Summer Intern (Retirement) Review

We had regular meetings with our line managers to help you through your internship which I found really useful. Also everyone in the office is always very willing to help with any problems you have even if they're not the ones who are giving you the work. The guidance and support given to you and the people I worked with were without doubt the best bit about my internship for Towers Watson.

As with any job especially one in the consulting sector the work fluctuated a lot so there were days when I'd be very very busy followed by periods where I didn't have much to do. However this was helped by the fact that I was given a project in my first week which lasted until my last day. It meant that even when I had no new work there was always something to be getting on with.

I felt like I was given quite a lot of responsibility, as I was producing things that would actually be sent out to clients. However I knew that all my work would be checked and sometimes double checked which meant that I didn't feel too much worry about whether the work was perfect or not. I obviously wanted to do my best but I knew there was always a safety net.

The training we received was very specific to the company and mainly about how to use the company's software so apart from the general information they were giving about the pensions' industry none of it was very applicable to degree studies and beyond. However as with anything the skills I developed were very transferable especially working in a team, time management etc.

The general atmosphere was very friendly and everyone was always very willing to help out with any problems I might have. This was helped by the fact there was a hot desking system so I was sitting next to different people every day which meant by the end I felt like I knew everyone at least by name and face. There were also lots of socials which made it easier to get to know everyone too.

It was well organised and it was clear that the company has a lot of experience in setting up internships. It would however have been nice to have been given a bit more information before we got there just so that we had a better idea of what to expect on the first day. Also many of us had problems downloading onto our laptops one of the main softwares that the company uses which meant that for the first week or so there were lots of things we couldn't do. It would have been nice if the software had been installed on our laptop before we arrived to avoid this problem especially as we were only there for 6 weeks.

They were very invested - we had lots of training in all the different types of software.

The majority of people who do an internship with Towers Watson get offered a job afterwards which is why the process of applying for the internship is so long and has so many different stages. The impression I got was that unless you really did something wrong such as refusing to work or not talking to your colleagues you will get offered a job.

All the interns got on really well and we had lunch together every day. There were lots of social events too which meant that we got to know our colleagues and fellow interns in a social sense too. We even organised a social event at the end of our internship which was really well attended by everyone in the company and I think everyone really enjoyed.

The office is in central london so obviously everything is very expensive. However when we went on a boat trip on the Thames this was heavily subsided and when we went out to the pub after work senior employees always offered to pay for us, so it was clear that even if it was expensive the employees were clearly trying to make it so that no one could not come to an event because they didn't have enough money.

Again the office was in central London so I'm sure the night life was very good although I have to say I never really experienced it.

There were lots of different social events to get involved with including a boat party on the Thames that was definitely the highlight. Every Friday evening there would be an email sent around to the whole office about going to a pub and there were lots of lunches organised too. There were even ultimate frisbee matches as well as cricket matches and more normal sports. So yes I think it's fair to say there were endless opportunities!!