Technology Spring Analyst Review

This was quite a fun insight because I got to work with technology in quite a new environment; that is, working with it in a financial field within a bank. It allowed me to innovate new ways to use technology to make a bank as efficient as possible and see how these would be used in practice.

I did feel quite valued during my time at the company. Though I did not have a major impact on the bank, my views were always considered and valued and this made me feel valued as my ideas were liked by the employees. Also, I felt valued in the group projects.

I received lots of guidance and support. The insight provided the perfect chance to give me lots of guidance but also, somewhat paradoxically, give me some independence to work things out by myself and this mixture was very useful in giving me information and subsequently allowing me to apply it to situations.

I developed many skills about the technology used and how technology is used in a financial company and how it makes it much more efficient than it would be otherwise. Furthermore, I got great communication skills from working with the employees which will definitely help with my teamwork in the future.

The insight was incredibly well structured. There was an excellent mixture of learning as well as doing tasks and activities throughout and this structure was essential for me to learn and then retain my knowledge and this also made sure that I was kept engaged and was immersed in the learning experience.

Generally, the atmosphere was quite lively and fun. The employees I worked with alongside the other first year students were generally quite friendly and willing to talk about their lives outside of work as well as the work we were doing and this was quite comforting to know. This made the environment comfortable for me.

In terms of personal training and development, they certainly developed quite a lot in me. It feels this way because not only did they teach me what they promised, they went above and beyond this, responding to all the questions we had and answered in great depth. Also, they provided me with opportunities to apply the knowledge.

The insight did help me to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company. This is because I got to witness what the employees did on a daily basis and learnt information surrounding this and from this, I got quite a good grasp of it.

The insight was only partially helpful in understanding company culture as I only got to see the company from an insider perspective and I was unable to see their relationship with the wider world and the impacts they strive to have. However, it was nice to see some of the ethics of their company coming in to play.

The insight was very valuable in helping me to decide a future career path as it opened my eyes to the variety of IT jobs in all different fields and jobs as technology is imbued within all different fields and companies, not just ones traditionally specific to IT.

I was reimbursed my expenses for my lunch costs. I was not reimbursed for travel as I had no travel expenses given that I could walk to the branch. However, I am sure that if you had to travel quite far to the branch, travel costs could also be reimbursed adequately.

There were opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company. There were opportunities during the day at work as we mainly did group activities so I could talk to them them and talk to them after as we quickly became close when doing such activities during the work day.

The networking opportunities were great. The employees were really nice and friendly and willing to open up about their own lives which made me comfortable to do the same. Furthermore, the students were also really nice so there was mutual respect and appreciation between us and there was no judgement between us.

I did find out about a few activities that employees can get involved in outside work. However, this was mainly limited to social event such as dinners and parties. It would be nice to find out about activities that are more work-oriented and focused on improving the method of work in the company.

I would definitely recommend this insight as it provides you an insight into how technology is utilised by companies to improve the way they work and make themselves digital. Also, the employees were really nice and friendly which just made the insight much more enjoyable and much more fun, alongisde the other students.