FS Advisory Intern Review

There was a variety of work over the duration of my placement. Thus included independent projects and group projects. The individual work included taking ownership of a excel spreadsheet and the group work was part of a wider team project. Throughout the scheme I had a team around me to support and guide my work.

It varied greatly between colleagues. Some people, both at a senior and junior level, where invested into educating me through the experience. They valued the work I completed and were very positive. Others were more reluctant to give me work and often gave me easy tasks instead of valuing my skills and education. However, this was limited to a few people.

The majority of staff were very supportive. They were happy to dedicate time to my learning and support me with any questions or queries I had. However, there were some staff members that were not as supportive. In one case a staff member took an issue out of proportion that affected other streams of work.

Generally I had a good amount of work to get through. However, it was not given to you. The majority of the time you had to engage with the team and actively find work and update your team to ensure I had enough work. So if you are after a structure this is not for you.

On my first project I was given a large amount of responsibility taking ownership of of a workbook. However, when I moved onto my second project my responsibly was limited. This was partly due to my lack of understanding in the subject area. However, instead of being valued I was given easy/ quick tasks. Despite this, the we’re going to clients so it was important to get them right.

Partially. There are some cases were I can see how the skills will apply to my studies. For example, using excel spreadsheets and organising data. Additionally skills include team work, communication and organising. These are soft skills that are useful in other area as including university. It helps with dealing with people and getting the most out of experiences.

Generally, the office had a friendly atmosphere. I felt welcomed and relaxed. The office operates a hot desk policy, meaning people move around and interact with different people daily. Additionally, it removed the hierarchy of seniors being separated from junior members of the team. This helped to create an open environment.

The internship team had well-organised training sessions and a clear structured for what should be achieved throughout the internship. You are allocated a counsellor and buddy to support you throughout the programme, they help connect you and guide you through the 'experience map'. However, when allocated to a team I felt that some of the tasks had not been well thought through. There was no clear purpose and some of the work that I completed was just things that the team needed on the side. This limited how valued you felt like part of the team and extend that you could show off your knowledge and skills.

The internship team had 2 introduction days were they educated the interns on the firm and the sector of the company. This was a valuable experience to learn generally about the firm. When working within the team there were multiple people (senior and junior levels), that were willing to invest time into me to help me understand core concepts and learn about their experience. In addition, we were tasked to complete multiple online learnings. These were well-structured and for the most part very useful.

Due to the scale of the firm, there are lots of opportunities for progression and moving between teams. This is great if you are unsure of what you want to do, as there is the capacity to learn about other parts of the business. From the internship programme, you can promote to the graduate programme. Which is a structured 2-year programme that then promotes to a full-time staff member.

The other interns were a core component of the internship. In my sector, there were about 20 interns that bonded really well over the 6-weeks. This was helped by the introduction days that allowed us to bond and the initial few socials. From there, the interns had lunch and went for dinner after work. They were a great support network and a defining part of the internship

Being based in London the cost of living was high. The accommodation was fairly expensive. Additionally, transport added up fairly quickly on the tube. So this is something to keep in mind when selecting an office. The internship is paid so it covered food, transport and living costs, however, it is not a way to make money over the summer break.

In the area around the office, there were multiple bars that we went to after work. There were also outdoor parks were nighttime cinema screenings were put on. However, there were no places to go out in the immediate area, thus we could go into central or west London for this.

In the internship programme, there were limited opportunities for out of work activities. We had a CSR day and a fund raising event in the office. Additionally, they organised 3 socials throughout the internship. However, the majority of out of work opportunities were organised by the interns. I know once you join the company there are 'networks' and sports teams that you can join.