Intern Review

I did not really enjoy my internship as I do not think I was put in the correct area. I did not see eye to eye with my manager and was given demeaning and humiliating jobs such as watering the plants and cleaning out filing cabinets. The other interns thought it was hilarious, and they, as well as other members of staff and other grads could not believe some of the jobs I was given. I wasn't given a lot of guidance and was given a lot of negative feedback but was not really told how I could improve.

I did not feel valued at all. They did not seem to know what to do with me/what work to give me and anything I was given I feel was not very helpful and was in no way valuable to the business. I felt more like an inconvenience/nuisance and that they would not have noticed if I was there or not.

I had a mid-placement review two weeks later than I was supposed to and this consisted of very little positive feedback and a lot of negative feedback. It was a lot of criticism but there was not very much guidance as to how I could improve. However, another manager in another area was very supportive when I approached her about how I was feeling.

I was not very busy at all. There were days where they literally had no work for me to do. My manager would be working from home or away on holiday having left nothing for me to do. I ended up reading the company website and making notes in multiple times.

I was given very little responsibility and felt that what I was given was not much help or of much value to the company. I had to send a few emails but my main responsibility was to water plants. I was also responsible for ordering the fruit for my team for a couple of weeks but this was only whilst the person who usually does this was on holiday.

I did not receive any kind of training. I feel like I have not developed a lot of skills as there was not much opportunity to. I feel that this has helped me to realise that I do not want to work in a bank but has shown me that I can work with difficult characters in an unfamiliar environment.

The atmosphere in my team felt very tense and more often than not I felt really uncomfortable and awkward. I found it difficult to approach anyone in my team. Some other teams seemed to get on well and were friendly. I did not feel like I was a part of my team. Some of the members of my team were very stressed etc. which is why I felt awkward, especially because I was shouted at or ignored if I asked for help/asked what they wanted me to do. I understand that there is a lot of pressure involved in their jobs but I do not think that this is an appropriate reason to take their stress out on me.

The internship was very poorly set up. From the start, the team I worked with seemed to have no idea what to do with me so I was thrown into meetings with interns from another team. Also, I was given very little to do and what I was given seemed to be of little value. I was introduced to my line manager four weeks into the internship, and for the first few weeks of my internship my manager was away/not in the office. During this time, she left very little for me to do and the rest of the team would not know what to give me. There were some days that I was left with nothing to do so found myself making notes on the company's website, not something that I expected I would be doing. I seemed to be given jobs that no one else wanted to do. Also, my mid placement review was two weeks late, I was given no follow up/end of internship meeting and I did not even receive a goodbye from my manager when I finished the internship. The other interns and grads could not believe what I was being given to do which was not only embarrassing and humiliating but was also a waste of mine and their time.

I feel that the company did not invest in personal training or development in me at all. I was given no training whatsoever. I was proactive in arranging meetings with members of other teams, therefore these people did invest their time in me, however this was only through my doing. Other interns' managers would set up meetings and shadowing days for their interns. My mentor, however was good in helping me to reach out to some people.

My experience with the organisation was not very enjoyable and because of this, I have been put off working for this company. I know from experience that I do not want to work for a bank at all, and would be very reluctant to work in the specific area that I was based in because of my experience. Future employment prospects within the organisation are only appealing so far as having a good income and working for a respected and well known company. However, personally the atmosphere and the experience I have had has put me off working there as I don't think I would be able to mentally handle it.

The other interns within my building and elsewhere in the organisation were all quite sociable and there was many events organised inside and outside of work. Regarding my colleagues, they did not seem to be very sociable with each other, and if they were, I was never invited to anything which further heightened my feeling of isolation and not feeling like I was part of the team. I was invited to a team drinks by another team, but my team did not seem to be fussed about being sociable with one another.

The cost of living in the accommodation was free as the company provided this, however being in London, I assume it was fairly expensive. However, travel was fairly expensive, being at least £25 a week. Food was also fairly expensive, and London prices meant that socialising was also quite expensive. Things done within work, like team drinks (not with my actual team) were paid for by the company, however intern and scholar events cost me personally

The nightlife was very good in the area I worked in as I was in London so there was lots of choice and something for everyone. It was a really good way for all of the interns to socialise with each other. However, being London, it was very expensive and some places were awkward to get to, especially if you don't know the area very well and especially because the interns did not really know each other that well.

There were opportunities such as scholar and intern socials like meals and drinks, but these were organised by the interns themselves and not through the company in any way. Some of the main things were the events put on as a result of out charity challenge. Being London, there is always a lot of stuff to do however getting back from work late meant that there was little time to do all that much.