Intern Review

I enjoyed everything about the internship. Everyone was really friendly and made me feel really welcome which made me feel more productive and I never found it tedious to get out of bed in the morning to go to work. The work I did was interesting and very similar to that of a new graduate which allowed me to see what life would be like after university.

I felt hugely valued, all the work I was doing was actual work that needed completing - it wasn't just made up to keep me busy. This meant all my work was useful for the company and the team. Aside from the work environment, work socials were great fun and I felt more like I was with friends than colleagues.

My manager was amazing, she was always available whenever I had a question and made me feel at ease whenever I asked what I thought was a 'silly' question. She encouraged me to ask as many questions as possible and talk to a range of people around the office - to gain an understanding of the other roles at Hymans Robertson; which meant I had an overall view of the firm rather than just my practice.

I never found myself getting bored since you're given a project to complete over the course of the internship, so whenever I had some spare time, I would be working on my project so I think I had a great balance between client work, working on my project and internal meetings and training. Obviously, how busy you are depends on your clients but there's usually always something to do if you do find yourself with some time free.

As an intern, you take on the tasks that a new graduate would do so there isn't a huge deal of responsibility in the grand schemes of things. However, all the client work you do is real client work so everything does need to be done and there is usually a time frame within which it has to be complete - so you are responsible for getting your work done before the deadline, since your work will probably then go to someone else to work on after. If you're late doing your bit, you'll make everyone else late too!

Since I was in the Actuarial and Benefits practice, a lot of the technical work I completed isn't relevant to my degree however, it will be extremely useful experience should I continue in this career plan. Hymans Robertson are a consultancy so there has been plenty of opportunities to practice some of the softer skills such as presentational skills which will not only be useful at university and in the workplace but in the wider world also.

Atmosphere was great! Everyone's really friendly and people will chat to their neighbours when they're not on tight deadlines. There's usually always treats around the office from someone just back from holiday or someone's birthday, and there's fruit and biscuits in the kitchen a couple days a week. There's no feeling of tension or pressure in the office and everyone feels quite calm and chilled out at most times - making me love coming to work!

The first week seemed a little disorganised - there was training for all interns for various topics but I think more thought to this could have been taken. Each intern was assigned a buddy and placed into a team in the office which was very well organised so as soon as I started I knew who to talk to if I had any issues and I knew my clients immediately. After a couple of weeks, I think I found everything more organised as people got to know the interns and felt more comfortable giving us work when appropriate.

As well as the mandatory financial training, we had mini workshops on different parts of the business, not limited to just Actuarial and Benefits, but included workshops from Investment and the Life team also, giving me an insight to everything that Hymans Robertson offer. These were run by a range of people, from students to actuaries, who gave up their time to talk to us and help us understand more about the career and the roles. You are also assigned a 'People Manager', who is there for support and to help you grow and develop, and mine was great in helping me learn more about being an actuary and how the work you do changes over time. Since there's quite a flat structure here, it's nice to know there are so many people around willing to talk to you and help you learn.

I would love to work for Hymans Robertson after university and I hope I get an offer! The company feel is amazing and everyone is extremely welcoming and I think everyone would enjoy working at a company like this. Career opportunities look great with opportunities to move around practices where available and plenty of interesting work to do.

All the interns would eat lunch together most days, and we often went out for dinner and drinks after work - was especially nice to explore London and see what it's got to offer. I don't come to London often so it was nice being with some of the interns who knew London inside out so got to see some of the hidden treasures.

Lived at home and commuted in.

Not so busy that it was crowded and uncomfortable but busy enough to make for an interesting night.

Loads of opportunities with team socials as well as lots of invitations to events organised outside of the firm.