
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement Î÷¹ÏÊÓÆµs/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I enjoyed the internship a lot and believe it is an experience that I have learnt a huge amount from. I have been challenged (the hours are pretty long- I averaged 9-12.30ish and on a few occasions was in the office until 3am) but I couldn't recommend the internship enough, even if it is just to see whether you think investment banking is a career you would to pursue. The people were by far the best thing about the firm (I was very pleasantly surprised by the culture as I had anticipated a cut-throat atmosphere) - most people were very supportive, highly intelligent and ambitious and I have a lot of respect for them.
My team was extremely supportive and spent a lot of time teaching me from day 1, It was a steep learning curve but ultimately I was then trusted to take on responsibility to the point where by the end of the internship I genuinely felt like I was a highly valued member of the team.
Management were very supportive and regularly organized events for us to meet seniors and hear their advice. At the end of the internship we gave individual presentations which senior management came to watch - this took a significant amount of time which in my opinion indicates how much they value interns on the whole. My MD in particular was fantastic - he was always prepared to answer any questions and regularly met with me to find out how I was finding the internship.
How busy I was varied massively from day to day. Sometimes I was very busy and would basically be working all day from 9-midnight or later, other days it would be quiet - on these days we were encouraged to spend time getting to know colleagues better and meeting people from other teams to build our network. I only worked on one weekend (on my intern project) and the company has a policy on no one working past 7pm on Fridays and no marketing work at the weekend.
I felt that I was given a fairly significant amount of responsibility during the internship. Although the analysts would check any work that I did for the team, I did feel that I was trusted to do 'real' work that was actually useful. There are obviously some mundane tasks but I think juniors at most organisations would also be doing a few mundane tasks throughout the day.
I have definitely become very efficient with my time and I will find it much easier to manage my time going back to university. Although not directly relevant to my degree, the training that I have received here will be hugely useful whether or not I spend my whole career in finance. I have learnt so much and I am genuinely grateful for how much the company invests in interns.
The Company
Everyone was very friendly and the culture was, on the whole, supportive. We regularly went for team socials (at least once a week) although my team was known on the floor for being generally very pleasant. The seniors are very supportive of juniors and I have also made several friends over the course of the internship.
Extremely well set - up. The training was great for people like me who have no previous financial experience and I really do feel that I have learnt a great deal. Intern socials were regularly organised as well as other events with seniors for us to network. The teams genuinely value interns largely because most interns end up getting hired. I also think it is good that in theory, everyone could be hired (the company has a policy of only taking as many interns as it has available graduate places) which encourages interns to support each other instead of battling against one another.
I felt the firm invested a lot - we were given a week of mandatory (paid) training at the start plus extra optional training days for those with no finance history. Lots of events were put on throughout the internship for us to speak to and learn from seniors, and though I felt I learnt the most 'on the job', this was entirely with the aid of team members who would always happily answer my questions.
Subsidised/Company Gym
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Appealing - although one concern I would raise is that the career path seems very set in stone (3 years as analyst, 3 years as associate, 3 years as VP etc) which, although this provides an element of certainty also means that the incentive to really push yourself to be the very best is slightly reduced as it doesn't seem (from what I can see) that being incredibly talented means being promoted any time soon.
The Culture
Yes - we had regular social events and I have made some great friends who I will keep in touch with after the internship.
High - it is London! We were given an initial relocation bonus if we didn't live in the London area and if you were in the office past 9pm were able to order taxis home, covered by the firm. If you were in the office past 8pm you also can order dinner covered by the firm. Obviously London is expensive but the firm does a good job of reducing day to day costs for interns and to be honest, you are earning enough that as long as you aren't eating in fancy restaurants every day you can afford to live nicely.
Great - it is London! Canary Wharf itself is not the best place for nightlife in London but there are several bars that all the interns went to on a Friday after work for cocktails and then obviously there are countless fun nights out to be had in other parts of the city at the weekend.
There is a company gym on one of the floors that I joined and made regular use of. As a full time employee there are company sports teams. Also my team had regular socials outside the office.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Investment Banking
London
August 2017