Commercial Intern (Product Development Team) Review

My 8 weeks at M&G have been brilliant. The work I was given was interesting, challenging and enjoyable at the same time. Not only did I learn a lot about the Asset Management industry and M&G itself as a company but I had a great time doing it, with a team who could not have been more friendly and helpful.

The best thing about the work I have done at M&G is that it has been really taken on board by my collegues. You are not given pointless tasks just to keep you busy, but something which really adds to the teams performance. For example I presented one of my pieces of work to an investment specialist who then sent the slides on to other people, showing thw work has been valued.

There is a really good buddy system at M&G for the internship, which is someone in your team who basically helps you get your bearings over the first few days and to get to grips with the work. This was really helpful and they are a constant source of infomation for ay questions you may have. My manager was also really helpful in guiding me through my internship. There was a really good balance struck between managing my own time by letting me get on with my work and ensuring I was on track with regular catch up meetings.

I had plenty of work to keep me going over the intership with longer projects coupled with short term work on request from people in the team. Whilst over the course of the working day I worked hard there was no pressure to work really long hours which for me was the perfect blend.

As I mentioned in the comments above my work was valued and this meant I ended up presenting to some senior people in the business. Whilst it is always difficult to give too much responsibility to somone who has just joined a team, whether they are an intern or not, there was a definite sense of as I proved myself capable responisibilities grew.

M&G has a great office atmosphere and culture and that experience of interacting with people in the office environment is a skill which can't be underestimated. Furthermore skills such as analysis, presenting, writing reports are skills which develop with experience and so this was a really good first step in the right direction

The office atmosphere always struck the perfect balance of being really focused, professional and hard working with being really friendly, open and enjoyable. It was really easy to work in!

From the introductory sessions to the business and the industry in the first couple of weeks to the socials organised for the interns the internship had a clear considered structure and was really well run.

We had sessions with people from across the business to learn about what they did, there was constant feedback from work we had done and presentations we gave. Overall M&G are really keen to see their interns learning and progressing and so invest a lot in trying to facilitate this.

Will find out soon....

We had social events organised by the HR department which were brilliant as well as organising our own events such as going to the cricket, playing 5-a-side or out for meals

Whilst it is expensive in central London for rent and going out, interns are paid well and so this isn't a problem!

Always something going on in London!

There were numerous social activities as I have already mentioned, and there are many opportunites to do pretty much whatever you could imagine