IB COO FRC Review

Very enjoyable, I was placed in a very welcoming and accommodating team who encouraged me to ask questions and learn a variety of skills from excel to relationship management

I felt more valued in the 1st half than in the 2nd. I think this was because in the first half they had been briefed on the fact that we would be expecting interns soon and so there was work set up to do. But when I rotated to the other side, I found myself in no mans land because they didn't really know what to do with me and it had been the same but the girl who I swapped with when she was there. I didn't really have a desk and so each day I would essentially come in and have to ask where to sit today. This meant I was often forgotten about. But in general, if you asked for work to do, then the team would value you more.

I was given a lot of support and guidance. I was actually assigned a buddy as well as a line manager who both supported me through out the internship. My manager and I had weekly check up meetings that we used to discuss my progress, what I was doing well, what I could work on and any other concerns I had. Moreover, most teams also have one or two graduates who are also very helpful in navigating the internship.

I often had tasks with a deadline that I was working towards to I could usually determine the pace of how quickly I worked. If I found I was about to finish my task at hand I tried to use the spare time to meet other people in the bank. But because I was assigned a summer project as well as day-to-day tasks this meant that even when I was done with my daily work, I still had work to keep me occupied. But again, when I did the desk rotation, because the other desks was less prepared for the intern and there was less concern and supervision over me, this meant that I spent most of my time outside my team actually meeting people or dedicating efforts towards my summer project and final presentation

I was given more responsibility the more I proved that I could handle the previous task. I would say as my time in my team progressed, my team trusted me with work. I would essentially be given a task to do freely and then I would re evaluate my findings with the person I had set this task with. So because of this, if you work hard and show you can handle difficult tasks, you will be given more responsibility.

I would not necessarily there was much correlation with the skills I had developed and its assistance with my degree, but I would say that it did have wide benefits beyond education which are arguably more important for long run value. I was able to develop my Excel skills and Powerpoint presentation skills which I was very glad about. Also in general, I think being in a professional work space while interning allows you to make mistakes but quickly learn from them in the sense that I learnt a lot about working with colleagues and how to interact professionally to further your career and also the value of having a network of people at your company who take interest in your success.

Very friendly and welcoming. So long as people are not busy, everyone is very happy to speak to interns, learn about you and how they can help you. I was very surprised by how much the staff valued the interns

The entire scheme was quite organised but because the COO internship is relatively new, there was some confusion over rotations but this was not significant. We had an induction week and I had been pre assigned a summer project and a buddy before my arrival. In addition, there were several speaker series and workshops organised to add to our knowledge of how the bank worked overall

A fair amount in that through the responsibility I got from my colleagues and the work I was exposed to, I was able to learn and build several transferable skills

The expectation is that if you perform well on the internship and you have a strong line manager feedback then the firm will look to take you on. My impression is that even if the team you interned for is not looking to hire, UBS will be wiling to find you place in the bank otherwise. So, future employment prospects are quite appealing due to this flexibility and concern in ensuring that you are a good match to the firm

To some extent, interns are generally always quite keen so socialise and the first week induction meant we could meet everyone at once and see them repeatedly to learn anmes over a 5-day span. Nevertheless, interns are spread across the building so it is difficult to have a solid social scheme, I would say this is one aspect that could be improved from an internal organisational perspective - more events could've been planned by HR

I already attended university in London so I was already familiar with cost of living and socialising. I have always lived in London so I have no basis of comparison but my understanding is this it is definitely an expensive city

Thriving because of its proximity to several restaurants and bars, it was easy to make arrangements after work

There were many but it really depends on how proactive you are. There are several bulk emails sent out about all sorts going on around the bank but if you show that you are keen there is always something to get involved in. I was able to participate in the cultural and women's network events unrelated to work