FCA Females of the Future Intern Review

I truly enjoyed the Females of the future programme as it allowed me to not only improve my confidence and interpersonal skills but also has helped me how to tackle interviews, by teaching techniques such as the STAR method. I feel like I have built a rapport with some of the girls and believe that we will continue contacting each other in the future. I also liked the layout of the programme. It wasn't too tedious or too overwhelming.

I felt very valued during my time in the programme. I felt comfortable to ask any questions and challenge any misconceptions I had about working in the financial services industry as a BAME woman. We were also given extremely detailed feedback after out mock assessment centre process. This made me feel like the FCA really treated us like family as there was nothing too personal to ask. They also encouraged us to give feedback on how the programme could be improved and really noted down our suggestions showing that they were committed to making it a great experience for us

I received tremendous support during my time in the females of the future programme. The team made it very clear that if we had any concerns that we should let them know as soon as possible. They also did very insightful presentations such as a CV and cover letter workshop. Also helping us with the assessment centre process. Also including students who did the process before to give us a talk on their experience was very beneficial

I developed interpersonal skills, I went out of my way to branch out and meet people who were also doing the programme and tried to form meaningful connections with them. This will help me build my network which will be useful as a person wanting to get into the financial services industry. Also I believe that I developed my interviewing skills which is something i definitely needed improvement on. Now i feel much more confident as this will help me when applying to placements and internships

It was very well structured. In the beginning we all got to know each other and was given an idea on what to expect. Then we had very valuable Q and A sessions with people in the graduate schemes as well as people in more senior positions. We were also given tips for our assessment centre which was very useful on the following day. After our assessment day we had a whole day based on reflection and feedback which was very useful.

The atmospshere was very nice, I didnt feel out of place. I liked how although it was vitual I felt like I was in a professional yet friendly environment. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. It was also important to me that we were not made to feel like school children and were seen as adults ready to start their career. We definitely had bonding moments which is something I will not forget.

They really pushed us to find ways to develop ourselves and build our personal brand, such as taking time out to reflect on yourself or pushing yourself to have the growth mindset which will give you a better outlook on yourself. They gave us plenty of resources that we could refer to, which was really helpful. Since doing this experience, i've decided to start using a journal to really reflect and improve myself as a person

The people worked at FCA gave us a useful insight on what a full time role would consist of. We had people speak to us from junior to senior levels. They also broke down each role that the company did which gave me a sense of clarity. Most of our sessions ran from 9-5, which is something that I was not used to, so it gave me the experience on what it would be like to work there.

The insight was VERY useful in the sense of understand their company culture. I took the time to ask people at both senior and junior positions and their answers were consistent throughout which assured me that the company were truly living up to their culture. And that something that I really appreciated. Having the grads speak of their previous experiences in other firms gave me a form of comparison and made me realise what I really wanted.

This content was extremely valuable in helping me decide on my future career path. I was curious to see what it was like working in a regulatory body. seeing how passionate the employees were and how much they aligned with the companies values made me want to work in financial services, especially as a regulator. They also explained how rewarding and fulfilling it can be working as you are protecting consumers and overlooking the market.

I was not paid as it was just an insight of the company, however when applying they did offer paying for travel expenses if you lived outside of London and also offered accommodation. However due to COVID-19 we were made to work remotely, which meant that we weren't able to do the programme in person. They also did offer anyone taking part who did not have a device to use the option of being provided with a laptop.

There were many opportunities of networking and meeting other employees of the company. We had a session with the fresh employees who were currently doing a graduate scheme, who were very open and answered any queries and concerns that we may of had. With the more senior employees they were more encouraging with giving us confidence to send them connections on LinkedIn. I'm sure if this was in person instead of virtual we would have had more opportunities to truly network and meet other employees

As it was virtual we never really had an allocated time to form and build connections with my peers that I did the programme with. We did introduce ourselves but that was really it. On the first day, we took it upon ourselves to create a online group chat to connect with each other. However, on the last day the management team created a LinkedIn group for us to remain in contact. Also when they asked for our feedback, we told them to have more networking opportunities with each other, which they definitely took on board.

Yes, when speaking to the junior employees doing the graduate scheme they mentioned the CEO challenge which I took a great interest in. I enjoy the fact that FCA encourages their employees to give back to their local communities

100%. It was the best Insight programme I have participated in. It wasn't just the company advertising themselves but they genuinely wanted us to truly gain from this programme. The amount of insight I have received was invaluable! I especially would recommend this to someone who doesn't have an experience in participating in assessment centres.