Application Developer Review

This internship was the best internship I had in terms of the overall experience. I was really glad to be in the team I was placed in. The work I was doing was something that would be used in the long-term and across all teams up to the senior management. The company organised plenty of networking events and opportunities to discover different roles and meet other people.

I felt like I played an important role in completing the project that was given to me. The team said from the get go that I would have full responsibility in developing the project and that they were there for guidance. I truly felt like an integral part of the team.

Within the team there was my manager who gave me direct support. Other colleagues across the world were more than happy to spend time to help as well. I was assigned a mentor and a buddy to discuss non-work related issues and guidance. The graduates on the floor were always really helpful as well on a day-to-day basis.

At the start of the internship it wasn’t very busy as most of the time was spent on meeting the team and familiarising with the systems and the environment. A couple of weeks in though, there was plenty to do. I had my main project to work on every day as well as other smaller projects relating to my teams and overall umbrella division.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility during my placement. I had a chance to visit the company’s various facilities. I was given full responsibility of my main project in addition to full access to my team’s resources. I was able to listen in on various team calls, including ones with the most senior management.

I gained valuable skills throughout my placements with the most important ones being time management and networking. With only 10 weeks and several responsibilities to handle, time management became a vital skill I developed. Networking was a skill that was emphasised constantly. With networking I was able discover new opportunities both personally and professionally.

My office was very open. A lot of moving around to talk to people and conversations happen naturally. Everyone is very approachable and everyone knows each other. People were always willing to help or direct me to someone who would know how to help me. It was a very social atmosphere too as social events happened quite frequently at the office.

There was some issues with the on boarding process initially. I wasn’t aware of the team I was joining until a few days before. The timing of some events was inconvenient as it didn’t take into consideration the travel distance as I was in another office. There was quite a lot of waiting time to install the necessary systems and apps too.

It was clear to see that the firm invested quite a lot of time and money into the interns. There was a training central where I could learn about new topics. There were a lot of events with senior management to hear about their careers and guidance. The mentors assigned to me were very proactive and willing to offer help.

The opportunities within the firm are vast given its size. Within my division the roles varied quite a lot and within other departments there was plenty to offer as well. The firm encourages moving around and after talking to numerous it was clear that was true. With the returning offer, they let me express my interest in which team I want to come back to.

The social scene was very good at the office level and the overall company level. There would weekly socials with all the divisional interns. Everyone got along fairly well and enjoyed our time there. The social scene with work colleagues was very good as well as they went out with the interns too.

Living in London can be very costly. London rent is becoming overpriced. Cost of socialising can be very high as well too. It can all add up very quickly when you spend on lunch and drinks every now and then. Having lived in London though I became accustomed to it.

The nightlife in London is one of the best there is in the world. Plenty of places to go out to eat and drink. Bars and clubs in London were of great variety with each place offering something new. We managed to go to new open places too. Rooftop bars were amazing too.

Yes there were quite a lot of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. The company organised the Corporate Challenge run which was a lot of fun to participate in. There was also the social responsibility day they gave us a chance to restore a running track of a park.