Investment Consulting intern Review

The employees are all incredibly impressive and knowledgable individuals. It meant I wasn't short of inspiration or motivation and that was the best part of the internship. Everyone was so welcoming and the atmosphere wasn't anything like an investment bank which I'm quite happy for. The work was tedious at times but it will be at an internship, the best thing was the ability to ask to join in on other projects and how inclusive everyone was, regardless of my position. The location was nice too, Birmingham was a smaller office but it gave me the chance to get more involved which I liked.

There were numerous projects being completed and whenever there was a task that I could help with then it was sent straight to me. All the colleagues were actively looking to give me work and include me which was all I could ask for. Everyone was so supportive and I could ask anyone about any questions I had so I definitely felt incredibly valued. I felt I was adding value to the company, even if it was jsut small jobs, I could tell I was helping people and making their lives easier.

I had a line manager and a buddy when I first started. Having a buddy was a massive help in getting used to the company and how it functions. It's also very helpful on a social aspect too. Having this set up meant I could easily get used to the software and techniques used and if I had any questions, I could ask my buddy. The line manager was a more formal role and my workload was inspected and every week is have a meeting to discuss work. She was incredibly supportive, if I said I had no work she would go find some for me and she was so supportive socially too.

The work was very inconsistent. At times I would be working at 100 miles an hour but in an hour i would be twiddling my thumbs. I think it was part and parcel of the role I was interning at. At investment consulting it is hard to get involved as it requires a lot of technically knowledge as well as familiarity with clients. In this sense I cannot blame the company for the work but it would have been nice to have more. When speaking to other interns, in London it was completely different as they had more work but at other regional offices they had even less than me so it was a real wide range.

I was given a lot more than I thought I would get. I was very much eased into responsibility; I started of on low standard jobs but worked my way up during the internship. Colleagues understood that my knowledge was growing so I started attending client calls and planning meetings. I worked on big projects like quarterly annual reviews etc. Even if I wasn't the spear head of all projects, I was making a clear difference that the client could see and that was more responsibility than I thought I would get at such a large firm. I could tell everyone was wanting to give me as much experience as possible and so as the internship went on I definitely was given more responsibility.

The skills I have picked up have been invaluable. For my degree, all the soft skills of having a job will apply. Be it time management or communication skills or even a growth in confidence, it will all make a difference. In a career aspect, it has been so important for me. Understanding the industry and getting an introduction into technical knowledge is so important. I now have a better idea of what I want to do and I see a clear career path which I think is invaluable. These experiences will stick with me for life and I think others would agree. Being young and this being my first internship, it has been so enlightening and I've learnt so much.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. I know that in London it is very different. They had certain expectations that we did not in Birmingham. They stayed later than us and started earlier purely because they were expected to but at the Birmingham office it was a lot more relaxed. I felt no pressure if I did anything wrong and I knew that I could ask anyone for help if it was required. Being quite a small office relative to London, there was definitely more of a family atmosphere and we all knew each other very well which I think feeds through into the work you do.

The internship was very well organised in the fact that our induction and enrolment were all very efficient and enjoyable. Aon make a wonderful effort to impress us and keep us happy and I could tell they have had a successful internship scheme for many years. However, when I got to the Birmingham office, it was a lot less organised, because I was the only investment intern, they hadn’t really planned for me so the work was inconsistent. This should be taken with a pinch of salt however because the role itself is very hard to get an intern involved in so this isn’t a big a problem as it seems.

We had a quick introduction to our sectors at the start but nothing was tailored to me individually. Once I got into the job though, everyone was so supportive in answering any questions. Being quite a curious person, I was asking a lot of questions and getting involved in loads of things which I think meant I learnt a lot more than the others. All the employees were so supportive and my buddy even gave me a textbook to keep! In terms of the firm though, they didn’t really do anything as it was entrusted to my colleagues and they did a great job in terms of teaching me.

Aon is an amazing company. Even though this is my first internship, I can tell Aon is special. They put so much thought into the employees and they are so supportive of everyone. I happily spoke to one of the heads of investment and he treated me like he would his mother. Everyone is so nice and their support system for employees in terms of study and travel are so good. They are also industry innovators and are the best at what they do so I would love to work there.

Being the only investment intern meant it was harder for me socially. Investment consulting as a group were not very social either as they were of an older age. However the other section of my office were much more sociable and I got close to the interns there so they invited me to a lot of stuff and it was fine after a week or so.

It was not that expensive at all. I stayed in my old uni accommodation so I had no rent and food prices in Birmingham are fine. In the centre of Birmingham, drinks and food were a lot more expensive but that is to be expected. It is nowhere near as bad as it is in London.

Nightlife in Birmingham is really good but we didn’t go out that much. It was more pub drinks or a meal. I have been out a few times in Birmingham and it is so good but I do not think going out with work colleagues is on the cards, especially when you are an intern.

Yes there were loads. The group at Aon are very active and they invited me to everything that was happening which I was very grateful for. An example would be bouldering. There were numerous charity events I got involved in too so the internship is not just about the work but also getting involved with the people in the office and it is very possible at Aon.