Internal Auditor Intern Review

I enjoyed the placement, the work that I was doing felt very meaningful and all of the staff were lovely and treated all the interns like proper permanent members of staff. The only slight difficulty was sometimes there was not a lot of work to be doing, which was through no fault of the company, as some of the audits to be done had been postponed until after we left.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, they treated me like a permanent member of staff. There was no typical coffee run to do, as imagined by some people looking for internships, all the work that was given to me was meaningful and would either be a standalone piece of work, or used to further something in the audit.

There was a lot of support provided by Santander and my manager. Every week I had a one to one meeting with a 'buddy' and every now and then I would meet with my line manager to discuss my progress, what I wanted to do in the following week(s) and if I had any queries, either about my work specifically or just in general.

I always had quite a few bits of work that I could get on with on a daily basis, so I was hardly ever bored during my placement. There were a few lapses of work, especially when one of the audits I was about to work on was postponed, but this was quickly resolved by asking around the office, and gaining other work from different people.

I was given a medium amount of responsibility, I would say. Obviously I was not made the head of the audit or anything, as I have not had experience in a bank previously. However, I was given work that was solely mine to work on, so I had a responsibility to complete this myself, and all of the work that I was doing was important to the bank.

I feel that the skills that I have developed will assist me in my degree studies immensely. I have learnt a lot in my time here, which will help me put a foot in the door of my career path, and allow me to develop knowledge of the industry as well as developing individual skills that will aid me in full time work after my studies.

The general atmosphere was very relaxed. Everyone in the office got on well with one another, both inside and outside of work. There was always talking and people often joking with one another. Obviously, this was a bank environment, so work was also being completed at the same time, so there were times when the office got quite serious, especially as deadlines approached.

There were a few hiccups with the organisation of the placement. The foundation was laid out, and everyone knew that interns were arriving and we were set up with 'buddies' and were assigned to different audits, but the little things were not organised, such as different members of staff going on holiday, etc. However, if anything, I think this may have been useful as I was able to see how flexible the company is, and how well they can cope with unexpected problems.

The future prospects from this internship are amazing! At the end of my placement I will have a review, where my manager may offer me a job/place on the graduate scheme. Speaking to the graduates already here, they seem to really enjoy it, and the likelihood of getting on to the graduate scheme seems pretty high.

The cost of living is very expensive as well as socialising, but that is because it is located in London. It is about average pricing for London, especially with the location being so central. However, I did not have a lot of problems with this as I was living at home during my placement, but socialising could become quite expensive quite quickly.