
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
The responsibilities I was given were neither boring nor too difficult. This enabled me to achieve the goals I was set out to achieve and also expand on these and work on other projects.
I felt included and the atmosphere was very friendly. Everyone was approachable and willing to offer their advice. Colleagues openly praised work and were equally happy to offer constructive criticism
Both my line manager and the trading manager on my bench were very supportive in both helping with my projects and also working towards my end of internship review. My line manager would consciously make an effort to ensure I was never completely without work to do which meant I was very rarely left twiddling my thumbs.
The amount of work I had to do varied quite a lot from today due to the nature of my projects. At times I was left unable to work on my main project due to a lack of data but this was completely out of my immediate colleagues' control. The addition of daily reports halfway through my internship minimized this potential. On the other hand one of my projects became very time consuming and busy in the last week of each month due to its nature. However, I never felt over-worked and the culture was relaxed.
One of my projects gave me a pretty high level of responsibility. Failure to complete the work properly would have had an effect on the financial constraints placed on my bench. Despite the sizable responsibility it did not feel like too much pressure
The skills I learnt are not closely linked to my degree subject but will be very useful in my future career.
The Company
The general atmosphere was very relaxed, friendly but efficient. I was very pleasantly surprised with the working culture and the laid-back attitude. Despite the relaxed environment it was clear that everyone was working to a high standard at an efficient rate which then influenced my personal productivity. My working hours were reasonable as I was able to take a short break each day to go to the gym and/or eat lunch.
My line manager had set up projects and set clear objectives leading to a well organised internship. I felt that my work was both valuable to my bench and also for my development. Some projects were far more interesting than others but all of the projects were at least slightly useful / insightful.
There were a few training days that were very useful and I'll use the skills I learnt from them in the future. The presentation skills and oil markets training were particularly useful. However, there was not a vast number of training sessions specific to my internship title - this would be my only criticism.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
If I was offered a position on the grad scheme I would definitely accept. The work-life balance is very appealing and the general atmosphere is one I could see myself prospering in. I have not encountered any reasons that would lead me to believe this is not a good place to work.
The Culture
Given the small number of interns the social scene within the group of interns was limited to smaller groups. This isn't a complete negative though as I was able to make close friends in a short space of time. The number of social events organised for interns by the company was pretty low.
London is unavoidably expensive in terms of both living costs and social expenditure.
A big selection of bars in Canary Wharf and some of the best nightlife in the world in other parts of London. London is a great place to work if you enjoy music and theatre. There is such a wide selection of nightclubs, bars, restaurants, gigs and plays / musicals that its pretty difficult to be bored.
We took part in a charity volunteering day which was a good experience.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Economics
London
September 2015