Consulting Intern Review

Factset is a really good company to work for - even in the first few weeks we had meetings with very senior people who really cared about how we were getting on. I got to work on real client questions, as well as go on many client visits during my 10 weeks. Lots of social activities after work with the consultants also went far to make us feel welcome and included in the company.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. 2 weeks of training gave us a good background into what we would be working on and made sure that we had the skills necessary to work on projects with the consultants. Because of this I felt that I was actually adding value to the department and I think the consultants did too which made me feel valued in the team. They also went out of their way to invite us out for lunch or drinks with them. You won't be getting coffee or sat in a corner filing if you work for FactSet!

I had a weekly catchup with my manager to talk through what I was working on, feedback from my team, and to go over any concerns I may have. I also had 2 catch ups over the 10 weeks with HR to ensure that everything was going smoothly and to voice any concerns or suggestions that I had, I also had a mentor who I went for coffee with several times and who was there to help me when I had questions about big projects or just about what working for FactSet would look like should I get hired at the end.

I was kept quite busy with summer long projects as well as work given to me by consultants. Leaving the office to go on client visits also filled in my schedule but it was really nice to leave the office and meet clients who are using the software on a daily basis. Though I was very busy, my manager and team frequently checked in with me to see if I needed help with anything or if I was overwhelmed by deadlines.

I was given several templates and projects to work on for clients that were checked by consultants before they were sent back to the client. These projects helped me to gain confidence in my abilities to build templates, communicate with the teams, and answer questions. I also went on several trainings at the big banks in which I proctored and answered questions that users had.

This summer I have learned an incredible amount about the world of finance and the different jobs available in the sector. My excel and presentation skills have really grown this summer too. These skills will benefit me in any job I go into, and should I be offered a job at FactSet, will really help me in developing as a consultant.

The office is a very fun and collaborative environment. The people who work here are genuinely friends with each other which makes it a very comfortable working atmosphere. Everyone is very approachable and even quite senior people in the office were always very willing to chat when I saw them or answer any questions I had. Almost every week after work there was an event - a cricket match, dinner, drinks just to name a few. This was a great way to get to know the people I was working with better and to make being in a new city where I didn't know many people less lonely/boring than I feared.

The internship started with 2 weeks of training which is pretty essential because we knew very little about finance in general and even less about this software. After the training weeks we joined teams in the department and worked on projects they gave us. At the same time, our manager had arranged for us to do presentations and demos every week which helped us increase our skills and practice training which is a large part of the consulting role.

The company invested in us from the start with the two weeks of training. My manager was also keen to hear what we wanted to work on or learn more about this summer and added new sessions to the internship based on this feedback. For instance, on of the other interns wanted to work on presentation skills, so our manger set up a 2 hour session to go over and practice our presenting.

After working here for 10 weeks, if they offered me a job I would definitely take it. People at FactSet really enjoy their jobs (most of the time at least!) and I think that is not something that everyone can say. Especially when looking for a first job, FactSet offers a wonderful environment to work in the finance sector with a wide variety of clients.

There were 10 interns this year and we all got on quite well. We generally ate lunch every day and over the summer hung out several times after work, including celebrating the 4th of July at an American bar with a mechanical bull and going to see Wicked on the West end. It's really nice to have other interns to work with as well to solve problems etc.

London is expensive - there's no real getting around that. FactSet does provide free lunch 4 days a week which really helps and also paid us quite well so as to make living in London feasible. After work drinks are probably the biggest expense as far as socialising in the area goes, especially when compared to prices up north, but that's London

The office is located really close to Shoreditch which makes after work drinks really fun, There are lots of nice dinner/drinks/going out places within walking distance which I think makes people more likely to do things after work together. It's a really fun area - I found myself back close to work on the weekends when I went out with friends.

There were so many activities! We did a 5k run for charity, had a summer party, had a 5 a side football tournament, went to a cricket match, went for drinks many times, had a sports day and went for lunch on Fridays. FactSet is a great company to work for if you like socialising and getting to know the people you work with quite well.