Vacation Intern Review

I enjoyed it quite a lot, I believe it gave me a better understanding of exactly what it is like working in a corporate environment, with plenty of opportunities to interact with my colleagues both in and out of work. The only downside for me was that I was in a branch whereby I was the only intern within the building, and as such I was not able to familiarise myself with others. But my new co-workers made up for it plenty.

The team I worked with were, although initially quite work orientated, they were very welcoming to me overall, inviting me to birthday celebrations as well as other social events and meetings. The buddy I was assigned to on my first day was extremely friendly and welcoming, explaining to me what went on during work hours and joining me for lunch as well as going through all the procedures I needed to have completed during my time at the company. The first meeting I attended I was introduced to the entire team and made to feel welcome.

My performance manager consistently aided me whenever I asked or seemed as though I needed help. The members on the team who assigned me work made sure to outline exactly what I needed to do for each assignment, and gave me verbal feedback on how well they believed I had carried it out. My buddy also regularly asked me how I was finding the work and if anything was challenging, giving me outlines of anything I did not understand.

My time here has definitely helped me to develop my excel skills which will be useful for both my degree and any role I find myself in once I have graduated. The social and work environment skills I have learnt are ones that I will carry with me from job to job, and the advice given to me by my colleagues was quite profound. The analytical and data extraction skills I developed will be beneficial towards my degree and further on in life.

The insight did not feel particularly structured, I mostly seemed to be helping with the projects that had upcoming deadlines, rather than being assigned to one project in particular, which was a bit disorientating for me since everything was new. Since I was unable to do a large portion of the work carried out due to inexperience or lack of knowledge regarding procedures, I was mostly given tasks with quite low complexity and provided with a lot of e-learning courses to carry out.

The office atmosphere was quiet for a period of time I was present, though this was mainly due to upcoming deadlines and client calls. However, my co-workers were quite lively, joking with one another and talkative once the initial deadlines were over. They seemed interested in me and what my prospective goals for the future were. I was invited to a number of social events in which I was made to feel included in the group and introduced to new people as a member of the team. Overall, the work environment was friendly and open for majority of my time there.

The company gave a large number of opportunities for self-development through e-learning courses on a range of relevant topics within the financial services or more generally, such as improving excel skills. Being given a criteria on what you need to achieve during your time on the placement helped ensure you were utilising your time effectively, and helped you to reflect back on exactly how each piece of work you completed allowed you to develop yourself.

The insight helped me to gain an understanding of what a career in financial services would be like. My co-workers treated me as though I was a member of the team rather than a temporary worker, which I feel went a long way in me being able to have a full bodied experience of what a full time role would be like.

The initial induction day gave me a good understanding of the core values that the company upholds and values. However, my co-workers gave me the best accounts of what working at the company actually entailed and involved. My time on the internship allowed me to witness first hand the range of opportunities and experiences available that come with having a full time role.

The content helped me very much in deciding whether or not a similar role within a firm would suit me, since the work given to me was focused on me being able to experience the day to day responsibilities of a full time member. It also helped me, more broadly to come to terms whether a job within a corporate environment was suited towards my tastes.

The internship was paid at a standard rate, dependent on the amount of hours of work you completed per week. Lunch costs on site were capped to a certain amount with the ability to add more to your card balance. Off-site lunch costs were reimbursed at a maximum of £5 per day, provided receipts were kept as proof. The only downside was the high travel costs of travelling on public transport during rush hour.

There were plenty of opportunities to meet and network with members from my own and other teams. Within all the meetings I attended, there were specific periods of time set aside for networking. Also, on the induction day we were also encouraged to socialise and network with other interns and at the end of the placement, a social event was organised for us all.

The networking opportunities with the other interns were wonderful, everyone seemed to be willing to chat and socialise with one another, similar to the social activities I experienced with my team. However, the networking after meetings with the entire department were a little bit more daunting since it seemed that most of the members of the other teams were focused on catching up with colleagues rather than meeting new people.

There were lots of opportunities for employees to get involved with, from weekly socials to lunchtime talks, as well as clubs within the company that were open for anyone to join. They were well advertised with weekly newsletters and calendar event reminders so there was always something to do with colleagues.

I would recommend the insight to a friend since it gives a good outline of what a full time job in the financial services would be like.