Operations Intern Review

They were friendly and approachable, even though I was doing less work than they were.

I could have benefitted from being given more tasks, however the open-plan office meant that i was sat next to a mixture of directors, managers and grads, so I was never far from someone checking up on me. I would have liked more meetings with my line manager so I could keep track of how I was doing.

Not busy enough, although this reflects the fact that in such a complex industry there is a limited amount of meaningful work that can be given to interns. I still had regular daily tasks and independent projects to work on to keep me occupied.

Not much, but a lot can go wrong in investment banking therefore it is understandable. I would have liked more.

Useful skills learnt which will look good on my CV, as well as an improved capacity to prioritise and work with others. MS Excel training was particularly helpful.

My team all had a good sense of humour meaning that it was an enjoyable experience being there, although there is a limit to how exciting working in an office can be, particularly when some tasks can become repetitive. It is up to you to create your own enjoyment from projects you are working on.

We could have benefitted from exposure to more desks, and learning more about different departments within the bank such as IBD or trading. The weekly lectures were helpful, particularly those by senior members of the bank.

Other than a few initial lectures on how investment banks functioned, and a particularly helpful day session on MS Excel, there was very little 'training' as such.

Their uptake of interns on to the graduate scheme seems to be around 75%, so there is a reasonable chance that I will be offered a job if I am good enough. There is an emphasis that interns are not competing against each other, and if everyone is good enough then everyone will be offered a job.

You spend a reasonable amount of time with the interns in your department throughout the internship, such as in occasional lectures, and there is an internal instant messaging channel which allows you to get to know your peers well (and organise trips to the pub).

London is very expensive, but you are paid well so can still live relatively luxuriously.

The nightlife in London is fantastic and there is something for everyone. It is advisable to live within London during the internship to take full advantage of this, as it means you get to know your peers better.

Volunteering in the 'Shoreditch Games', which was a sports day organised by UBS for children from local schools. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in charitable activities.