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 found the internship really interesting, I got the opportunity to get involved in lots of different tasks and got to deal with real life cases. The variety of the work enabled me to get a insight of what it is like to be working on the desk on permanently.
The atmosphere was really enjoyable. The hierarchy is quite flat which makes it easy for interns to be able to talk to senior people and ask them questions. I felt my work was valued as I was given proper feedback after each tasks and advices on how to improve my work.
At the beginning of each task I go given clear instructions and the managers were available to discuss the tasks and the reason why it needed to be done. While working on a project there would always be an opportunity to go around the team and seek for help or advices.
I have had the chance to arrive during a busy period where a lot of projects were on so my days were quite busy but I did not feel like it as you get absorbed by the work. However, there are also a lot of opportunities to take break during the day and go chatting with colleagues.
I was nicely surprised about how much responsibility we got given as interns. I had the opportunity to participate in the elaboration of different projects. Of course the work was carefully reviewed by senior people afterwards but I got real opportunities to get involved and try. There are also a lot of side projects to get involved in by asking around.
As I studied finance at university it was really interesting for me to get practical experience and go beyond theory. My academic background helped me understand faster key concepts but there were a lot of training provided during the internship to help everyone to understand the division and be able to cope with work.
The Company
The atmosphere was really nice people were really welcoming and easy to approach. I got the chance to exchange with most people on my time through work or coffee meeting which definitely helped getting comfortable in the job to ask questions or present my findings. A lot of event are organised to give interns the opportunity to network.
The internship was really well organised starting with two days inductions in the headquarter with all the interns and then getting three days training on the division. In addition, there are regular teach in sessions where you can learn more things about the team and skills to help you in your daily tasks.
To develop our skills many teach in sessions are organised on top of in desk possibility to ask questions to senior people and get feedback. There are a lot of networking event organised for interns to get to know other divisions and exchange with different people around the bank which helps getting a better understanding
Flexi Time
Company Parties/Events
Healthcare/Dental
A lot of emphasis is put on the possibility for interns to get into the graduate programs. The assessment format is transparent and tools are given to us so as to succeed. The possibility to exchange with current graduates on their experience is also really valuable to get an insight of what it is like.
The Culture
The induction days in the headquarters helped us get to know each other better and build relationships. We created a group chat which enable exchange about our experiences in the teams and we got to meet each other regularly at the office but also on different events organised by the company or not.
I lived in London where the cost of living was quite high. I was lucky to get support but it there still have trade off to be made for social events. Otherwise, the cost of living remains sustainable when being careful on not spending too much on day out or events.
The nightlife was different from what I was used to. It was not so much about going out really late in the night but more about going to the pub directly after work and then continue the night out. It was nice to balance with work as I would still be fresh in the morning.
A lot of social events where organised throughout the summer for interns events such as drinks on the Friday night or charity quiz but also more globally across the bank through social events like sport. Apart from work, London is a very lively city where there are always plenty of things to do on week ends or after work.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Commercial Banking, Investment Banking
London
July 2019