Summer Intern - Assistant Relationship Manager Review

I really enjoyed my internship due to following factors; LBG gave me an opportunity to gain valuable skills and knowledge about banking, to develop myself as a person and to make new networking. Even though I am 'only' a summer intern, I have entrusted with a national project and plenty of tasks. Everyone in the company has been very helpful and supportive of me.

I felt welcomed from my first day of work. My team has been open and friendly to me and the bonding was quick and natural. I feel valued by my colleagues and feel as a part of the team. Working together with the team is very easy and without any issue.

My manager was supportive of me and helped me during my summer internship. We had one-to-one meetings generally once a week to go through my internship and progress of my work. At the same time my manager was strict and liked to see me act independently which was a bit difficult for me in the beginning of the internship but once I adapted, I understood that this approach helps me to develop myself as a person.

First week of my internship I wasn't that busy and all I had to do was completing Mandatory Training and getting familiar with the company. Each week I became busier and busier as my manager started to assign me in numbers of daily tasks to support her and the team. On the top of that I also had my own project which was presented in the end of my placement in front of senior manager and head of SME Banking. These tasks made my day rather busy and gave me a chance to be productive.

Luckily I had a chance to be responsible over some tasks during my internship such as collating and reporting anti-money laundering for the whole South West region, checking daily cashbox transfers, preparing and presenting slides to the team to up-skill them or monitoring the team's performance while ensuring they do everything correctly. I honestly did not expect much responsiblity as I am only a summer intern for 10 weeks so being entrusted with some responsibility was great for my development.

Prior joining LBG I had little knowledge of the banking industry in general. During my internship I've received mandatory training regarding to not only banking but also safety or equality. In the beginning of the internship, interns also had 2 webinars which explained the structure and purpose of banking. On the top of that I had develop valuable skills through completing numerous of tasks and the national project. My newly gained skills will definitely assist me in my degree studies and beyond.

All colleagues get along very well and the atmosphere in the office was friendly and relaxed. Even though everyone is busy with their own work, if one colleague would need some help or support, there would be always someone to do so. Therefore working in the office was not stressful.

Not sure about other interns but my overall internship was planned quite well. From the beginning I was given 4 big objectives that I need to achieve throughout my internship. In the end of my internship I had to write down if I have met those objectives and what have I done to achieve it. My manager also gave me numerous of tasks which helped me to gain great skills and to meet my objectives. When it comes to opportunities outside the office, I needed to be proactive to seek for it otherwise minimum of them would come.

Seems like LBG does not mind to invest in you financially and in timewise but you have to be proactive, seek for those opportunities and show that you are keen to learn. LBG does provide general training for everyone equally so to get further development, it depends on an individual.

As a summer intern, to get a Graduate Scheme with LBG, I need to go through a referral process; my line manager's reference which would be judged Emerging Talent Team. Graduate Scheme would last 2 years and if successful, then I would get a permanent job with LBG. My summer internship has been very positive and I hope to continue with LBG through Graduate Scheme.

I think it depends on the location. I believe that there are plenty of great social scenes in London but because I was based in Exeter and also was the only intern here, there have not been many social scenes. There was a social gathering of all commercial banking interns in the end of the internship, which was successful but I would definitely like to see more social events.

My internship was based in Exeter and fortunately my accommodation was covered by LBG which has a huge impact on my living cost. The only thing I needed to worry about was spending money on food and personal needs which then depends on an individual. Exeter is not an expensive city because of its size.

Unfortunately I cannot judge this as I don't go out at night. I assume that Nightlife in Exeter is not too bad as Friday and Saturday nights are quite busy by young people despite of lack of university students during summer. There is also plenty things to do in Exeter and its area as it has cinemas, sport centres and theatres.

Every summer intern was assigned to do charity work for BBC Children In Needs as their outside activities of work. I was in the team of 10 but unfortunately my other team members were not located in the same location as me so planning/doing events were not as easy as for those in the same location. Charity itself was a good idea and gave us a chance to do something for a good cause.