Intern - CIO Mortgages Run Team Review

I had an enjoyable experience during the ten weeks I was with Lloyds Banking Group. The work I was tasked with was interesting and rewarding, and well within my personal areas of expertise and interest. However as it was in a different specific area I still had opportunities to learn and expand my view of IT, both technically and in a business context. I was well looked after and my managers made sure that my time here was enjoyable.

It was made clear early on that I was very welcome in the team - in the first feedback session my manager wrote that I already felt like a permanent part of the team. The work I was tasked with was outstanding for a long time, waiting for someone with the skills and time frame to complete it, and it was stressed that there was both an IT and business need for the tool I was producing, and I received positive feedback on progress on a weekly basis. Other small pieces of work which I did in the non-technical space (each approx. 30-60 minutes) were also received well.

Due to a complicated arrangement of summer holidays, I was without my original line manager for 3 weeks, AND without my stand-in line manager for one of those weeks. As a result there were some times when I did not have much direct oversight. However this was not a problem because both of these managers handed-off my management very well and made sure there was always someone to sign off my timesheets, and someone I could go to if there were issues. I received a lot of guidance and steering on my main project which was helpful in a brand new working environment. All of my managers were excellent and always had time for me (and my stupid business questions!). The technical support was limited as my managers were not in that area but they referred me to technical staff where needed. I have a mental health issue which was dealt with sensitively and positively by all team members, especially managers.

As I was tasked with my own project, it was possible to vary how busy I was according to how many other tasks I was handed. My main deadline was the end of my internship and within the first two weeks I had produced a planned schedule with different tasks and who I would need and when. This was very helpful as I could refer to it and use it for progress and milestone tracking. It also gave me a reason to take on more external work during low periods and prioritise my main task when more time was required. The hugely flexible working hours meant that I could stay longer to finish a particular piece, or go home early if I was only waiting on other people's responses. I was also able to work from home very occasionally, though this is not possible/advised in all business areas.

I was given personal and sole ownership of a development project. This was a fairly large amount of responsibility, as other people will hopefully be using this tool for a long time after I leave and it must be handed off and maintained by full-time staff. My progress was regularly checked and colleagues were able to quickly remove obstacles to progression. I was also given responsibility for the design of the system and specifying functionality according to client need. This was slightly daunting but as the internship went on it became very rewarding when everything started coming together! On the other hand, I was not given any other large responsibilities and other team members were not reliant on me for much beyond my main piece of work. If I felt that anything was either beyond my area of expertise or available timeframe, I was able to renegotiate with the requestor.

As part of this internship I learned the programming language C#, along with ASP.NET, both of which are very commonly used in the business world. A general overview of corporate IT is also a very helpful skill - while different places will have very different cultures, there are definitely commonalities which can be learned, such as how to deal with pushy colleagues, defining your own project scope and managing your time. We were also required to perform some volunteering activities during the 10 week period as part of a team. This helped with teamworking and social skills, managing time and dealing with stakeholders with very different goals. I was able to gain some project management skills, particularly around organisation and time planning, as a result of the project I was charged with managing.

I was placed in Halifax (Calderdale, Yorkshire) at my own request - I was in the same town last year though in a different building. The office I was in this year had a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Everyone in the team was happy to lend me an ear or book in a ten-minute meeting just to cover some small part of my work or to fill in gaps in my knowledge. The specific team I was in had a very family atmosphere - every other day there was a huge array of home-made cakes, holiday sweets, or a celebratory buffet for everyone to tuck in to! It was relatively quiet building as people were fairly busy in general. It was quite subdued to start with as some team members were going through a job re-application process, but as this wound down it went back to being a comfortable and pleasant place to work.

The scheme was set up and organised well in advance of the start date. Unfortunately it was arranged to begin before my University year ended, so my own internship had to be moved one week later. Thankfully the team were very accommodating in making this happen. We were given a place to stay for free, which was nice, but it was over an hour's commute away, which was a bit less nice. Last year's accommodation was far nicer than this year's, despite being owned and run by the same company, last year's was in a far nicer area of Leeds. I would make sure that your Line Manager has a copy of your CV before you start - this was not automatic as part of the scheme set-up and they had no idea what sort of person to expect until receiving it from me, and the work they had originally arranged was far less technical than my CV would imply.

We were given a series of introductory webinars, which were mandatory, one every Friday for the first four weeks of the internship. While I'm sure these were useful for some people, they were sometimes a bit patronising and didn't really go into enough depth to be fully engaging. I feel that I could have learned a lot from them if they had been a bit more in-depth; the business expects a certain level of skill and professionalism and this was not reflected in the webinars. Due to the short time frame I was expected to learn the programming languages myself and there was not much direct investment in my own skills, though allowances were made for learning. I also assisted in teaching some further technical skills to the team member who will be taking on ownership of the project after I leave.

If there is a role for me in the business which is similar to the current role, then I would be very interested in full-time employment at LBG. However I expect that a FTE position would be mired with all the usual problems - having to deal with corporate culture, interference by upper management, and so on. There were some signs of this occurring with other team members though as an intern I did not have to deal with any of it directly. However the Graduate scheme offers a good range of benefits and a decent starting salary, and the people and culture are better than in many businesses of this size.

From what I understand there was a fairly good social scene among the Leeds/Halifax interns and scholars. I wasn't really a part of it as due to mental health problems I am normally asleep outside of working hours! But there were trips out every now and again, upwards of once a week sometimes. People were generally friendly within the intern/scholar community and there wasn't much unpleasantness. The social scene within the team was fairly good - they have monthly trips out to various things including an annual Cricket game. Everyone within the team was on friendly terms and brought in free food and sweets on a regular basis.

The cost of living was relatively cheap as accommodation was provided for us. There were numerous supermarkets nearby which helped keep the cost of living down, but they weren't very well stocked and it was often better to walk half an hour in the 'wrong' direction to get to a better one. The centre of Leeds is much the same as the centre of most cities - slightly inflated prices but nothing to write home about. Being in the North, things were not too expensive - my biggest expenditure by far was the monthly spend for the train ticket, which came to £84 per month including student discount and was not paid for by the business.

I cannot say as I didn't go out socially in the evenings, but I understand there were a fair number of local bars and clubs which were open late.

There were some social events, and from time to time LBG held an open event or evening drinks gathering. I was also given the opportunity to travel to London and shadow a fellow intern in a very different area of the business, which shone a light on what felt like almost another company. I found this to be very interesting and enlightening.