Intern / Officer Review

Taken seriously and treated with respect. People were very friendly and helpful on the whole. All internships in banking come hand in hand with long hours and hard work though, so the key driver of retrospective enjoyment is whether your efforts were good enough for a job offer. And I don't know that yet.

Was given real work and help / explanation was forthcoming when needed. But I wouldn't go as far to say that we (or that many teams in a workplace) are "like family" - so the statistic doesn't really fit the question. Valued by colleagues: 8 Extent to which we were like family: 3

Managers are naturally busy so you probably don't ask often, but whenever I asked for guidance or support I got it and it was top quality. But you do have to ask.

In first rotation the onus was on me to find work, but ample was provided. There was certainly enough to keep busy and most work-setters were very considerate in their demands so you didn't get forced into a situation where you had too much work.

Had real work, so real responsibility. Naturally some of this was less important or work that associates were less keen to do themselves, but generally the work actually helped the business, and if it didn't it was interesting and educative.

Learnt a lot about the markets and further delevoped transferrable skills such as initiative, problem solving as well as technical skills such as Excel. However, also learnt that ultimately trading is something you have be in the driving seat to really learn about, and since there wasn't much simulated trading, there was a lack of learning on this front. However, I understand that next year there will be a trading sim ongoing to counter this.

Open, friendly and generally enjoyable. We had a dress down week throughout August and the CEO is often walking around chatting to people, which reflects the positive atmosphere in the office. But fun is a word I find hard to reconcile with a serious workplace, including in this case.

The administrative side was very well handled. In terms of the desk rotations themselves, it varied. One was well organised, the other clearly valued testing your initiative to find your own work but probably could still have been more structured.

Several talks and events were organised, and ultimately every time you ask someone a question you are technically costing the company money, so the implicit investment is huge.

Great place to work and is on the up. Job stability is higher here than in the bulge brackets, especially while markets remain weak. The expertise of senior staff is very strong, many of them having been the more successful of those at the bulge bracket, so in terms of learning the opportunities are very good.

The interns kept in touch throughout, often lunched together or went for a drink after work.

Very high, but all Central London will be extortionate. That's what commuting from Zone 2 is all about.

Lots going on if you have the time.