Summer Intern Review

I assisted with criminal investigations into suspected financial crime. This involved organising and reviewing financial evidence, analysing suspect interview transcripts, and suggesting next steps for the investigation. I collated this information into numerous reports. I also drafted HMRC requests and DPA requests. I attended a court hearing where a defendant was sent to prison. I shadowed financial investigators and assisted with any administrative tasks required of me.

I have developed my critical thinking skills and investigative mindset when reviewing interview transcripts of suspects and extracting key information, as well as deciding what further enquiries should be made. I have enhanced my time management skills and met regular deadlines. My ability to balance competing tasks/deadline and prioritise appropriately massively improved. I advanced my interpersonal skills and became adept at adjusting my communication style when speaking to different people in different settings.

I was given a considerable amount of responsibility during my internship from a very early stage. I drafted numerous important documents that were sent to external bodies e.g. HMRC as part of criminal investigations into suspected financial crime. The tasks I completed were standard tasks that a full-time Associate does, and my work was relied upon by my colleagues as part of their investigations.

I was extremely well supported by my line manager and colleagues throughout my internship. I had regular 1:1s with my line manager who always made sure I had enough work to keep me busy but also ensured I was not overloaded with too many tasks. For any task I was given, the relevant colleague thoroughly explained what had to be done and was always more than willing to answer any questions.

The culture is one of the FCA's biggest selling points - the people are extraordinarily kind and beyond generous with their time (very atypical in the corporate world!) I had meetings with dozens of staff from other teams and divisions who were happy to have a chat with me about their work. Very pleasant atmosphere and flexi-working makes for very good work life balance.

The internship exceeded my expectations and made my summer very enjoyable. Extremely engaging work, and a great variety of work across the various divisions. The kindness of people is unmatched as is the work-life balance. Very nice office. Graduate buddy system works well. You get a very good idea of what it would be like to work there as a permanent full-time employee. You also get exposure to people in quite senior positions which is great.

Yes

Focus heavily on FCA values and FCA core objectives in your application. Be personable and demonstrate your enthusiasm to protect consumers from financial harm. Research as much as you can about how the FCA fulfils its core objectives, and what the various divisions do.