This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
-
The Company
-
The Culture
- 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 throughly enjoyed working for standard life investments. You are looked after very well and treated like a member of staff. The work I was given was varied and interesting and required me to step out of my comfort zone. We were also encouraged to be sociable and enjoy our time in Edinburgh : a social committee was created who organised a ceilidh for us and payed for it all. Overall a great experience.
The employees at SLI are fantastic. You are instantly made to feel welcome by the team you join. Everyone you meet is happy to sit with you and discuss you their role, offer you a day of shadowing.
If I had any problems or queries there was always someone I could speak to who could offer me advice.
The workload varied while I was at SLI, at some points of the internship I was very busy at at other times not so much. It just depended on what projects I was working on at the time and how fast they were progressing. At the times where I was less busy if I asked someone for work they would get back to me with something to do. The spare time also allowed me to make meetings with different departments and create a better understanding of the company.
The amount of responsibility I was given varied on the projects I was working on. Some of the projects I worked on from the beginning of them and took a leadd role in how they were run and others had been ongoing for a while so there was already a plan and people who knew what they wanted done. I would say I was given the right amount of responsibility and the right support.
Throughout the internship we were given lots of skills and personal development training. We were provided with strength finder : we answered a serious of questions and they provided us with out top five strengths. We were give training in presntations, excel, and team building exercises. Also on offer to us were learning lunches where we could find out about different aspects of the company. We were also given lots of talks from previous graduates and interns about their career stories and progress through the company which was very insightful. These are skills which I will take with me into my last year of university.
The Company
Everyone who works for SLI is very friendly and seem genuinley happy!
The internship was well structured, each week we would have a personal learning session and there were also a few check points with HR and Heads of department to see how we were progressing.
There is a big emphasis on personal learning an development and they put a lot of effort and investments into you.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
We have found out a lot about the graduate scheme and it seems very appealing.
The Culture
The social aspect of this internship was great. As accomodation was provided we all lived together in the same appartments which was very good fun.
Edinburgh is fairly expensive to live in but SLI provide accomodation for you which is a massive help.
The nightlife was very varied. You can go to clubs or relax in a pub. It depends what you fancy on doing. There was also the Fringe which started towards the end of the internship, there are loads of comedians and events going on all day and night. Most of the clubs stay open till 5am for this.
Depending on your team there were definitely opportunities. My department did not do too many things outside of work. There are societies and sports clubs you can join. We also took part in a charity away day where we went to a care hom for the say and helped out with some gardening and painting, it was great to be offered this.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Investment Banking, Data Science, Business Management, Education/Teaching, Financial Management, Information Technology
Scotland
August 2015