Summer Intern - Benefits - Reitrement Review

I’m currently filling this in at about 4 weeks into the internship and thus far I’m thoroughly enjoying it, everyone here is extremely friendly and welcoming and it has been that way since day one. The work is varied, tend to be working on different things week to week, day to day. After having a few training sessions you get to work on more in depth projects and more difficult things which is rewarding. Apart from the work given to you by people around the office we had a social to organise, (we actually organised a few!) and the HR project to work on. Overall (so far!) a very enjoyable experience

There is a constant do, check, review system at Towers Watson, which seems at first when you complete a piece of work that it isn’t really valued as many people will look over it before it actually goes anywhere. This however is just the philosophy here and sometimes you are given someone else’s work to check before it goes higher up, meaning that you are trusted and valued. Obviously at the beginning of the internship the work you are given is basic, just make sure that what you do is of good quality and you will be trusted more and more.

The support system is great, it’s not so much a lean over your shoulder every day sort of support, more a network of people that you can talk to or go to with problems. From my personal experience I was sat around a wide range of people, some were low levelled and some were high levelled. This meant that any query I had could be answered by anyone around me. You are also assigned a number of buddies, basically the new grads from last year, who are on hand with any questions, these are usually the people that you go to when you have a particularly daft question you that didn’t really want to bother someone higher up. Some of those were also summer interns and some are straight new grads so they have been in either your position, or one very similar before, which makes it easy to relate to them. Above them however you have your line manager who is always there to answer any questions you have, amongst other people who you are introduced to during your time.

I have been kept fairly busy during my time here. I think this is set to change, however I personally was set a number of client teams and was the majority of the time given work from those. There were plenty of other times however that people just came to my desk or emailed saying work was available. I personally took on everything I was offered , which did mean that sometimes I had to stay late or come in early however I think it is worth it when someone really appreciates what you do. It makes sense too as if you do lots of work for lots of different people they will be more inclined to give you more. There were times that work was slow, this depends on how much work people are able to delegate, especially as the internship is only for 6 weeks it means you don’t learn a huge amount so there isn’t a great deal you can do. I personally found that some of the time I didn’t have a lot to do was my own fault, I had perhaps stayed late the night before to finish a piece of work when I hadn’t really needed to but thought it was best to get it done, and had nothing the next morning! Also if there are periods of down time you are given a work book of “Actuarial Fundamentals” to work on, and also organise socials, the newsletter and the HR project.

I was generally given a lot of responsibility for my own pieces of work and how I managed my time. Obviously with some pieces of work you have to do it a certain way, but with others you are given more of a free reign. With the social, which you and the other 2 interns on you floor (if you’re in Reigate that is) is expected to be a pub quiz, which we were basically told to go and do everything ourselves. We put a fair amouont of effort into this as a lot of people from the office came and we were soley responsible for the whole night. Obviously as an intern you can’t just come in and be responsible for the whole floor but for the amount of time spent you are given a reasonable amount.

I’m doing a Maths and Economics degree so the technical aspects of the job that I learned aren’t really that useful, which is expected really. The other skills though, as in working in teams, time management, social skills, and more that are expected of you in a “real life” job are expected to be picked up quickly. These will obviously assist me in my degree and beyond that. So yeah, life skills bro.

Already filled this in once, but the website broke. So my answers will be shorter, and less detailed. Blame Rate My Placement for my poor answers, not me. I am but a mere pawn in the devious games. Office was very fun, it was enjoyable. Everyone was generally in a good mood. Everyone is happy. I enjoyed it.

Very well set up. Pretty much everything is paid for. Work obviously isn't set up as you get it as and when.

Lots of training which helped. We got shortened versions of grad training. It was useful as I knew very little before turning up. As long as you have a decent maths knowledge, you're fine.

I lied about the car :( They really do want to employ you, they put a lot of effort into making you feel at home. They tell you 2 weeks after the internship, and as I'm currently doing one, I don't know if I've got a job yet, but yeah, fingers crossed!

8 interns, not including 2 RCS guys who I don't really see. They are in a different building. Everyone is very nice, many trips to the pub, after exam drinks were very fun. Really good social scene in Reigate.

I'm from up north, where everything is cheap, so Reigate, is quite expensive, TW pay you well though, and they reimburse you a lot for living or travel expenses.

Pubs. Reigate has many pubs, not a lot else, but a lot of pubs. If you're that bothered London is a short train ride away, so no worries.

Loads, cricket games, rounders, pub trips, football, badminton, and more that I can't think of. Just do everything you can as it is fun and you meet people.