Analyst Review

I felt the team I was put in closely matched my skillset and interests. The projects I worked on were very interesting and I was able to add value to the team. Also, I enjoyed getting involved in the charity project. My group did a few doughnut sales and I volunteered at the Ride London cycling event. I'm proud to say we raised just under £1,200!

The whole atmosphere around the team and business was very different to what I expected. It was a lot more laid back and friendly which really helped me settle into the team and it was very easy to approach other people within the business. On my first day, my team all went out for lunch; I was really grateful that they put so much effort into helping me settle in and calm my nerves (I was quite nervous!).

My line manager and team members were always available if I had a query or was struggling with something. In the first week or so, I was able to shadow a few members in my team so I could get an understanding of the work they were doing and what the team does. I had regular meetings with my line manager to discuss how I was progressing and what my plans in the future weeks were.

Varied a lot from day to day. I had one major project that I was working on throughout the whole placement. Other than that, I helped out my other team members with certain tasks/projects they were doing so that helped to keep me occupied. The charity project took up some of my time (both personal and work hours). Worked from 8.30am to 4.30pm each day.

On the technical side of things, one of my projects involved me working extensively on R. At university, I only learnt the very basics of this software but I feel this project really helped to enhance my understanding of the software and Statistics in general. I am about to start a Masters in Data Science and R is the main programming language that I will be using. Hence, my improvement in R during this placement will really benefit me going forwards. On the softer side of things, we had a presentation training session where we went over things like breathing techniques, posture etc. This helped me with my end of placement presentation.

The atmosphere in my office was very friendly and laid back which I certainly wasn't expecting! It was very easy to approach other people within my team or in the business if I ever needed any advice or help. People in my team were more than willing to introduce me to their roles and what the different tasks they do on a day to day basis.

It was very well organised. Before our first day, we had a session where we were able to meet other interns and grads. Other things that were organised include: an induction day, a development/team building day (which was great fun!), an Excel training session and a Presentation training session. Also, free accommodation was provided for us so it was good that I didn't have to worry about any of that!

There were a couple of training sessions organised by the company- we had an Excel session and a presentation session. I thought I knew quite a lot of Excel beforehand but the Excel session showed me that I actually didn't know very much! It was conducted by a couple of knowledgeable grads and I was able to implement a couple of the techniques I picked up from that session in my projects.

Yes. The fact that most of us stayed in the same accommodation really helped to facilitate the social scene as it would have been a lot more challenging if we were staying in separate places. Visited lots of places at the weekend with other interns. There are pubs and clubs nearby if interested in night outs.

The interns had a football session once a week which was open to people of all abilities. Also, many interns went regularly to the gym together. The charity project enabled me to get involved in some volunteering at the Ride London cycling event. There were regular nights out arranged on a Friday or Saturday night.