banking job, then Lloyds Banking Group is the place for them, but when in your early career, it is better to push for better positions with greater opportunities afterwards.

Probably the strongest aspect of Lloyds Banking Group's internship offering is the provision of good accommodation (worth approx. £2.5k around 15 minutes from my office. Around 70/80 other interns from Lloyds and numerous from other firms were present. The social scene was great, with a boat party and other different events throughout, generally organised for the interns.