Placement Year Review at Bank of England

The Role

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Was up and down depending on what was going on, and towards the 13-months was far too long to spend doing something which is essentially very repetitive and low level.

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

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

It was always clear that we (the RA's) were the lowest person in the office, but at the same time we knew how to do things that those above us didn't and that gave us some value to them - though perhaps not the sort of value that you want from in a job.

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

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

They tended to have better things to do, and our jobs didn't require much in the way of support and guidance.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Very volatile, most things were based on a routine - daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly. The week of the quarterly task coinciding with the monthly was always under pressure and the busiest person in the office. The rest of the time I was probably the least busy.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Responsibility over the presentation of charts, tables and presentation, but mainly because no one else felt they wanted to be responsible for those things.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Excel skills are priceless. (honest)

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I was lucky enough to be positioned on the dealing floor, there was therefore always an atmosphere with people discussing or on the phone plus the TV's in the corner showing the news, cricket or deal or no deal.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

The BoE was a large organisation that took many placement students and had been doing so for some time.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

It was clear from early on that the Bank was not employing you for the option to employ you as a graduate, you were some cheap labour for 13 months and were treated as such.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised Canteen
• Sports and Social Club
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• Financial Bonus
• Company Parties/Events

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

See previous point. Anyone could enter the graduate scheme, but with no implicit advantage over anyone who hadn't done the placement. There seemed to be a ratio of around 1 in 15 doing so each year.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

There was, but you had to get over the fact out of 20 people there would only about 4 who would want to do anything after the first month is over. I think our year had some particularly divisive people so I'll give it a good score as there is plenty of potential for a great social scene.

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

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

It's London, can't expect it to be cheap. Would of been nice if pay was slightly higher to reflect that.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

City of London so there was a lot of pubs around for after work, plus a tube journey away from anywhere else in the greatest city in the world.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Some, not that I was involved in any of it.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Five item fried breakfast for £1.32 in the morning was excellent. As was the canteen in general, particularly the grill bar - though there were some days when nothing edible was availible they were few and far between. After which there was a superb selection of cold desserts for 56p, rarely any repetition except with the best and often exciting new innovations in the fields of creme brulee, cheese cake or triffle.

Review 6/37 for Bank of England

Previous Next