Summer Analyst Review

I had an average experience over the internship - the people were nice but not people I would spend my weekends with. The work was relatively interesting but also slow-moving at times. Overall, I felt that I learned some useful skills that can be beneficial in the long-term but think that there could be more interesting internships at other places.

While my colleagues were all very nice and friendly, I never felt like a family among them. We often go out to socialise outside of the office but it always felt like people are not interested in each other on a personal level and the relationships are superficial at best.

The management and supervisors are always happy to help answer questions but there are times where they might not provide guidance as they are too busy themselves. However, if you can catch them during their downtime, they are usually helpful in solving your problems or providing general guidance for your career.

As this was a summer internship, I was not too busy on a daily basis. Many among the senior professionals will be on holiday for one to two weeks at a time. Moreover, the distribution of work during the day is never consistent and one might be bored during the whole day only to be too busy after 9pm.

There were not too many deals going on when I was there. For those deals that are in the later stages, I was not given much responsibility to assist in significant ways. I receive much higher responsibility for deals that are in the earlier stage and really appreciate working on those instead.

The internship provided a useful and helpful introduction into whether or not finance is the right path. While the formal training provided is not really useful in the long term, the experience of working in the team does provide the opportunity to learn some useful skills and industry best practices.

The general atmosphere within the office was rather subdued. People were often focused on their work and do not spend much time talking except during lunch hours or breaks.

The overall work placement was not very well organised. Timing for events was always changing, people are often unaware of the location of some events or talks. There was little structure to things and the overall communication could be improved in the future. There was no consolidated agenda handed out at the start of the internship.

The formal training program itself did not invest much in the interns and is more of a broad brushstroke training. The training received on the desk is much better and resulted from hands-on experience. The firm did provide developmental programs for mental well-being and presentation skills, both of which I found to be useful.

The general market is unfortunately difficult in the industry at the moment. There was plenty of staff reduction on-going within the company while I was there. Furthermore, many employees were considering or actively seeking to move to competitors. Overall, I believe that there are still employment prospects within the organisation even though it could be shrinking in the long term.

The placement intake was relatively large and in the hundreds. Therefore, there were plenty of opportunities to organise social events among ourselves. However, since most people are working into the late nights on weekdays, this is only possible on weekends. Regardless, the overall social scene was more than satisfactory in general.

The office was located in Central London. Not surprisingly, the average rental in the area is expensive. However, it would be cheaper if you stay further from the office. Drinks near the area are also on the pricier side, though senior colleagues will often pay for your drink when you are out together.

The nightlife in London ranges from average to pretty good. While the better places are often further out, they also benefit from being cheaper than those in more central areas. Regardless, the overall prices are still higher than the national average but that is to be expected. There is however ample public transport that runs late into the night.