Commercial Banking SME Intern Review

A large part of the job involved getting out and visiting clients, which was thoroughly enjoyable and interesting as you get to see and understand such a variety of businesses. However, another huge part of the job is filling out paperwork, and as I had no training and very limited access to systems, I was unable to help with this. This meant that when I was in the office I often struggled to find things to do and ended up being very bored sometimes.

My placement was slightly different to other interns, as I moved around a variety of teams within the sector I was in, rather than staying in one team for the full 10 weeks. Whilst this provided me with a great insight into the different teams within the bank, it meant that I didn't really settle into any of the teams and made it slightly harder to connect with colleagues on a personal level. Nevertheless, everyone I met within the bank was hugely welcoming and they were all more than happy to answer any questions I had.

For the first couple of weeks I spent my whole time with my line manager, who was really lovely and very down to earth. When I started moving around other teams I had much less contact with my line manager, but if I ever had any problems I was able to email her and she would quickly sort it out. I found that the amount of support and guidance I recieved was completely down to me - if I didn't seek it out then I didn't recieve it, whereas if I asked for it I was given it. I found this very refreshing as it made me feel much more like a colleague rather than merely an intern.

This completely depended on what team I was in. Some of the teams had very little that I was able to help out with. However, in these situations, I wasn't made to stick around, and very often if I was bored I was told to leave. Whilst this was sometimes frustrating as I'd feel like a bit of a loose end, the days when I was busy made up for it. I was never overworked, and people didn't take advantage of me as an intern.

I wasn't really given very much responsibility as there weren't many occassions when it was suitable. There were a few little tasks that I was asked to do which contributed to larger projects but on the whole I don't feel like I was given a huge amount of my own work.

I didn't really recieve any training whilst I was at Lloyds. However, I definitely developed my communication skills and my knowledge of banking has vastly improved. Whilst these skills won't help me with my degree as I have graduated, these skills will definitely help me in my future career as communication is key in any workplace environment. Furthermore if I decide to persue a career in banking my growth in knowledge of the industry will undoubtedly provide me with a leg up against my cohort.

One of the best aspects of my placement was the atmosphere in the various offices that I worked in. People were very friendly and relaxed, and particular teams were very fun. Of course this did depend on the team, and one of the teams I was in was quite dull but this didn't strongly influence my experience as I only spent a couple of days with them.

For me the organisation of my placement wasn't great. A lot of the time Senior Managers of teams hadn't thought about what I would be able to do when I joined their team and so these placements were the more boring ones where I didn't have much to do. However, one of my senior managers was incredible and created a schedule for me each week, making sure that I went on as many client visits as possible.

I don't think Lloyds Banking Group really invested much in my personal development. There were very few organised events for interns, though at the beginning of my placement there were a few webinars which provided us with an insight into the banking world. Also we were set a Charity Challenge to carry out alongside our placement which was designed to contribute to our personal development and also to enable us to meet other interns. However, I found many of the interns didn't take this particularly seriously so I don't think this really enable me to developed very much.

At the end of the placement each intern carries out an interview with their line manager, who then assesses them on targets set out between the intern and line manager at the beginning of the placement. Before we leave on our final day we find out if we get a job with them.

It wasn't as sociable as I was hoping for. Many interns were provided with accommodation and so were living together, but even then I found it very difficult to meet new people, partly because I didn't work with any other interns so didn't meet any in my office. There were no social events organised by Lloyds Bank which I didn't particularly like.

Living by Kings Cross station meant that living and socialising was extremely expensive. However, lloyds paid for my accommodation which meant that I saved a huge cost on that. Also I usually was able to walk to work and so saved a lot of money on transport.

Central London nightlife - so many choices. However, as noone was from London it meant that noone really knew where to go. Also, of course, it was very expensive.

Only the Charity Challenge. Other than that I really feel Lloyds were very poor in getting the interns involved in extra activities. As I mentioned previously, they didn't organised any events and I really struggled to get involved in things outside of work.