Engagement and Responsible Business Review

I loved the chance to work in a different environment than the one that I'm used to. I work in a bakery and this was just such a fantastic opportunity to see how things work in a bigger company. The team that I worked with are amazing people who welcomed me with open arms and never made me feel like I was a stranger. Right away I was given real jobs within the bank - I had to report to people and meet deadlines like everyone else. It was a good experience that I will take with me into my 3rd year of university to get more organised. I have anxiety and was completely dreading the experience to the extent that I was ill the day before I started, I feel partly like a new person thanks to my team at Lloyds, they have been amazing in making me feel welcome, I know now that I can do this and I could do it again if I wanted to. The skills that I learnt here I will carry through to the next stages of my career. 10/10

I felt completely valued at all times, at no point was I ever told that I couldn't join in because I was an intern. Any restrictions that I experienced were ones that I put on myself. They were amazing to me and not only made sure that I was supported but that I was valued. I felt like I could offer an input at any time and even if I was wrong there was always a reason, they made sure that if the answer was no I was made aware of why and what I could do next time.

My manager told me at the start of the internship that she was a phone call away no matter the time of the day, that has proved to be completely true. She always made sure that I had support from here, that I was doing alright and that I had time with her to reflect on anything. When she was on holiday she made sure to put someone in her place so that I never felt like I was alone.

At the beginning of the internship I wasn't very busy as I was settling in, sometimes towards the end of the week I wasn't very busy but as soon as I was settled in the work flooded in and there was always something for me to do, some days were naturally busier than others. If I didn't have anything to do there were people around me that were there to instruct me towards something to do.

I felt like I was given an appropriate amount of responsibility in line with what I wanted from the internship - I didn't want to be given anything major to start with as I am a generally nervous person anyone. Towards the end of the internship I was given what I would consider to be a massive responsibility, leading meetings and taking control of the admin of a forum while covering for someone on holiday.

The most important skill that I have developed is my self confidence, my ability to say that I can do this and if I cant I can learn how. I feel I can carry this forward into my degree and beyond as a way of proving to myself that I can do it. My organisation has improved and my ability to set myself and stick to deadlines within a timeframe, people were relying on me to get this done so I had to make time, this will be valuable going forward into my career of teaching. I have gained people skills, communication, business communication, punctuality, IT and computer skills which I can take with me back to uni and beyond.

The atmosphere was relaxed and calm, we were all there to do work so we all got on with what we were doing. There were laughs in the office and Fridays were always good days for a laugh or some fun. There were events that created a carnival atmosphere sometimes. But it was lovely usually.

The organisation could have been better, before my internship I didn't feel like I had enough of an idea about what I was doing, at least until I met my line manager. It would have been good to have a chance to meet some people and to maybe see the office at some point so that I was slightly more prepared.

I was given full access to the training that was available online and I was constantly being upskilled by my colleagues and my mentor. There were always opportunities to learn so I feel the business invested a lot. I was also provided with a day in London to network with other scholars and have a chance to interact and do some fun challenges which I feel was a big investments.

I was surprised as I would be more likely to work for Lloyds now than I was a few months ago. However I have already spent a lot of time planning out my career and have invested more time in another career, it is however good to know that I have this as a back up and that if I chose to come back to the bank I can look back at this experience as guidance.

No. I did not feel welcomed by my fellow interns at all. In fact I felt excluded and more of an outsider. The only opportunity I had to interact with them was the Charity Challenge which caused me more stress as they clearly didn't want me but I felt trapped within that team. The Charity Challenge was badly organised and the group that I was put in constantly ran things without me. I stayed at home during my internship for medical reasons and I feel because of that there was no way for me to network with the other interns as everything was done within their accommodation.

This was minimal, it was the rent that I was used to paying. As I did not feel welcome with the other scholars I didn't have much cause to socialise. As I live in the area that I worked in I can say that socialising isn't very expensive in Bristol and is normally very enjoyable.

The nightlife is active and plentiful in the area that I worked in.

There were not many opportunities that I was made aware of, I feel like this could be improved. It would have been nice to get involved in something outside of work that was not something that I already did. This may have given me more opportunity to be more sociable and more relaxed within some aspects of my placement.