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On the whole, the internship was enjoyable. I was exposed to a variety of work that allowed me to gain a good understanding of the general business, as well as gaining some in-depth knowledge of some of the clients. The social aspect of the internship was also very enjoyable. However, as expected, there were moments where I was left with little to do, and occasionally I was tasked with what seemed like basic tasks (though at least no filing/scanning days).

I felt valued by my colleagues at WTW. Each intern was sat next to a 1st year grad, giving us someone who we could ask ‘stupid questions’ as well as gain insight from. Furthermore, the whole workplace seemed very friendly on the whole, with everyone being willing to help and not dismissive of me just because I was an intern.

The guidance and support from management was quite good, with catch-up meetings being scheduled with my manager at the halfway point of the internship and then at the end of the process. This meant that I could receive feedback from those colleagues with whom I had worked, allowing me to develop and improve my work.

On most days I was busy with client work, but not to the extent that forced me to stay at work late. This was largely because my client work was supported by a technical presentation to work on as well as an actuarial fundamentals maths workbook, giving me something useful to do when there was a lull in client work. However, I do have to admit that my work did die down in the last week or so, with colleagues being reluctant to give me work ahead of my imminent departure from WTW, though this is understandable.

I was given greater responsibility than I expected from the internship, directly being given client work and effectively just becoming ‘one of the team’. As all work at WTW must be checked and reviewed by more senior peers, this enabled me to actually get involved in doing individual calculations and data manipulation, which was a rewarding experience.

It didn’t seem that many of the skills I developed would directly assist me in my degree (economics), though they would seem to help with general workplace skills. I certainly had to develop skills related to organisation, teamwork and so on, as well as learning a great deal about DB pensions.

The general atmosphere in the office was very friendly, with colleagues being willing to help with work, as well as have a general chat. Certainly on my first few days everyone was very keen to introduce themselves and offer their support whenever needed. This was supported by a relatively casual dress-code, which probably helped emphasise this relaxed but hard-working atmosphere

The basics of the internship were well organised, with training being set out for all the new interns at the start of the internship and regular manager meetings occurring. However, as we were all divided into client teams, this meant that the level of work across the interns was probably not as spread out as it could have been, though this didn’t seem to be too much of a problem.

I was impressed in the level of investment that WTW put into me considering I was only at the company for an 8 week internship. At the start of the internship, we spent a number of hours in training on areas from ‘introduction to pensions’, to ‘professional excellence’ which helped to ground us in the job. This was furthered by significant on-the-job learning, as well as optional lunchtime sessions about the company and business in general.

The social scene at WTW was very good, with a number of pub events being held which allowed us to mingle with many of our senior colleagues. Furthermore, there was a rounders tournament and cricket match during the internship, allowing further opportunities for socializing after work. Finally, as interns we were tasked with running a social of our own for the whole Retirement team, which provided a fantastic opportunity to chat to and socialize with many of our colleagues in a more relaxed/fun context.

Being in Reigate, the nightlife was clearly not comparable to cities such as London. However, there were still a number of pubs and restaurants that one could go to after work, which gave the option of going out if you wanted to. Furthermore, the office is right next to Reigate station, giving the option of going into London if you wanted to.