Summer Associate - Policy Review

I enjoyed my internship to a large extent. I was given challenging tasks, the allocation in which I have had a significant say. The work stream varies between departments and teams, but I was lucky enough to be placed in possibly one of the busiest teams in the organisation, which led to me receiving tasks that are both challenging and valuable to my team.

I feel like I was not treated as a summer intern, but a member of the team at an Associate level. This was reflected through the workload I was entrusted with.

My line manager has been very supportive in terms of my personal and professional development. They have never failed to offer support for my assigned projects. They are also keen in expanding my professional network by introducing me to colleagues from other departments in the organisation.

Not insanely. The normal hours are 9 to 5. The longest hours I have had to do were 7.30 to 7.30, but this was neither the norm nor the necessity. Depending on the nature of your project/deadline, you may stay for shorter hours.

I was given enough responsibility throughout the 10 weeks to not feel bored. My team has always checked in with me to find out whether I have had enough to work on. If you ask for more work, they would give you more work! If you are not so proactive in seeking work, you may not get as much responsibility.

I have developed certain skills, such as engaging with external stakeholders or dealing with colleagues from various teams through the work that was given to me. I also did some sort of statistical testing for a given dataset. May not be completely relevant for my degree, but that is expected since I major in Physics.

Everyone seems to be really friendly and helpful. The Department heads are also approachable and very appreciative of the people working in the departments. Not a very high-strung environment, if that is what some people are looking for.

The HR team does try to organise weekly learning lunch. There were also some sort of induction at the start. Overall, pretty organised. They also encouraged some work shadowing throughout the internship, but work rotations are not mandatory. You would have to be proactive in seeking rotation opportunities.

Irrelevant for a summer internship, but I found out that the organisation would sponsor you for professional qualifications and/or training if you could make a compelling business case to your line manager.

The Graduate scheme is definitely quite good. I am not sure, however, of the prospect of staying in the organisation long-term. There are a number of employees who came from much more competitive places in the industry.

Definitely. Although this may not be the norm throughout the organisation. Fellow interns are friendly. My team was also quite social, although I can't speak for the other teams.

Very expensive. It's Canary Wharf. But they are moving to Stratford, so costs may go down.

Canary Wharf has a lot of pubs/bars, but not much else.

We did a CSR day as interns. That was a really enjoyable way to step out of the office and help the community.