Placement Year Review at Bank of England

The Role

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The job was repetitive which made it boring at times, but the people I worked with were nice and the job was easy with no real pressure.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I got along very well with my team and other Research Assistants, which made it much easier to work with them.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I was lucky enough to have a very good supervisor, but I found that my team manager was often too busy to assign me projects or give any other guidance.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

My team could be very demanding so there were some times when I was very busy and other times when I wasn't at all.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

As a Research Assistant, you are responsible for getting your own work done, but there is not any other opportunity to show responsibility.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

The skills I learnt are very valuable - I think the most important was the fact that I now know the sources for many times of economic and financial data, which has helped me a lot during my final year with my dissertation. There are other more general skills you develop eg team-working etc which are helpful for using examples when applying for jobs in the future and they also prepare you for the more general working world. The training I received was minimal - it was just enough to do the job (as expected) but this training has not really helped me in my final year. Some people, however, opt to do the ECDL which is a ICT course recognised by employers but this is optional and I chose not to participate.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

There could have been more banter, but people were very busy.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

It was very well organised in terms of training etc. There was also a one-month lap over period with the people who would be taking us over which was good.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

I don't think there was any real investment - we were given training etc which was good enough only for the job we were to do and nothing more which is a bit of a shame. It would have been very useful if we could have participated in some analysts' training to help develop our skills more appropriately for the job we would do in the future.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised Canteen
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• Financial Bonus
• Staff Sales/Staff Shop

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

It depends on how the placement year goes. People are often put off with the atmosphere - too relaxed, boring etc. But the benefits from working there are good. Research Assistants have to go through the same process as normal applicants, which is not ideal.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

There were a large group of placement students (20 or so) which was good, but in my experience I found that we socialised more with colleagues in our office rather than the other placement students.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

Very expensive! If you are going to live in London, you definitely won't be living the high life! Food and drink is very expensive.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Nightlife was very good because there were so many pubs/bars nearby for the city workers.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

There were opportunities, but not as many as I expected. But this varies from office to office and depends on how keen people are to socialise outside of work.

Review 5/37 for Bank of England

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