Investment Consulting intern Review

Overall, I enjoyed my internship and learned a lot. Even though some of the work I was given was rather repetitive, I also got the opportunity to attend several client meetings, received training on different topics and participated in one of the intern charity projects, which was a very enjoyable and unique experience. I thereby gained different experiences which will be useful for my studies and future career.

Most of my colleagues valued me and my work a lot. Even though it was difficult for them to give me challenging work given the short duration of my internship and the fact that I didn't have a lot of work experience, they always tried to give me as much interesting work as possible, and involved me in several projects. I felt that the work I was doing was important most of the time, and my colleagues therefore valued my help a lot.

I was given a lot of support by my line manager and my "buddy", who was a recent graduate and helped me to get to know the office, work and colleagues. Not only were they my formal point of contact, but they also regularly asked how I was getting on and whether I was happy with my internship. They were always there if I needed help or had a questions, which was invaluable. I never felt left alone or stranded.

In general, I had a fair amount work to do. However, since my department generally isn't very busy over summer, there were some days when I didn't have a lot of work to do. During this time, I then worked on my charity project, completed online training or tried to learn something new from my colleagues for example. On a daily basis, my workload was good to handle and didn’t make me feel too stressed.

Most of the work I completed was related to a client project. Therefore, it was important that my colleagues could rely on me completing the work in time and properly, which implied that I was given quite a lot of responsibility. Apart from this, I also worked on several administrative tasks, which I knew would help my team to finish several projects much quicker, and therefore contributed to its success. Moreover, we were given a lot of responsibility regarding the charity projects we worked on, since there were some general guidelines and we had a point of contact, but the main part of the project was entirely left to us, which enabled us to be creative and come up with our own ideas, but also implied a high level of responsibility for the project’s success.

I acquired some useful excel skills which I now use on a daily basis, and learned how to approach a certain project or report in a professional way. My colleagues also made me aware of some small details which can make a significant difference when working on a client project, for example how to work with confidential information. Therefore, I think that what I have learned will not only be beneficial for my studies, but also for my future career.

The general atmosphere in the office was positive. A lot of the people working there were friends and also met up after work or on weekends, and the socials helped strengthening the bonds between colleagues as well. Some people were a bit worried since the office might be shifted to another location when the contract in the current building ends. Therefore, the managers were honest with them and ensured that everyone knew what was going on by informing colleagues about the options which had been discussed. In my opinion, this transparency and honesty helped improve the employees’ attitude and thereby promoted a positive atmosphere in the office.

The events for interns were very well organised, ensuring there is enough time to prepare for presentations for example and leaving enough time for breaks, room changes, unexpected problems etc. The internship itself was also very well organised. We had access to a website which provided us with the most important information about our internship as well as key dates and events. Via e-mail, the recruiters reminded us of important events and deadlines approaching soon, which ensured that the internship ran smoothly. We also received guidelines and an overview of our internship on our first day in the office, and were assigned a "buddy" who was our main point of contact for the duration of the internship.

Aon provided online training which all interns were supposed to complete at the beginning of the internship. It provided us with useful knowledge about the principles and values of the company as well as legal regulations for example. Moreover, I was given the opportunity to attend training sessions on insurance linked securities and received informal training by colleagues on different topics relevant to my work. Moreover, we had a team meeting every Monday where one of my colleagues explained a certain topic and provided us with important information which was required in our job. Since a different person presented a different topic every week, I learned a lot about the Investment sector, which was very useful for both my role as an intern and my academic studies. Apart from this, the different projects I worked on also helped developing my skills, and the feedback sessions with my line manager were very useful as well.

I think that Aon is an attractive employer and should definitely be considered when you are interested in working in this industry. However, I found that for myself this job wouldn't be the right one, so I probably won't work for Aon in the future. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my internship and learned a lot.

Most of the interns met up regularly after work on the weekend, especially those based in one of the London offices since there were quite a lot of them. There were also several events Aon organised for all interns, which enabled us to catch up with other interns, exchange ideas and talk about our experience as well as spend more time together. We went out together after work, and especially since we worked on the charity projects together, some of us became really good friends and visited each other after the internship. I therefore think that the social scene amongst interns was very good.

I lived outside London and therefore paid slightly less than other interns (500 pounds per month). However, since there wasn't that much going on where I was living I travelled to London quite often and stayed over the weekend. London itself was quite expensive, especially on nights out. Nevertheless, I had a really good time and therefore think that it was worth spending a bit more.

During my internship, I lived outside London in Farnborough. I sometimes went to the cinema, for drinks or a meal, but there weren't any night clubs I went to. Therefore, I travelled to London quite frequently and stayed for a couple of days, went out with other interns and enjoyed the nightlife there. The nightlife in London was amazing since there are many different places you can go to, so I had a really good time on nights out.

There was an office football team organised my Aon employees, and some of my colleagues went to the gym together. Moreover, there were several socials, namely a BBQ and wakeboarding social sponsored by Aon, and a cricket match we went to see. Moreover, we went for a meal all together and sometimes had drinks after work as well. In my office, there were quite a lot of socials over the year, which is an amazing opportunity to get involved in activities outside work, e.g. planning and organising the socials. Moreover, Aon supports several charities and encourages employees to get involved and volunteer, for example on the “Global Service Day”.