Intern Review

Very mixed experience. At first things started off well, but then roughly halfway through I started to review what progress has been made and some of the people I met. I think one bad week left a poor taste in my mouth. That said I've been told it is one of the easier-going banks.

This was perhaps one of the biggest flaws. Didn't really feel valued or rewarded for any effort put in. Occasionally there would be certain people who would actually let me know I did a good job or go out of their way to give feedback when they thought I could do better but very few did even when I asked them for feedback.

The buddy system is a pick of the draw but I got lucky - my buddy was great! He was helpful, gave me pushes where needed and wasn't only trying to sell Jefferies the whole time. Although I heard this wasn't the case for everyone. On the other hand the management in charge of us was lack-lustre - especially HR. Lack of constant interaction and even on the last day they didn't plan a send off but hastily put a 5 min catch-up at the end which felt sad.

This depended on a week to week basis. Some desks had a plan set up whereas others didn't seem to care you were there even when you tried to get work from them - understandably they were busy, but what is the point of an internship rotation on a desk if they are too busy to ever interact with you. Overall I would say the level of "busi-ness" is fine

Once again this depends on a desk to desk basis. There was only one desk that actually gave me the responsibility I craved in getting involved in an actual trade idea. The others were more self learning, shadowing and doing research-led tasks which were fine at the beginning but after a couple weeks of this became a real bore. That said at least I got some input on one of the desks - not sure what other banks would allow.

Taught me to be more hungry in general. Perhaps not to the level that finance industry craves to see but I still became more motivated to work longer at uni which will hopefully stick. Training was pointless - not gonna lie. I think I also started to develop a thicker skin which is good news.

It was generally calm and easy-going compared to what I expected from other banks I've been to. That said it was still a little up-tight especially on menial things like trying to converse with other interns in breaks which I think is essential but I get their point that one needs to be constantly hungry.

A big short coming. Towards the end things started to unravel with lack of real formal feedback, no proper instructions for the end of the internship and lack of accountability for particular issues I and others had. It was a shared sentiment across interns. This is definitely the biggest learning point.

The company did invest a lot in me. They paid for expensive programs for us, training, important people to come and give talks and so on. I think the investment materially was good, however, the firm needs to make sure the sponsors on the desk plan ahead for the interns and give some sort of advice at the beginning of the rotation.

Depends on the division. The firm is constantly talking about growing so maybe that sounds exciting for the future. That said I would like to see more creativity rather than trying to fit us into a mould. I heard that in some divisions it's quite cut-throat and there's a bit of firing and hiring but I guess that comes with the territory.

It can be worked on. In the first week it was pretty good as we were all in the same place. In fact the first week made me look forward to the rest of the internship. After this everyone splintered into their own groups and there were no social activities put on by HR after/during work apart from lunch&learns which apart from a few were generally lack-lustre. I got on well with my group of interns though and enjoyed the experience.

EXPENSIVE. That's to be expected - London + bank = money going to be drained. Not too much to say on this. It's normal. The vending machine in the office is subsidised but no canteen in the building which sucks. The new building might have one but not sure about that.

It's London - always a decent nightlife. Though time for nightlife is significantly short. Friday's are the only day for nightlife but it just makes you want to enjoy the night even more. That said it's not cheap to enjoy the nightlife here - it's also quite crowded which is to be expected.

Not really - or at least none organised by the firm. Seems like the only ones are going to the pub on a friday evening or going to a client meeting in the West End. That said on the last day I went out with my team for lunch and had a good time. No societies/ clubs set up within the firm.