Intern Review

I enjoyed my internship as I was given a lot of responsibility. I knew the work I was doing had an impact to the firm, and was not just created for interns. I also enjoyed the series of lectures we had during our internship. These lectures gave us an insight and deeper understanding of the wider firm.

I believe the work I did had a real impact, therefore I felt I was extremely valued. The responsibility I was given showed the importance placed in interns. Furthermore, I was given more freedom in how I wanted to manage my work-load, hence I felt more valued as they encouraged my own working style to be adopted. Further to this, I was encouraged to give suggestions or any feedback I had to improve working methods.

Everyone is willing to help, even if they are busy, they will ensure you don’t feel shy to ask for help. You are able to approach any employee, no matter what their title, and they are more than happy to have a meeting with you. Employees are enthusiastic to inform you about their roles and are encouraging to sit with other teams.

On a daily basis I would always have my routinely tasks keeping me busy. Alongside this I had to complete my extended project, hence in my free time I would work towards this completion. We also had a series of lectures which were mandatory to attend, this would take up some time during our day.

I had been given daily tasks, which was now a part of my daily routine. Alongside these tasks, I was given an extended project which I could choose when to do as long as it was completed by the end of the 10 weeks. Further to this, HCM would provide us with an additional intern project which had a shorter deadline and was more like a competition.

The skills I have obtained will help me in my degree, such as time management with work load. This will assist me in third year as I will be doing dissertation alongside revising for exams. Furthermore, skills such as communication skills will enable me to build relationships with individuals more easily.

The team work culture was present in the atmosphere. Everyone was willing to lend a helping hand to each other. The atmosphere allowed me to be comfortable, it was not daunting. You are encouraged to be yourself, so having a range of personalities created an exciting atmosphere, however the element of professionalism is still maintained.

The internship was very organised. Our calendars were continuously updated with any lectures to attend. HCM would email us on a regular basis to keep us updated with any information we needed to know. All the interns were clued up on what they had to do and where they had to be at what time.

We received feedback twice in our 10 week internship, the feedback was constructive therefore contributing to our individual development. The feedback consisted of how to tackle our development area. Training was detailed, as we were looked over by our managers throughout the internship, and we received continuous feedback on how to improve certain skills.

Interns were all really friendly; everyone would get together for lunch and have catch-ups after work. We got to know each other early on and then spent a lot of the time during out 10 weeks together. For example, we would go for dinner after work on Fridays. Or for an interns birthday we would organise a social event.

The cost of living varies depending on your requirements. I managed to get a place nearby (15minute bus journey or 20 minute walk). It was quite nice, however it was quite expensive compared to the price paid by other interns. However, HCM email you a range of possible accommodations prior to the internship to give you a good starting point!

We were encouraged to join affinity networks. These affinity networks often held events outside working hours. These events ranged from lectures, to networking sessions, or educational sessions. We also had the opportunity to undertake community work during our internship. This was cleaning the River Thames; it was a lot of fun and encouraging us to contribute to the community.