Summer Intern Review

Working in a small team of about five to six people within the supervision department. Tasks including taking notes at external meetings, drafting communications, and researching cases. I had responsibility for smaller tasks within larger projects such as collating information or completing spreadsheets and interacted closely with the team to complete this work. There was also a community project I worked on with other interns throughout the 10 weeks. There was also time set aside for training and networking.

I have developed and built upon various skills including project management, interpreting data, presenting and answering questions, and drafting communications for a variety of purposes. I also completed industry specific training to upskill in knowledge of financial services and regulation as well as other personal development training including presentation skills and data skills. Through networking I have been able to learn about a wide variety of areas within financial services and financial regulation in a more informal setting.

I was given a good level of responsibility to complete tasks independently, with support and feedback provided when needed. I was able to take ownership of some tasks although these were usually more minor tasks. I had the opportunity to draft external communications and to take notes in external meetings throughout the internship and having this level of responsibility gave me the opportunity to quickly learn many new skills. I was also encouraged to express interest in the types of work I would prefer to do, which my team did their best to accommodate and give me responsibility in these areas.

There was a high level of support and guidance received from people across the organisation. Everyone was very approachable and made an effort to ensure I had the support and feedback I needed. This included weekly meetings with my manager and meetings with current graduates who provided an insight into the company as well as support with day-to-day tasks. The HR staff who organised the internship were also very helpful and supportive when any questions arose.

The culture at the company was very welcoming. People went out of there way to support interns. There did appear to be dissatisfaction at recent changes at the company but despite this everyone was very supportive and friendly. The virtual nature of the internship did mean there were not many opportunities for social activities, however there were social activities organised virtually to meet other interns and other opportunities to get to know interns through working in community project teams.

The culture at the firm made it a good place to work, with friendly people and a good work-life balance. The team I worked in were all incredibly supportive and the work was engaging and varied. I had enough freedom within the work to build on my skills and was given sufficient responsibility throughout. The internship met my expectations and provided a really enjoyable learning experience, and it is certainly a place I would consider returning to work at.

Yes

The application process involved an online application followed by a telephone interview and assessment centre where you were asked to demonstrate past experience and interest in the work the FCA does. Expressing a clear interest in specific initiatives the FCA is involved in helped me to show why I wanted the role. The internship and application process was entirely virtual which made it a different experience with some communication challenges throughout, especially during in the time between receiving an internship offer and starting the internship.