Intern - Banking, Payments and Innovation Review

My main task was a comprehensive research project related to one aspect of the Bank's RTGS renewal programme, a very exciting programme designed to renew and modernize the UK's Real-Time-Gross-Settlement system. The research project was very open ended and I conducted my research through several different avenues from compiling relevant research articles to engaging with other teams within the Bank and attending meeting with other central banks. At the end of the internship, I presented my findings and suggestions to relevant teams.

My presentation and research skills improved vastly throughout the course of the internship. My research covered a wide range of topics and I had to make sure the presentation was structured in a logical and concise way while making sure to keep engaged a diverse audience of different teams and interests. During my research, I also learned how to identify reliable sources of information and draw my own conclusions.

I definitely felt like I was given lots of responsibility during my internship. Instead of just assisting my team in various tasks, I was given full ownership of a large, standalone project with lots of creative freedom in terms of how to approach it. I also felt like the project truly added value to the team as it was designed to be further built on.

The support and guidance I received, especially from my manager, was wonderful, from daily catch-up calls to providing honest and regular feedback on my performance and progress. I always felt like my manager was invested in my development. Aside from my manager, I could always rely on other team members and even people from other teams. There is an incredible culture of internal knowledge sharing at the Bank and everyone I spoke to was delightful and keen to answer any questions I had.

The culture is, in my opinion, one of the best aspects of working at the Bank of England. As I mentioned already, there is a lot of internal knowledge sharing and everyone is very invested in your development. Everyone is very nice and welcoming and I also noticed a strong sense of camaraderie among graduates.

I enjoyed my time at the Bank much more than I expected I would. My main project was engaging, challenging and meaningful and gave me the opportunity to interact with many other professionals. My team and manager were delightful and I noticed the same sense of inclusivity and willingness to help others throughout all my interactions with people across different areas of the bank. For these reasons, I would strongly consider returning to the Bank of England

Yes

For the video interview, familiarize yourself with the various responsibilities of the Bank. Think about your own motivations for working there and brows some articles of the Bank of England website as you may get some relevant questions. For the assessment centre broaden your knowledge about the Bank. If you've indicated your interest in a specific business area, research this in more detail. Luckily this is very easy to do as the Bank publishes several articles and papers detailing their operations so everything you need can be found on their website. Lastly, be familiar with the Bank's core values. Think about how you've demonstrated these in the past and how you can do so during the group exercises.