Fixed Income Summer Intern Review
by BlackRock
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.7
-
The Company
4.4
-
The Culture
3.9
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I enjoyed all the activities that the HR team organised and the work that I was set was interesting and at the same time it was stretching.
The team that I was in was really friendly and were very approachable. They allowed me to participate in a number of projects that they were working on.
My line Manager was always approachable and organised a lot of meetings with other teams, which gave me a real insight into how the business operates.
By getting the opportunity to shadow on different desks, I was able to pick up work and managed to complete a number of projects for different teams. However I was also given some interesting work to do by my main team as well.
I was given the opportunity to present to the UK Fixed Income team. I was also given the responsibility of writing sections in Global Bond Weekly, which gets sent out to the entire Fixed Income business.
I have learnt a lot in terms of improving my presentation skills. Although I thought of myself as a fairly organised person before the internship, my organisational skills have certainly improved. Time management is something that will be a useful skill that will assist me in my degree studies.
The Company
Everyone seemed very approachable, which meant I was never afraid of asking questions.
It was extremely well organised. The intern socials were good fun.
BlackRock had a number of talks that interns could go to, which was a great way of getting an overview of the entire organisation. BlackRock provided some good basic training a the beginning of the internship.
Company Parties/Events
I feel that being at a buy-side firm is very appealing. I get the impression that job security is better than if I were to be working at a sell-side firm. The organisation prides itself on being a flat organisation and therefore career progression is possible. BlackRock gives responsibility to its employees early on.
The Culture
The HR organised socials were a great way of getting to know the fellow interns and the Portfolio Challenge meant we all got to mix with a number of interns from different business divisions.
We tended to socialise at the places that were reasonably priced.
Friday night was always fun and team socials were organised every other Thursday night.
There was a variety of BlackRock clubs that were looking for members (Softball, football etc)
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Investment Banking
London
August 2012
