Internal Communications Manager - Responsible Business Review

It was great experience of a working environment. It had its ups and downs but everyone faces challenges during their career. Any bad experiences were formative and most of the time the experience was positive and the work and working environment were enjoyable. The opportunities given to me I felt were in my best interests.

Everyone was really friendly, especially some very senior colleagues who from outside could have seemed a bit scary. People were very welcoming and accomodating of the fact that I was learning everything new in the first few weeks. Colleagues outside of my business area were also

I was given very little support or communication by my line manager. During the first few weeks this was quite stressful as I was being asked to do things no one had shown me how to do and was unable to ask my line manager. During the 10 weeks it got much easer to adapt to this style, however it would have been nice to have more support.

Workload fluctuated from quite little to suddenly very busy. I definitely could have been given more work to do. This is partly due to a project that I was meant to be overseeing for the ten weeks being cancelled due to a restructure and change of strategy in the department.

I was given the right amount of responsibility. I was trusted to manage my own schedule and workload. I was given projects which impacted on my team and left to manage these on my own. I understand that too much responsibility may be a big risk to the bank, but I was lucky that in GCA this isn't so much of an issue.

Was definitely a valuable experience in terms of skills and experience. The internship gave me skills that can only really be obtained from working in a corporate, office environment. What was great is that the skills are so different from what is needed in a degree or other summer job and this stands me in great stead for getting a graduate job.

The general atmosphere was usually very friendly and positive. The experience was never negative, but sometimes the office ws very empty. On a quiet Friday it wasn't unheard of that myself and another intern would be the only people working in our quadrant of office all day.

Very well organised, especially when you consider the scale of the project. The only thing I would have improved was the information provided when electing for our business areas to do our internships. We were electing for places which we weren't really that informed about.

I think Lloyds have really invested in me, especially as I am on the Lloyds Scholars programme. Lloyds supports me to gain experience and skills that I would never be able to obtain otherwise. I feel valued by the leaders of the Scholars programme and feel like they want us all to succeed. The referral to the Graduate Scheme is great for making us feel like we're the future of Lloyds Bank.

It's not a reflection on the quality of the internship or Lloyds Banking Group, but I don't think it is something I would like to go into as a career. The grauate scheme is very appealing though - it's a great way to get your foot in the door and earn good money. If I acheive a referral I would view it as a safety net when I graduate.

Yes, the interns all got to know each other quickly and we were all really up for going out and doing different things. I've made some really great friends that I would never have met otherwise. Other interns we meet also add to our network and potentially could really help in the future - who knows where they'll end up?!

I worked and lived in Bristol - which is quite expensive, but I chose to live there during my internship because I actually live there permanently. The fact that I chose to live there retracts my right to complain! The Scholars scheme also contributes towards rent for the duration of the internship which is great!

Nightlife is great in Bristol, there's something for everyone and there are always cool things happening. I would encourage anyone to live in Bristol at some point because there's nothing else like it! It's small enough to be able to get everywhere, but big enough that the evenings are jam packed!

Yes, there were a few team outings for drinks of lunches. There was also opportunity to network at events and travel to London to meet with wider teams and have drinks/lunches. The interns were great in encouraging each other to do things outside of work and there was a lot of socialising.