
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 西瓜视频s/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 have marked 5 because my internship really was a tale of 2 halves- predictably, the 1st half was more enjoyable, while the 2nd half was a lot more challenging, mainly due to deadlines approaching & increased workload. In the 1st half, I enjoyed meeting people & learning about the workings of the firm; while the 2nd half, while challenging, was more rewarding in terms of work accomplished.
The situation very much differs from desk to desk, but in general, as an intern here you are obviously separate from the full-time analysts in that the work you are doing is differing; you are doing long-term group & individual projects as well as basic desk work, while the analysts are doing day-to-day work, contacting clients etc. However, what I would say is that you are valued as a member of the team that can produce useful work & insights- your colleagues appreciate your fresh perspective, and your projects are always relevant to an upcoming campaign, so you always feel as if you're contributing.
The support and guidance can be divided into 2 parts - HCM (Human Capital Management) & your desk team. My experience varied slightly as my team were mainly based in Paris, so it was my buddy in London who provided the most support day-to-day, while my managers kept in contact as much as they could over the phone, scheduling weekly catch-up calls. It is difficult in August as lots of people go on holiday, so sometimes there were few full-time Analysts around to help with day-to-day work. HCM however go above and beyond in trying to support the interns, assigning "Programme Champions" (full-time employees) to have weekly catch-up meetings with the intern class, as well as weekly representatives from the intern class to whom everyone can direct questions. Feedback is always welcomed, & I always felt there was someone to go to with concerns.
The reason I have marked 6 is related to my answer for question 1- & partly due to my own time management- the first half of the internship was relatively slow, & I spent the majority of my day meeting people from around the firm and attending optional sessions. The second half was very busy as my project deadlines approached and I covered more and more of the full-time Analysts' work; I worked lots of overtime in order to keep up- saying that, I feel as if, had this work been evenly distributed over the 10 weeks, it would have been very manageable.
My answer is very particular to my desk, as halfway through the Programme, I was given some real work with a very real deadline, which I was responsible for completing as my "buddy" was away on holiday. This was actually an excellent insight into the real work of a full-time Analyst. This would not have been the case for every intern, much depends on the size of your team, and as my team was very small, there was more responsibility per person.
While the hard skills will not particularly help me in my degree (I study French!), I have gained an invaluable understanding of the Financial Industry that will certainly help me in later life, whether that be in this job, another, or simply just managing my own money. In terms of soft skills, these will be useful in whatever comes next- I'd say principally the value of good networking, of course being able to keep up my French language skills over the summer, as well as presentation skills, efficiency, research skills, and simply organising my time.
The Company
The atmosphere in the office was one of my favourite things about this placement, I had my preconceptions, but I found the atmosphere to be friendly, relatively relaxed (but everyone is admirably committed to their work) and welcoming. In an open-office environment it can sometimes be hard to concentrate when work becomes intense- headphones came in handy here!
As I mentioned in a previous answer, HCM went above and beyond to make the Programme run smoothly for the interns, the Programme Champions provided an organised weekly source of feedback but were always available when we had concerns. The initial training week ran like clockwork, and HCM were always open to feedback where we provided it. We also had a mid and final-review, & a thorough explanation, including an information session, was provided for how this would run. I take off 1 star due to the confusion around rotations, which I know is an area of development for HCM for next year.
The initial training week was a very thorough overview & a good introduction to the area; a lot was also learned "on the desk" and this varied from desk to desk- personally my team invested a lot of time in helping me understand the content, and also with my presentation skills for my final presentation. While client interaction was minimal for our division, optional training & information sessions were also provided in order to enrich our understanding.
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
Healthcare/Dental
I mark 7 because it is difficult to tell at this stage whether an offer will be extended, however should I receive an offer I would take it due to a combination of office atmosphere, and the training and development opportunities with this firm- internal mobility seems to be very good.
The Culture
There could have been more social events organised for the interns, a lot of the organisation came from us ourselves. Many of my friends were from other divisions (even other offices!) due to the initial welcome event, and had there been more of these, interaction across the firm would have been better. As it stands, interaction tended to be limited to within divisions; this, though, was a good social scene.
We work in the middle of the City, so food/ drink costs are high. I am living a 40 minute walk from the office, and paying high rent, however, we are paid enough as interns to be able to support this cost. I think if we were here full-time, we'd get into better routines (long-term renting, cooking!) & the cost of living would be driven down.
Where I work specifically the nightlife isn't great because it is mainly offices, so pubs/ bars etc. close quite early- however a short Tube ride away you can reach other areas of London, where of course the nightlife is great (but expensive!). During the first half of the internship, when the workload wasn't as high, we'd enjoy visiting the pubs/ bars around the office for a post-work drink, to socialise with colleagues.
Because we were here for a relatively short time it was probably more difficult to get involved with other activities than it would be for a full-time Analyst, however there are networks e.g. Women's Network that you can sign up for. I also joined the choir, and an 8-week gym membership is available for interns. Some people also took part in sporting events, and all interns take part in a Community Teamworks (volunteering) day.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
August 2018