Finance Intern Review

I was nervous before starting at M&G, however, everyone was so friendly and welcoming that I immediately felt at ease. One of the main things that stood out to be during my time there was the friendly and supportive culture. From day one you are part of the team. In addition so many of the employees at M&G have been there for long periods of time, as they enjoy it so much they have no reason to leave.

Everyone made me feel very valued and appreciated for the work I did. Everyone always talked to me and I immediately felt part of the team. I was also included in the events and went out for a team meal and drinks on my third week. The other interns went to the annual Summer Party, but I joined too late to go to this. There were many intern events and socials which were a great way to learn about the company and to get to know interns in other areas of the company.

My manager always checked I understood what I was doing and that I was finding everything okay. She made sure that I felt at ease, and was genuinely interested to know how things were going. I never felt awkward to ask for help and everyone would be happy to help.

At the start I wasn't particularly busy, however, this naturally increased as I became more used to the systems and was trusted with more tasks. However, M&G have many online teaching programmes to learn more about Investment Management, so I never sat there with nothing to do at all. When I was given more tasks everyone made sure I wasn't too overwhelmed with the work I had been given.

The responsibility I was given naturally increased throughout the internship. By the end I was responsible for certain weekly tasks, such as processing the contractor invoices. I really enjoyed this as it allowed me to manage my time to meet the deadlines, and I knew that it was important for the monthly reporting.

The experience was so invaluable to my learning, as being at University we only get taught the theory and mainly learn from textbooks. Seeing how accounting is actually undertaken and how decisions are made in a real company was very useful. I now know that I definitely want to be an accountant and would love to work in a company such as M&G.

The general atmosphere was very relaxed and welcoming, however, was professional at the same time.

The internship was very well structured. Each week there would be an intern event, some of which were socials and others which were lunch and learn sessions to learn about the areas of the company. I had a meeting on my first day with HR, then a mid term review and then a final meeting on my last day.

Everyone gave me tasks that they knew would be beneficial to me in terms of understanding the company and gaining an insight into how things work. I was never left just doing dull tasks which nobody wanted to do. In addition I competed tasks such as the Hogan Personality Assessment, which helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.

M&G is growing very quickly and therefore they are taking on many new graduates. They are starting a graduate scheme in Finance this year in the London branch and I will definitely be applying to this.

i went out for a team meal and drinks in my third week. In addition besides the events organised by HR for the interns, there were many informal events organised by the interns ourselves.

I have always lived in London, so the prices seemed fairly standard to me.

There were many pubs, bars and restaurants to go to. Being in central London there is always something to do. In addition the office is located very close to London Bridge.

There were always emails being sent round about charity events or joining the sports teams. Some of the other interns did some of the sports events.