eFX Trading Intern Review

Has been very enjoyable, the staff are friendly and willing to help out and there has been work available at all times. The internship has included a structured list of events, both learning events, such as "university" lecture style sessions, as well as social events in the evenings.

I am extremely valued by team, and although I do not have the neccesary licenses to actually do any trading the team always have time to answer my questions and set me work. Senior staff have also been excellent in giving up their time for interns. Although almost all staff have made me feel valued, a small minority have not wanted to help out or give any time.

At the start was given a lot of guidance, was assigned a buddy and management had time for all of my questions, as the internship has gone on this support has reduced since they have taught me how to find out answers for myself, but are still always there in the event that i fail to do this.

I always have work to do however would not say that i overrun. Sometimes i have to ask for tasks or am set tasks that are mundane and not useful to the business, however these are in theory useful to my learning. I am restricted in what work i can do by regulations and so this is why i perhaps have not been given more, although this is definitely better than having far too much! Also worth noting is that nearly all of my work doesnt have a due date and so I can work at my own pace, picking up more work as i compelte the last thing.

A reasonable amount, i helped to amend clients orders, carried out analysis and was allowed to implement ideas. However due to regulations nearly all of my work had to be checked by a trader being implemented. I would say a lot of trust was put in me in terms of the access to systems I was given, but that there was not much responsibility, i.e if I didnt turn up for work it wouldnt really effect the company.

I have learnt to code which will be useful for my dissertation, as well as learning far more about financial markets will be great for my degree in economics. Working for such a well renowned company will also be a positive on my CV and so should help with future job prospects. I have not done any formal training or qualifications, but these will come should i recieve a graduate job offer.

Really fun atmosphere, there was a great buzz all the time and most employees are willing to have a laugh, whilst also working hard when they need to. What i really enjoyed was the ability to maintain a relaxed but extremely efficient atmosphere in the office, where undue stress and pressure was not present, despite a fast paced atmosphere.

Reasonably well organised, there were some conflicting statements in emails, as well as HR sending emails setting themselves deadlines such as "we will send your contract to you by date xxx" and then you recieve the contract 2 weeks later, which was not impressive. There were also several instances of rooms being booked for too few people or the location of a meeting not being communicated. However overall it was very well organised and ran smoothly.

The company have invested a lot of money and staff time in me. We had compulsary meetings with four senior members of staff of our choosing as well as meeting people from our area. In addition we had weekly presentations from different areas of the business so that we could learn more about these.

Very appealing. The area that i worked in is really interesting and Barclays is a globally recognised brand with excellent training and development opportunities. Therefore I think it would be a fantastic place to start a career and would leave plenty of opportunities open should its appeal diminish.

Went for drinks every friday and sometimes midweek. It started off well and then i think people got a bit tired, so could have been slightly more social. But overall the social scene was good, you didnt feel like you were missing out because there was so much, or that there should be a lot more.

Was in Canary Wharf so not exactly cheap. There area few bars which do 2-1 cocktails though which makes life a bit more affordable. An average drinks cost about £20 whilst rent for a decent place is around £200 per week, a bit of a shock if you arent used to London prices. You are compensated by receiving a higher wage for working in this area though.

Its in London so you cant get much better, whatever you're into you will be catered for, be that electronic music to classical. Its all quite pricey but the variety is excellent and the transport is also very good meaning that you can get there and back in a very reasonable time. So overall excellent.

Yes there is a large list of clubs and chairty events that you can get involved in. I personally did some of them and found them to be very enjoyable and motivational, they are also an excellent way to meet other people from the business. They could be a little better advertised as the intranet page with them on is very outdated and so instead you have to email the leader of each activity to enquire.