Summer Analyst Review

In terms of general experience, the internship was enjoyable: the tasks I was given were interesting and diverse, the atmosphere in the office was not stressful and the activities were engaging. Everyone tried their best to create the best experience for us and made sure at every step that we do not have any issues.

The team was amazing and the best I could have asked for: everyone I met was extremely nice and always ready to help or explain different concepts to me. They also included me in most of the team activities which I really appreciated. At the beginning they also had the initiative to get to know me which helped ease the pressure of a new place and job.

My manager was extremely helpful and nice and always checked on me to see that I do not have any difficulties or problems with regards to my projects. He scheduled regular catch ups, always listened to and answered my questions and asked for my opinion about all the projects he included me in.

The workload required by my projects was manageable in a reasonable amount of time. Therefore I would work normal hours but I would never be stressed or anxious or need to stay overtime. Sometimes, in some days I did not have enough work to do but it did not happen often.

I was not given a lot of responsibility during my internship. This was mostly due to the fact that I did not have professional knowledge of this area so I could not work in projects that required that. My projects were important and I did work with important documents but I would not say my responsabilities were high.

The general atmosphere in my office was great. It really feels like a community where everyone knows everyone, people are very nice and quite relaxed, no one is afraid to have a short break and chat or laugh with a fellow colleague. No one was stressed or anxious although some people were busy.

The internship was very well organised by the Human Resources. I appreciated that during our first day we were given full instructions about our schedule and what we should expect. There were no difficulties in terms of organisation. There were also a few activities and speaker events during the internship that helped us escape our new daily routine.

The future employment opportunities with this organisation look appealing: their graduate scheme looks better organised than other similar ones and includes an international rotation (to an office of you choice) which really excites me. However it looks like it is hard to escape your division and get a full-time offer with another division- the competition is high.

The cost of living and socialising was high in the area I worked in, considering that Canary Wharf is an area of London that is the home of many large banks and firms with many (very well paid) staff. However the costs were generally not exaggerated and did not exceed my expectations for this area.

There were not really a lot of opportunities for us to get involved in besides our regular projects related to work. There was a community day when we volunteered and a museum visit but we were not invited or could not really join sports clubs or social clubs or other activities besides the ones in our (compulsory) schedule.