This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my placement, great selection of interns and fun socials which were organised by the company. Managers in general were supportive and friendly which helped. The TABLE TENNIS was amazing, a great culture of TT and it developed my forehand and serves to levels unthinkable beforehand. I hope I will be remembered for the matches I had.
In some teams I felt like I was doing a important and valued jobs. However in the infrastructure, as they felt their deals were too confidential they would never bring me and my colleagues into them. They would instead give us admin tasks to fill time. So overall it was a balance.
I met my second manager once for 10 mins. I feel part of the failure of the internship was my manager was away for the majority of the internship and could give very little support and guidance. However my first manager, was brilliant and was always keen to meet up and discuss new work.
Sometimes it would take time for work to pick up. I felt it was about 2 weeks in both teams before I was given good bits of work which would keep me very busy. Sometimes you would be free until about 6pm and then all of a sudden get given a load of work to do.
Very very little- all the work I was doing was of little importance and more research tasks than actual money making projects. This was disappointing as I was looking forward to working on live deals and getting involved in everything. In the future I feel they need to get more interns on live deals and working on actual relevant bits.
I feel I have learnt valuable skills from my time there. I have also had a very good insight into banking and the culture there. It helped give some more relevance to my degree and guide my future career and what I want to be working on. I hope I can get into a interesting career in banking.
The Company
The atmosphere was friendly in general, however some areas (infra) felt they were too important to give interns any time. The table tennis gave it a google like feel, however some of the old fashioned directors who would not embrace the culture ruined that vibe. Overall, they were trying, but still some way to go.
The internship was very well set up - a clear structure and the learning logs were a good way of recording what we were up to. The way they handled getting offers was not as good as could be though. The social events were great and it was very positive everyone was welcome.
The company didn't invest much, it was more important to find people who would help train and develop me. They could have organised more talks from some of the industry leaders and experience teams to really developed the learning we had. I felt the training lacked breadth and could've been better.
Company Parties/Events
They were good, could be making 100k+ by 25 was very appealing to me. They were clearly growing and in a lot better place than in 2008!! However compared to other banks I feel that it lacks in real recognition socially and you would be more respected elsewhere. I would prefer UBS over RBS haha.
The Culture
Yes there was a great social scene. We would always go out for lunch, have games of TT. We also had good work socials with lots of drinks which were great! The interns really were a good bunch and I made lots of friends who I will still stay in contact with.
Very expensive! pints were £5+ and bars would be very busy. This is London however! It was annoying how London interns would be paid the same even though it was a lot more expensive to live in. I really think it would be very fun to have. company bar?? I have heard Allen and ovary do and it is very good.
We were right next to Shoreditch so it was very good. I felt that I would be a little on edge there as it is known for its edginess. The bars were good and you could even get discounts at some in the local area! I never went clubbing though.
There were a few from time too time. I know other interns which got involved in 5 a side football. this is a game where there are 5 people on each side and I believe it is played on a smaller field. There is also the great bank run which people did.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Investment Banking, Banking
London
September 2018