Risk Managment Intern Review

It was very clear that everyone at the bank had worked incredibly hard to put this experience together for us, and we were incredibly grateful that the internship still went ahead, albeit virtually. We were able to meet lots of people from all over the bank, and from all around the world whilst working here, and got a lot of valuable insights into how the company works, although it was a shame not to be able to see the offices.

During the internship I felt very valued. Everyone was very willing to take time out of their day to talk to the interns, and some very interesting projects had been put together to give us some experience of the company and its culture while also learning more about what the day to day job would entail in non-pandemic times. The work we did was not a filler - it is something that the company will hopefully make use of now that the interns have left.

Lots of guidance. We were assigned both a buddy and a mentor in addition to a manager. The buddy was a recent graduate who had been through the internship (although not virtually) and the mentor was a more senior member of the department who could put us in touch with others that we wanted to speak to. Both my buddy and mentor were very friendly and incredibly helpful during my internship. Training sessions provided were useful for getting to know the bank and its culture.

Prior to the internship I had no experience of finance or banking in any form. While the experience I had will not in any way help with my degree (as it is not related to finance in any shape or form) it was a very valuable experience and it has provided me with a lot of information about the industry in addition to good general skills that can easily be applied in any field of work.

Overall the experience was quite well structured. It was clear that it had been put together in a little bit of a hurry, which is entirely understandable given the global pandemic. Originally it had been intended that all interns be in the office for 10 weeks, but instead it was an 8 week long experience from a corner of the house. Had the tech been up and running a little earlier it would have been easier to talk to other people working at the bank and the first few weeks would have run a lot smoother.

The general atmosphere was a little muted, mostly as a result of being virtual. Everyone was trying very hard but it is quite difficult to develop meaningful connections with people you have never met, and friendships are a little challenging with a disembodied voice. However everyone I spoke to was incredibly friendly and very willing to help. Had the internship been in person I am sure the atmosphere would have been better but due to the global pandemic this had been put together quite quickly, and it did seem like everyone was struggling with virtual socializing - not just the interns.

At the start of the internship there were three weeks of intensive training where we got to know about the company culture in addition to learning a little about what all the different divisions did. This was very useful in understanding more about the bank, but it did start out very very broad so some of the early sessions were not very relevant - they seemed more aimed at people joining departments different to the one I was going for.

Bank of America tried very hard to give as much of an idea what a full time role would be, despite the entire expereince being virtual and none of the interns ever being allowed to set foot in the office. Everyone at the company was very happy to talk to us and tell us more about the work that they did, in addition to what an average day for them would be like. Work shadowing was not really possible.

This was a very good experience and I feel like I have learnt a lot more about what the job would entail, in addition to what the requirements would be. Whilst it is not possible to get a full picture of what a day would be like it was very useful to see how Bank of America responded to the pandemic, and just how much they value their staff. Everyone seemed to have been very well cared for, and the company was putting staff safety as their top priority.

Pay was very good. When the experience moved to being virtual they said they would continue to pay us the previously stated amount, in addition to the joining bonus that had been to cover any expenses associated with finding accommodation. Further more at some points we were required to place phone calls to non-UK based phone numbers, and these expenses were reimbursed by Bank of America. Overall pay and remuneration were very satisfying, and I felt well paid for my work.