Summer intern Review

I absolutely loved working here. The best thing with the internship is that they don't accept a lot of people which means they really value you as an intern and want to give you the best of all resources. I felt it was very well designed and gives you a little bit of everything - you have a buddy (usually a new grad) that you can use to ask all your stupid questions to. You then have a mentor (usually someone senior) who you can meet and have general career talk with or simply be inspired. Your line-manager will give you objectives by the start of the internship and project that you will work on and present by the end of the internship. Usually, the whole team that you are allocated to will help you along with your projects and objectives.

A lot of the things I did were actually used and sent off to internal or external people, provided they met the standards. Make sure you let someone in your team double-check everything before you click "SEND". Especially in the beginning.

I felt I was given a lot of support but I think it really depends on the team you are in and the manager you have. My manager always found the time to see me at least twice a week, even if it was only 15 min catch up. We talk on Mondays about the upcoming week and how my manager can help me meet my objectives (i.e. introduce me to certain ppl or teach me something new). We then talk on Fridays about how it went and what we can improve. A lot of times I felt like I was really working with my manager rather that 'for' him. I think that made me feel even more motivated to do well.

It completely depends on the department AND the team you work in. Some deparments (Fixed Income, FMA) I found interns were coming in to the office at 6.30 am and sometimes left at midnight or late evenings. However, most other departments (Fundamental equities, iShares, Retail etc) work during open market hours or a bit more, i.e. 7.30 am - 17.30. With good time management, I'm sure you can avoid working too late and still impress your team with what you've come up with.

Obviously, I can't be given too much responsibility and in fact, I didn't want to. As an intern, I was happy just laying back and listening and learning rather that running the show. At some points though and in some basic/simple projects, I was the one heading the whole process and the one updating the team about it. Usually, where you are given a lot of responsibility and even some kind of leadership position, the projects you are given are quite simple but a bit time consuming for the others to do. Leave your team to do the important stuff and ask to do anything that makes their lifes easier. Showing a lot of help and support to your team is extremely important - especially if you are looking to add value during your time as an intern. Think this: when I leave for uni - at times, the team will miss me and they will miss the support I gave them during hectic time periods.

Not sure how it's gonna help me with my education but it's definetely gonna help me in my future career, especially if I decide to enter the same specific market and industry. When I get employed, I'm not gonna start at zero, but I'd be having 10 weeks of experience with me which you might think is nothing, but considering how much you learn every day, 10 weeks is quite a lot and it will make a huge difference to your first day at your grad job.

I work on a quite new department and the atmosphere is still very entrepreneurial and innovative, as if I was working for a start-up company.

Extremely well. Only thing I wish was that they gave us our team names at least a few days before we started the internship and not on the same day of the desk work.

I'm very thankful to how much they've given us interns to train and develop us. It makes it feel so worth it.

I should know whether I've gotten the job or not by the end of the internship. I have 2 weeks left, but I'm hoping to come back and work here as a grad.

People were in general very tired after working, especially those who work for many hours, so it was difficult for interns to organise something with almost everyone involved. However, the HR organized a few events like BBQ and popquiz, and that's when everyone attended and it became really social.

London is in general quite expensive but I was lucky to find a cheap shared area within a walking distance to the office (about 25 min walk), so I save some traveling expensis. I recommend using spareroom.co.uk. Food and such, the more you cook yourself and plan ahead, the cheaper it becomes.

Actually haven't really been out much. It depends on your priorities and how you function. I personally can't get up very alert at 6am for work if I've been out the night before till midnight, it's just not worth it. However, I do recommend organizing something with your team and department. There are interns that go out with their teams for drinks or clubbing.

Not really, or maybe I haven't taken the time to explore the area.