Summer Intern Review

The internship exceeded my expectations. I was given real responsibility and trusted to deliver Analyst-level work, thus I was challenged to move up the learning curve quickly. This meant that I gained real insight into how we prepare work for clients and the work was always intellectually stimulating. The internship was organised very well - very good introductory week with useful training sessions to equip us with skills to deliver good work at the desk; well-spaced and well-timed social events and the right balance between intern events and team socials; opportunities to catch up with team leaders and HR to receive and offer feedback; and good clarity on expectations from ourselves and for the future. The work was intellectually challenging; the intern group were stellar; and the variety of work meant I gained excellent commercial knowledge, a variety of technical skills and general work ethic skills.

Very. My team were very approachable, and always very passionate about their work and dedicated making them excellent role models and inspiring you to learn quickly and make the most of your internship. My colleagues trusted me to deliver high-quality work and gave me progressively more challenging work. My colleagues saw me as a full-time analyst, not an intern. They were extremely friendly and made an effort to make me feel integrated.

Always there to listen and settle any queries you have. If you are concerned about anything, they will set aside time to chat and try to work out the best solution. Good communication. Amicable and enthusiastic too.

Very manageable. I never felt like I could not deliver on my work because of time constraints. Typically arrived at 8am and leave earliest 10pm - sometimes earlier, sometimes later. What you expect for the industry. No facetime, just hard work and no judgement if you leave having finished your work and delivered. I was very busy at times, and others much quieter at which point I was proactive and these were short spells.

Plenty! Shown and then handed the reins. They are good at pointing out efficient ways of doing things and explaining tasks initially and then giving you the responsibility to deliver the work without too much supervision. Some leaders preferred to give a lot of direction, and others gave you much more discretion. Either way, trusted to get the work done.

Gained a lot of financial knowledge. Great training in the first week by Fitch. Three days of technical training with Fitch. Two one-hour presentations each week by different teams across the bank so get good exposure to what the other teams do and help you find out where you might fit best or which work you would most enjoy. Also my specific team ran seminars some evenings for incoming grads covering very useful topics. Gained general work skills to manage work load and different personalities; gained technical skills and dramatically improved my Excel skills; gained a lot of commercial awareness; developed my work ethic and time management skills; and of course people skills.

Positive attitudes around the office. Get the job done. Drinks and socials sporadically when the work gets done - employees very good and switching on and off when they need to. There was very good camaraderie and light-hearted humour amongst the teams and between colleagues at the right times too.

HR ensured that the internship was very well organised. There were intermittent social events, opportunities to catch up with team leaders, interns, HR etc. Not too many things scheduled that could still ensure you deliver work on the desk and be given opportunities to prove yourself. Training very good too.

First week consisted of introductory presentations to understand the different businesses and divisions, expectations of us, admin etc. as well as three full days of financial training with Fitch to gain skills in Excel, financial statements etc. Two one-hour presentations delivered by different teams across the IB division each week. Assigned a buddy who sits within the team as well as a mentor from another team as an independent colleague. Team organised socials to help integrate or speak informally. Team held very informative and useful training sessions some evenings.

The structure of promotion is very rigid, but for a good reason. There is not really promotion any earlier but likely promotion when the time comes. Gradual progression is very achievable. Work very hard as a graduate but then become efficient with your work and your work routine becomes more flexible. Flexible work being introduced.

Very team specific, however my team were great at organising drinks and socials over the summer. Of course will be different at times other than the summer. HR organised well-timed and well-spaced socials - one being a go-karting day out with the other interns, and drinks every few weeks. Women's networking event was also fantastic opportunity to meet other women at the bank.

London is expensive. You will have the means but to maintain a social life, it's the lifestyle. It is certainly possibly to save, but you have are likely to exchange money for convenience when it comes to IB as you have little time to invest in money-saving tactics. Likely improves the longer you live in London.

There is always a bar close by. Many clubs. We would typically go to local bars out of convenience. There is of course something for everyone in London. As long as you can balance it with your work schedule, there are many great bars and clubs that you can attend.

It is certainly feasible but weekdays are very much preoccupied with work so non-work related activities best saved for the weekend. There is a music society within the bank which host music evenings and options to participate if you do find you can balance it with your time. Gym classes every day and timetable circulated. Option to get PT in house. Well equipped gym.