Intern (Consumer, Cards & Payments) Review

It was a lot more enjoyable than previously expected. I got lots of first hand experience, got to cover a range of different tasks - projects, reports, events, networking, etc. Moreover, the team was great and have made the experience even more rewarding!

Everyone in my team was very nice and heartwarming with me. Daily chats occurred, we went out together for lunch and drinks quite regularly, people actually cared about your life etc

I sat close to my manager almost every day, and the relationship we had was quite strong and relaxed which meant I could go up to him at any time and ask him questions which you might not think are worth his time - it felt like I was talking to a graduate rather than a manager in terms of perceived superiority

The first few weeks were quite intense, especially due to the fact that we had the BBST event to work on. Then, it got a little bit more quiet, but I would say all in all, I was rather busy most of the time and rarely found myself not doing anything, especially as I was offering my help to anyone in need!

I would say I was given a decent share of responsibility. I wouldn't have minded to have more, but as an intern, I should not expect that much, and to be honest, I saw attempts from my team to give me more responsibility, but it is not as easy as it sounds in practice due to the way things worked at my organisation.

I was able to develop my teamwork and communication skills, by having to work with different people and communicate effectively amongst ourselves to deliver whatever was needed. Moreover, I got to understand and gain a deeper knowledge and insight of the payment industry and I also developed my skills such as Powerpoint, excel, networking, etc.

Great atmosphere, really relaxed environment, with no real corporate feel and a very diverse and inclusive ambiance. Moreover, the general layout and attitude on the floor was really positive and it was definitely something I was not expecting when I applied to work here for a few weeks in summer,

The internship was quite structured to my surprise. Weekly learning sessions and speaker events were held, allowing us to learn more of our organisation and understand the different business areas as well as further our interests in different fields. We each had a buddy and a manager and were allocated to a team, and there were formal processes put in place which were equally effective

I can see that they care about me in the sense that they want me to enjoy my time and develop my network to stay in the organisation. This is a safer and better way of recruiting, and so I could tell a significant amount was being invested in interns, although they could be more flexible in allowing us to move divisions..

I don't like the fact I cannot really change business areas, but if I knew that the division I am in is the one for me, then I would say the future employment prospects are quite appealing. The Graduate scheme allows you to rotate 4 times inside your division, gaining a great insight of all the potential roles available and giving you a better range of informed choices when deciding to stay

We were 8 interns on our floor, and we always tried to have lunch together. We also went out once with all the graduates from the previous year, which was great fun too! However, more could have been done to promote a good social scene in my opinion

Lunch was my daily expense, which in Canary Wharf is around £5-10 a day. The other only recurrent expense was the transport to get to and from work, but as I had my monthly travel pass, I did not really count it as an expense.

Nightlife in Canary Wharf is not necessarily amazing. Apart from drinks on Thursday or Friday after work, you do not get any type of nightlife there.

I was made aware by one of the interns that there were a few clubs and societies which you could join, ranging from sports to board games to more niche groups, however, I did not join any as I found myself quite tired and busy and I did not want to go through some paperwork for a short internship.