Summer analyst Review

Exceeded expectations. The team were kind, welcoming and helped me learn by giving me responsibility and guiding me through a comprehensive project which was challenging and rewarding. The training aspect of the internship was also extremely helpful and enabled me to gain an understanding of the fundamentals. The group projects allowed me to connect with other interns which made it an even more enjoyable experience because I was able to ask questions to my peers.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues and close team members in particular. I was praised when my work was good and given constructive criticism to help me improve which I found very helpful. I was given meaningful work which was useful to the team so this made me feel more valued and part of the team. My colleagues were constantly checking that I was okay and made time to answer my questions which made me feel valued.

My team and manager, in particular, was extremely supportive. I was able to talk to my team members about work as well as personal problems. I had regular calls with my manager and buddy to answer daily questions and help with my project. I also had regular contact with the rest of the team to learn from them, understand their work and ask for extra support which I found extremely helpful. This was one of the highlights of the experience.

I was busy on a daily basis. The work was challenging and required a lot of research and thought in order to complete it to a high standard. There were also other tasks including group projects and talks from executive speakers at the firm which meant there was a range of activities to take part in. I spent a lot of time learning and understanding my project as well as actually producing the material which helped me.

I was given a significant amount of responsibility for my project. My project was ultimately used by the rest of the team and contributed to the overall work carried out by the team. It was not a 'made-up' project, it was meaningful and this meant that I had a significant amount of responsibility. I also joined team meetings and was an integrated member of the team which meant I had added responsibilities to represent the team in a positive way.

I gained core skills that will help me in my studies, including researching, excel, teamwork, presenting, written communication. The knowledge and specific information I gained from the experience will help me in my future career as well. Learning how to work well in a corporate environment was a key skill I learnt; i.e. how to formulate professional emails, talk to colleagues and present in a professional manner. These are key skill I felt were lacking before this experience and I have definitely worked on during this internship.

The general atmosphere in my office was positive, exciting, fast-paced, intelligent. Everyone was extremely good at their job and it was great to feed off of this energy in the office during day-to-day tasks. There was a good balance of professionalism. Due to coronavirus, we were not actually in the office so I feel like the atmosphere would have been better in person because it was difficult to connect over the internet and to gain a sense of atmosphere.

The organisation was exceptional. HR were extremely well organised in terms of the whole placement and the training sessions. My team were well organised in terms of the project and presentation. The firm was also well organised in terms of implementing coronavirus working environment and making sure that we had timetables and were well informed. Overall the placement was extremely well organised and I could not fault this aspect of the experience because I knew exactly what I was meant to be doing at all times.

The company invested a lot of time into my personal development and training. I undertook 3 weeks of professional training from an external firm which was extremely helpful and allowed me to develop the fundamental knowledge required for my team project. My manager also invested a lot of time and effort into my development by explaining complex concepts to me and helping me to reach my potential by taking my project to the next level.

Future employment prospects are extremely appealing. Firstly, the firm has a vast range of employment opportunities which they are committed to and secondly, the firm is well-recognised and world-renowned so there are extremely promising employment prospects outside the firm as well.

There was not a social scene because of the coronavirus. It was not possible to meet any other interns because the lockdown restrictions prevented us from doing this. However, this was no fault of the firm or the experience, this was definitely an exceptional situation and could not be avoided at this difficult time. In the future when lockdown is lifted I hope to meet some of the other interns and to make up for this.

London is very expensive place to live and work.

London has the best nightlife in the company, in my opinion.

There was not an opportunity to get involved in activities because of the coronavirus. It was not possible to take part in activities because the lockdown restrictions prevented us from doing this. However, this was no fault of the firm or the experience, this was definitely an exceptional situation and could not be avoided at this difficult time. In the future when the lockdown is lifted I hope to meet some of the people I worked with.