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I found the internship extremely enjoyable. The day-to-day work was always interesting and despite the fairly long hours, time always went quickly as I was never bored. In addition to the work set by the desk, the Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ recruitment team organised a variety of events (networking, senior speaker series, breakfasts, socials etc.) throughout which were also very fun.

Despite being very busy, the traders on the desks I sat on always found time to help me with something or answer any questions I had. We were encouraged to ask for regular feedback from our line managers and others that we engaged with and it was always made clear to you where you were adding value and helping out the team.

Whilst it was definitely encouraged to be independent and take the incentive to seek out work you can do to develop your learning or help out on top of the main project that I was set, if needed my line manager would be willing to point me in the right direction or sit down and discuss something with me. Additionally, the analysts on the desks were also always there to help if the more senior members of the team were busy.

This would definitely vary from day to day, however there was never really a day where I found myself bored or waiting for time to pass. The work days are fairly long and I always had something to do to fill this time, however some weeks were definitely a lot busier and would require staying a bit later than usual.

On a trading desk it's quite hard to be given the same level of responsibility as you would be given if you were to join as a full time analyst (due to regulation etc.), however the managers definitely tried to delegate tasks that would follow this role as much as possible (often this would involve working with the analyst on the desk on their day to day tasks).

I completed the internship after I graduated from a Master's in Maths, however if I had done the internship before my Master's degree, the training I received would have been extremely helpful. Since you're sitting on the trading floor for 10 weeks, the technical knowledge (eg/ of financial products and market dynamics) you develop is very in depth. I believe that this knowledge will be extremely useful for any future career in financial services as well.

The trading floor is very loud and energetic, however everyone is extremely friendly and willing to have a chat whenever they have time.

I think that the internship was extremely well organised by the Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ recruitment team. Throughout the internship there were weekly training sessions set up to help you learn about the product technicals (on top of a one week training session at the start), multiple talks with senior members of staff or panels, networking events and socials. Additionally, it was made clear from the start about where you need to be and when, and who you can turn to if you have any questions.

Its evident that the firm definitely invests a lot in training and development - we had a one week training programme at the start of the internship and following this when we started at the office we had weekly (sometimes twice weekly) teach-in sessions with members of the research division or analysts across different product desks to help with our learning. Additionally, if you start as a full time analyst there is a 7 week training programme held in New York.

Very! Additionally, it is made clear that the interns are not competing between each other for full time roles.

I found the social scene to be really fun. There are a lot of good bars around Canary Wharf (where the office is based) however the interns would also go out together in other parts of London during the weekend. In addition to this, there were three socials organised by the Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ recruitment team over the course of the internship for all the interns which were also fun and a great way to meet interns from other divisions as well.

As expected in London the cost of living is quite high, especially if you're looking to rent a flat fairly near to the office. There are loads of restaurants and bars around the office too which are the usual London prices however a few of the bars have happy hours after work.

There are a lot of good bars in Canary Wharf that get quite busy, especially on Thursday and Friday, however these are mostly for after work drinks so tend to quieten down at around midnight. The nightlife is definitely better elsewhere in London however in Canary Wharf you're only a short commute from east london or the city which are both areas with good nightlife.

I didn't really come across many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, however I'm sure if you were to ask around there would be. A lot of the interns got involved in the Corporate Challenge which was a 5k run for charity that is held every year and said this was really emjoyable.