Research Assistant Review

My placement has been a real privilege. Everyone at the Bank is so welcoming and it is really the perfect gap between university and the working world as you have around 40 other placement students with you. Also, being in Central London, right in the heart of the city, working in such a historic building, makes this such a unique experience.

I definitely was valued by my colleagues, especially by my team and the people I worked most with. Generally, there is a lot of support provided to interns to ensure they get the correct level of exposure but with the appropriate level of support. The culture at the Bank means regardless of your scale, everyone is respected which is a fantastic working environment.

My line manager has been fantastic in ensuring I was exposed to a variety of interesting tasks throughout my time at the Bank. They helped me settle in really quickly by taking a lot of time to explain my tasks in detail and as I became more settled, entrusted me with greater levels of responsibilities.

The work was very seasonal as with deadlines, there would be more busy days while at the start of a project, there will be a lot of information obtaining to get you up to pace. Overall, with the flexible working policy the Bank has, it gives you a great level of flexibility in working when it suits you as long as your work is getting done.

I was treated as an Analyst with deliverables needed to be completed for a larger scale project. This meant there was quite a lot of responsibility on delivering for your manager but also other people with the Bank being reliant upon you. However, with the support of your manager and regular catch-up, it was enjoyable.

The Bank has a variety of training available to all staff and it is heavily encouraged to go on these courses throughout your time at the Bank. There are around ten Microsoft Excel training courses which greatly improve your skills which can be beneficial for your job role and also when you return back to university. Other training courses included Matlab, RStudio and presentation which are all going to be beneficial in the future.

The best thing about the Bank of England is the culture and environment. Everyone is very helpful and always willing to have coffee chats whether it is for a catch-up or to have follow ups to meetings. My team also got on very well with regular socials and fun in the office daily.

The placement was organised well with my manager understanding the different deadlines for university work and ensuring that I was keeping on top of it all. There was a two day induction by HR to ensure we understood our responsibility as a Bank staff and ice breakers. They also took the time out to meet with the placement tutor who came on a visit and provided lunch.

The club paid for Matlab, R and Microsoft Excel courses from external firms. There were also addition training in soft skills that we could book onto such as presentation and interview skills, all of which would be useful throughout the placement and later on in life. They were also supportive of your education should you wish to continue in the Graduate Scheme by making the Central Banking Qualification compulsory.

The Bank of England has a conversion process to fast track your application for the Graduate Scheme based on your performance through the year. It also allows you to get a feel of the different division’s in the Bank, have secondments in different areas and apply for the position you want.

There are lots of other placement students to socialise with. Bank has lots of bars nearby which you can go for drinks after, especially The Gable. Being in Central London, you have got a lot of places to always keep busy on the weekends. Alternatively, there are many restaurants and cinemas to do things that are not always alcohol related.