Content Governance Manager, Customer Experience and Websites Review

My placement on the whole was enjoyable. With a good mix of independent work, collaborative projects and social events. I had a chance to develop my understanding of the business area and the different roles available. My work was really varied, from going through large amounts of data to being creative and designing parts of websites.

Most people in my team had a piece of work that I could get involved in, and this made me feel valued as I was really contributing. Everyone was great at sharing feedback, which was important in allowing me to get the most out of my internship.

On a day to day basis, I sat next to my Line Manager so could easily ask questions if I needed to. It was good that he was approachable and willing to give up some time. At the beginning of my placement I was given a structure to the 10 weeks and objectives to acheive - this was a good place to start for support. There were also weekly 'internship drop-in' calls, where other queries could be raised.

I was given quite a bit of work that I could just get on with, and this meant I was often quite busy even though my diary would not be full of meetings. However, not all the work I was given was that challenging, sometimes the day could go a bit slow if I didn't find the work that exciting.

I was given plenty of independent work to complete which was a level of responsibility I appreciated. I would complete work which would be shared with senior members of the business which was good.

My role was not directly linked to my degree, but there are plenty transferable skills I will use in the future. Whether that is engaging with senior stakeholders or presenting large amounts of information in an intuitive way. I believe there is much to learn from working in a commercial environment for 10 weeks.

The office was pretty busy and everyone had work to get on with. I could easily approach people though and most were happy to chat. Our team would frequently meet up to discuss general performance and new developments which was good.

As previously mentioned, I was quite lucky in having a well structured placement. I was also contacted frequently by the central intern team to make sure everything was running smoothly.

I did feel like there was an interest in my personal development, and when setting my objectives at the beginning of my placement these were taken into consideration. There was also training on skills such as presenting, time management and more factual things like 'banking basics' webinars - I didn't find them of much value but it was nice to have them offered. My business area also run weekly information sessions on a wide variety of things that could have an impact on Digital in the financial sector. I found these pretty exciting and a great way to share outside knowledge with the business.

LBG has a really clear referral process on to the graduate programme, and that is a great opportunity to make use of. The grad programme itself seems a good way to develop leadership skills and learn about different areas of the business. The internship provided a great chance to figure out whether the programme would be right for me.

There were about 30 interns based in Leeds, all in the same university accomodation. This meant that there was lots going on if you wanted to get involved. My colleagues have month end drinks and it was good to go out with all of them a few times.

Living in Leeds and working in Halifax is always going to be much cheaper than London, so that was a bonus. Having accomodation provided meant that the cost of living was really low. Getting paid weekly meant that you always had a bit of money to go out and socialise/drink which was good. If you need to commute in West Yorkshire get an MCard when you arrive as they are a lot cheaper than a season ticket.

Never really went out in Halifax as everyone just goes back to Leeds. Leeds is really good fun with plenty of clubs and bars. The clubs were maybe a bit more expensive than I was expecting.

As mentioned, there was a big group of interns so plenty was organised and I feel like we explored Leeds quite well. Everyone also does a charity challenge in teams, so this was a good way to get involved in some fun fundraising, although it became a bit of a burden towards the end. I also got to travel to London quite a bit, I would often stay in a paid-for hotel and meet up with London interns for drinks. I was pleased that I still got to experience London a bit.