Business Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my internship as it struck a great balance between office work, in house events, networking opportunities and social activities.

My colleagues were extremely helpful and I felt valued because I was asked to work on projects which affected everyone in the office.

It was difficult at times because directors are extremely busy people and so the free time in our schedules would not always coincide, however the support and advice I received from my supervisors was, and is, extremely useful.

In my role I supported everyone who worked in the client group and so I was always managing a number of work requests for many different people. As a result, I was extremely busy and tended to come in a little earlier or stay a little later in order to finish things. As an individual, I much prefer being very busy and so this role suited me very well.

I was pleased with the responsibility I was given because each piece of work I did or project I worked on ended up on somebody’s desk rather than being filed away.

During my internship, I had a variety of deadlines come up around the same time – from the intern programme, the office and university and I learnt to organise and manage my time better. This skill I will take forward to university and it’ll be crucial whilst in the last year of my degree.

My office was quieter than others around Coutts, which I found slightly difficult at first because I wasn’t sure who the best person was to approach if I had a query. However I quickly learnt that everyone was happy to help and settled in well.

There were a variety of events whilst I was on the internship – insight days, speak series, networking opportunities and each of these in addition to the overall programme was well organised. It also really helped that the graduated development team were easy to contact in case of any queries.

I think that overall Coutts did invest a great deal in the interns however this is more difficult to administer on a personal level, particularly during a ten week programme. I would have liked to have greater opportunities to attend workshops for example in order to improve my employability.

Coutts is going through an exciting time with a number of changes, which are helping provide clarity on career progression and future employment prospects. The prospects are very appealing, particularly as it provides you with the opportunity to meet some very interesting and senior people in the business.

There were a few sports events organised with colleagues however most of the social scene I encountered was with fellow interns and cohorts of previous graduate programmes. Everyone was good fun and so there was a good social scene.

I’m from London and so the costs of living were sharply reduced however you will probably need to budget for more than an average night out at university.

London has a great nightlife – the best way to find out where to go is through friends.

There were a couple of mid-intern activities set up with colleagues outside of work, which provided a good balance.