Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ

I was pleasantly surprised by the absence of the competitive streak that investment banking is infamous for. I read on in another that the firm only hires as many interns as they have places for full-time roles. I am not sure if this is true, but the firm is known to have quite a high conversion rate. I was in quite a small team, and given a lot of responsibility early on, but I was not given much assistance throughout the internship. Maybe that steepened my learning curve but it meant that it took much longer to complete tasks. It was great being surrounded by likeminded, intelligent and ambitious people. I made some great friends on the internship who I will definitely be keeping in touch with.

It is likely normal for a large organisation in an industry with a particularly high turnover rate. At times, I did feel like a number but recognition was provided with satisfactory work. I worked a lot with two analysts on my team. I would split slides with one analyst and we would review books together: Two sets of eyes on one book to catch detail. On the contrary, when I asked the other analyst if there was anything else I could help with, he told me it would take longer to teach me than to do it himself. The latter was quite patronising, but dealing with this was an important lesson for me.

My staffer was very supportive, but very busy and delegated most of his staffing work to another who was less helpful. People were generally supportive, but giving that bit of extra guidance meant that your supervisor(s) had to stay in the office longer during the workday. I asked for help on several occasions and the analysts on my team said they would finish what they were doing and come over, but never did. My MD spoke to me once on my first day and barely at all after that, which was not reflective of the flat structure the firm markets.

Being busy comes with the job description, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It teaches you to juggle tasks and manage your time. There were two case study projects assigned during the ten weeks, which meant that many interns had to spend many weekends in the office.

Responsibility generally increases with trust. As mentioned above, I was given a large degree of responsibility. Assignments were interesting and varied, thanks to my staffer, and substantially more interesting than many other interns. Work was usually checked by an analyst before submission to seniors, although tight deadlines did not always permit this.

There is no direct overlap with my degree studies, but the internship taught me the value of initiative, relationships, and time and stress management. The exposure to office politics gained will be invaluable. I have learned to be much more efficient with my time, which will be a huge asset in the future.

The office was always busy, sometimes tense but the people there are generally stimulated under stress. The environment is slightly masochistic - probably necessary given the long hours required. Team offsites are once a quarter, although many teams have events much more frequently (especially on completion of a deal or after busy periods). Fridays are like Christmas and all the analysts/interns go for drinks after pens down at 7pm.

It is clear that the internship is the result of a large amount of organisation and experience. We were provided with paid training prior to starting, attended organised intern and networking events with seniors and interns from other LOBs. There were also university-specific networking events organised.

As mentioned, we received training on basic accounting, excel and data resources before starting on the desk. We were also given access to an online training portal before starting which was excellent, although it was only provided when many were doing exams. Supplementary training sessions were also provided in the first half of the internship. Because the firm hires most of their interns, they place a large emphasis on training. The case study puts the M&A business into perspective, and a panel of seniors put time into assessing your presentation - an indication of the investment the firm makes in its interns

A job at one of the top banking firms opens many doors, especially because of the rigorous training that you go through in New York and on the job. Career progression seems very structured though, although the bottom-heavy pyramid implies that progression to a high level is extremely competitive.

There were organised social events, although I attended quite late because of work that had to be finished. The intern class this year did not do many things together at the weekends because they were either working, or tired from the working week, which was a shame! Everyone from the office went drinks after work on Fridays - it is great to talk to colleagues and other interns away from the office. I did meet a lot of great people I will keep in contact with though!

Costs in London are high, but the firm pays interns a full salary pro-rata. You are also given a relocation bonus if you live outside of London, although you don't receive this until you join so it is difficult to secure accommodation without external support. Bars in Canary Wharf are normally priced (I think). On Fridays, one of the bars has 12 pound bottles of Prosecco and 2 for 1 on cocktails.

There is no nightlife in Canary Wharf, but there is something for everyone in London!

There was a corporate responsibility day where we helped a youth club with clearing out an abandoned warehouse and painted fences. There was also a company-wide relay race. My team also had their offsite and the UK floor had their yearly event.