Finance Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my year at Amex. There is a great culture at the company that encourages a strong work-life balance whilst concentrating on personal development. The work was valuable and I was treated with real responsibility from early on in the year.

I felt valued by the colleagues within the teams I operated in. I was able to apply independent thinking, whilst also having a well connected support team for any complications the work presented me with.

I had regular meetings with my manager to align on the priorities I should have for each week. Amex also used a buddy system with an analyst from a different team, which was useful to get a different perspective on my challenges. I was well recognised for my good work and given suggestions to elevate my skills in the future.

The work level was not constant, but this worked in my favour. When times were busy with processes and important ad-hoc requests, I would focus on that. However, if there was a quieter period, I was given the license to turn my attention to more value-adding longer term projects.

A lot more than I was expecting. It was a brilliantly true working experience. The models I created and processes I implemented were designed to be useful after my placement - for my team to easily pick up and utilise. I was given responsibility of certain business partnerships and trusted to become the subject matter expert within this area. They gave me the opportunity to gain credibility and show that I could cope with relationship management whilst producing the work.

Working in finance was not strictly relevant to my economics degree, but having an understanding of the financial techniques and practical excel training has broadened my spectrum of skills. This will become integral when I build upon this skill-set in my future career. I am now a far more comfortable presenter and I believe I have polished my professional presence, two things that I have gained through the training provided by American Express.

The company adopts a matrix approach, which meant that I had visibility to not only the finance organisation within the company, but also the specific business unit my team supported. This meant I felt part of two 'families' within the company. The organisation is close-knit. It's a very friendly atmosphere, emphasised by the flat-hierarchical approach taken by management. It was an unexpected bonus that those in more senior positions were more than happy to put time aside to discuss my career development.

The HR team put a lot of effort into ensuring we integrated well into the company, with a social per week for the first 10 weeks. This meant that as a group of placement students, we got in well throughout the year. Any changes to my programme/position was communicated clearly to me from the relevant decision makers.

I was encouraged to undertake readily available intra-company training, ranging from improving techincal skills through workshops to attending a seminar on how to maximise the gains from sleeping.

There is a strong culture of retaining talent for the graduate programme then promoting employees internally.

Yes, after being supplied social opportunities for the first 10 weeks, we continued to meet as a group of placement students. The social scene within our teams was also very good, with regular socials in my small team, wider team and business unit.

SW1 is expensive - no surprises there, but there's a good variety of places to go nearby and the tube gives you access to plenty of alternative locations around London.

Victoria itself has a few nice bars, and again the good transport links mean there are plenty of easy-to-reach options accessible.

I played social 5-a-side football every week, which also gave me the opportunity to play in an 11-a-side game at BHAFC's training facilities and a tournament at the Amex Stadium. There were plenty of socials and opportunities to get involved with charity work.