Internship Review at Mercer

The Role

Role Description

Given the time of year, a large portion of my time was spent producing quarterly reports for clients. I did about 6-7 of these in total, and they ranged from 2 to 25+ pages long.

Dealing with client/actuarial day to day queries, such as valuing the scheme, calculating scheme returns etc.

Assisting consultants by finding information they needed.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I found the work to be interesting, and given my interest in finance the constant exposure to financial material was of paticular interest.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Everyone was very friendly, and I was given real work that otherwise a permanant analyst would have done. Feedback was given on work and I was informed how what I had done contributed to the business.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Everyone was exceptionally helpful, offering excellent initial guidence when I was completing a new task, and very happy to take time to fully answer any questions I had. It was a very supportive enviroment.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The work balance was more often than not correct. People try to help you to keep the balance, but it's up to you to speak up and ask for more work/say you can't take on anymore if you've got too little/too much work to do.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I was given ownership of several large tasks/projects that needed doing and were important to the business.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Excellent skills gained in communication/teamwork, organising/prioritising work, producing work for clients.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Most time in the office is spent working quietly on your own. However people were very friendly, interesting and fun, with several socials organised. There were several "corporate jollies" organised as well which were fun.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The structure of the internship worked well, with exposure to different parts of the business organsied, and all the interns meeting in London on two seperate days. However the internship was to an extent what you made of it. If you want to do different/interesting things you have to seek them out, to an extent, which I think is a good thing.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Very much treated me as if I was a graduate starting a permanant job there, not as if I was just going to be there for 8 weeks.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

• National Travel
• Company Parties/Events

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I enjoyed the internship, people were friendly and very supportive and there are plenty of opportunities in the company.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

There were no other interns in the Leeds Investment Consulting office. I went out several times with work collegues however. I'd recommend the London office if lots of socialising with interns outside of work is part of what you want in an internship.

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

About as expensive as an average city. Obvisouly less expensive than London.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Plenty of different clubs/bars to choose from.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

There weren't any opportunities.

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?

Make sure you know what investment consulting is before applying. Apparantly, many people seem to think it's investment management.

Review 38/59 for Mercer

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