Summer Analyst Review

I have really enjoyed the virtual experience here at Citi this summer. The company has made a great effort to get everybody involved and make the internship a fantastic learning experience. While working from home is a completely new and different experience for me, I am glad that I have been able to socialise virtually with other summer interns from across Capital Markets who are currently based all over the world. I started each morning looking forward to the day ahead.

Throughout the programme from my first day to my last I felt very valued by my team and by the company as a whole. I was able to network with people across the company and everybody was always willing to spend some time to speak with me about their job, how they came to work for Citi, and any advice they have. My team welcomed me very warmly and involved me as much as possible right from the start.

Due to the virtual nature of the programme, there were a lot of webinar style online learning experiences designed to teach the other interns and myself about different areas of the bank. I was assigned two buddies who I kept in close contact with throughout the internship and who acted as my first point of contact for any questions I had. Everybody in my team, no matter how senior, also offered their help should I need it and took time out of their schedules to speak with me about particular parts of the role.

As the internship was fully online, the most important skill it developed was good communication, without which the programme would have been much harder. My ability to work remotely will be very important when I begin my Masters study this year partially online. I also developed my understanding of the industry much more so than I could have done from outside the sector, which will help me to understand different financial concepts I will cover at university and later on in my career.

The virtual experience was incredibly well structured with the recruitment team making a big effort to ensure everything ran smoothly. All webinars and learning experiences were planned well in advance and I always knew what I was meant to be doing from one day to the next. Other than some minor technical issues at the very start which were resolved quickly, everything was seamless. The programme had a clear emphasis on teaching new skills and expanding my knowledge of the financial sector.

The general atmosphere during the virtual experience was very welcoming and upbeat. Everybody was determined to make the most of the programme despite the unprecedented nature of it being fully online. I was able to get a good idea of the company culture and hear why Citi is such a great company to begin my career at. The other interns were all very friendly and we quickly networked and organised online social events to get to know each other.

Citi devoted a lot of time to our personal training and development and invested heavily in us. The first week of the programme was entirely devoted to training us in accounting, compliance, and Excel among other things. In the remaining four weeks, we had daily training sessions which developed our skills and knowledge of different areas of the bank. Senior members of staff presented at these sessions so it was clear that the company values our development highly.

While working from home has many differences to working in the office, I was able to get a good idea of what a full time role at the company would consist of. My daily tasks were similar to what is expected of first year analysts. I was able to speak with numerous employees who recently joined the firm to get a greater understanding of what they do day to day and what is expected of them.

Throughout the programme, staff made Citi's culture a focal point of their presentations. The core values of serving clients, creating value and acting responsibly were evident across the company and in everything we did. Everyone I interacted with spoke highly of the kind and team focussed culture at the firm. Citi is proud to support their employees during this time and this was clear in messaging all the way from the top of the firm.

The content I learned during this programme is incredibly valuable when it comes to deciding on my future career path. A big part of an internship is to figure out whether this is the right career for you, and with this programme I was able to do exactly that. From working on projects to speaking with people across my team, I learned a lot about what a career in Capital Markets would look like and it reaffirmed my desire to start my career in the industry.

I was paid adequately for this experience. While the world went into lockdown, Citi remained committed to running its internship programme and also to paying the interns what we would have earned had we been in the office under normal circumstances.

There was a big focus on networking throughout my time here at Citi. Everybody I spoke to recommended to reach out to as many people as I could because everyone is more than happy to take some time to sit down virtually with me. I was able to network with the other interns in my team, other interns in different teams, staff from across my own team, and staff from other teams in the bank.

The networking opportunities were very good considering the virtual nature of the programme. In the first week I spent a lot of time speaking with my fellow interns online and got to know many of them very well. Citi organised an online team-based trivia event which enabled us to meet lots of people. Throughout the programme I networked with many members my team and other teams. The only improvement could have been more informal social event opportunities, but this is difficult to do online.

I found out about a lot of activities that employees can get involved in outside of work. Citi is dedicated to making an impact in the local communities in which they operate and so many staff members dedicate their time to volunteer or raise money for charities that help these communities. Many of the teams also are keen to socialise and integrate new members quickly and so become friends outside of the office as well as co workers.

I would highly recommend this virtual experience to a friend because it has been so informative, enjoyable, and useful for deciding on where to start my career. Citi has made this programme a big success and proved that resilience and the ability to adapt quickly are critical. The support I have received from my team and from the wider company has made this experience incredibly valuable and it is something that differentiates Citi as a fantastic graduate employer.