Summer Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the company - the culture is extremely friendly and the social scene is fairly active. The Campus Recruitment team were excellent in welcoming all of us to the company and laying on events for us. However, one thing that prevented me from fully enjoying my summer was the fact that I wasn't placed in a team suitable for an internship.

I was in a fairly small team which meant there was quite a good deal of camaraderie amongst us. The officer (VP) within the team was fantastic - keen to know what we were doing and if he could assist in anyway. He was also keen to share his experiences.

This is one of my main criticisms of my internship as I did feel like my manager did not really go out their way to help me. However, I feel this criticism isn't fair to level at the Firm as this was probably more a clash of personality. But the Firm as a whole certainly gives the impression that it is more than happy to give the support and guidance where necessary.

Due to my team being one that was more specialised than the majority of others, it was hard for work to be given to me - other than some general keeping house in order stuff. My officer acknowledged this fact and was keen to let us see other parts of the department - which seemed to have interns with roles that kept them busier.

As stated above, the nature of my team prevented me from being given any great responsibility. However, I was given a number of projects that ranged from being fairly important and interesting to mundane and not appearing to have much use other than to occupy some of my time.

I feel like I gained something useful out of my internship. Even if some of the responsibilities I was given were somewhat lacking, I do feel like some of the insights and best practices that I picked up over the time period were invaluable. I do feel like I gained skills that will put me at an advantage when applying for a job.

The atmosphere in the office always appeared to be friendly with a good deal of banter but also an understanding of having to work hard. Recent graduate recruits were always keen to share their experiences and aid in navigating your way around an office. Full time employees were also keen in involving interns in the large number of social events that were organised - including Global Volunteer Month.

I would say the internship was well organised throughout. The Campus Recruitment Team were highly professional but crucially friendly and approachable. They had a number of speakers and seminars organised for us over the few months we were there, focused on broadening our transferable skills and enhancing our knowledge within the financial sector itself. The internship has a great focus on employees being able to learn as they go - even if their background is not financed based. The induction days exemplifies this by them offering the intern class a one day crash course on finance.

Over the internship period, the Firm treated us like any other full time employee showing how seriously they take the Summer Analyst Programme. The Firm ensured that we all had access to relevant training that may aid us in anyway - this continued even towards the end of the internship period.

Great firm to work for and they are clearly keen to retain as many of their interns as possible. The Firm is proud to boast that they are banking in a refreshing manner that is different to a large number of their competitors . Senior management is always keen to stress the importance of lower levels of employees hard work.

The Firm helped to establish the social scene in the first few weeks by organising events on our behalf - which were then peppered through the remainder of the summer. After the first few weeks, the interns were proficient in organising our own events - whether it was a few drinks after work or nights out. The social scene remained an important feature throughout the summer - and is still continuing!

Costs remained fairly low compared to London. Wide range of property available in Glasgow; from cheaper to more expensive properties. As a result, it made socialising with the wage we were paid easily achievable. It was easy to find a property that was within a modest budget and within walking distance from the office.

NIghtlife was good due to Glasgow being a university dominated city. The main nights running from Tuesday through to Saturday. Nights were all reasonably priced - except may be from perhaps a Saturday. Venues were always fairly busy. The city also seemed to attract a high number of popular music acts as well.

Plenty of opportunities to get involved due to Glasgow being a university dominated city. The Firm were also keen to establish its committees that exist within the company - which a vast number appears to exist already. However, the Firm could maybe have had played a more active role in promoting activities completely external to them.