Investment Banking Summer Analyst Review

It was an amazing 10 weeks - really loved the people I worked with and by the end of it I was given very interesting work and a lot of responsibility.

All the people I met in the office were so friendly and always willing to spend 5-10 minutes to help. People are also very willing to take 30 minutes out of their busy day to grab coffee or lunch with you. The analysts and associates were always very encouraging, and the support from senior members was also highly positive. You feel very valued even as an intern.

Lots of support structures were put in place - we had buddies, mentors, VP sponsors, MD champions. There will always be someone there to talk to if you need it.

Some days were perfect and I had the right amount of work to do at any given time. However, some days would consist of a very very busy morning, a dull afternoon, and a very very busy night. It can vary, but that is something that I love about the job. Every day is different and you don't know what will be thrown at you next. Even during dull times, you can always use the free time to catch up with the news or go grab coffee with someone.

As an intern there is limited responsibility that they can give you. At first we were given just small tasks. Once you prove yourself, you were given tasks that were more time sensitive and that would create greater impact on a project. They told us at the beginning that you get given as much responsibility as you ask for and can take on, and that was absolutely true.

I think beyond a doubt I have gained really good time management, and people skills. This will definitely help when prioritising my day throughout my final year of university, and people skills will help in future when I have to interact with coworkers in a professional environment.

In general the atmosphere was always very positive. People would stop and ask how you were if something didn't look right. Obviously there are times when some people are very stressed, but the majority of people are upbeat and happy.

Really great program from start to finish, beautifully executed by HCM and the team managers. We received a lot of training and support throughout. We had an initial training week, training sessions a few times a week as part of the "Continuing Education Series", senior speakers come to speak to us about their experiences and the business (both within the IBD division and also firm-wide), programme captains who held weekly drop in sessions, and social events throughout. The only criticism I have would be regarding the initial training week, as not all of the things that we learnt were highly applicable to the job, and learning on the desk was actually the best way to improve our skills.

They set up a lot of training sessions, and we also had a mid-internship and a final review where they discussed our areas for further development.

A high proportion of those in the internship receive offers to return full time the following year.

All the interns were very supportive of each other and very friendly. We organised dinners and outings on the weekend.

London in general is incredibly expensive. However, we are adequately compensated and it's not as if the cost of living is out of reach with the salary we are given.

Nightlife in the City is not amazing, as the area is filled mostly with pubs and bars for after-work-drinks. However, London as a whole has fantastic nightlife.

We had a day out of office where we got involved with Goldman's "Community Teamworks" initiative. We were also invited to join several Affinity Network events (e.g. Women's Network, Asian Professional's Network, several Sports Networks). The issue was that we often did not have enough time in the day to go to activities outside of work, not that there weren't these activities available.