Trading and Business Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the internship in terms of both the work I was involved in and the overall culture of the business. Throughout the internship I had numerous opportunities to meet people from across the firm, including experienced traders, which was a great chance for me to both test and improve my knowledge of commodities markets. I would definitely recommend to anybody interested in the energy sector.

I felt that my input and opinion was valued by the rest of my team. Importantly my opinion was respected in team meetings and also when meeting with other members of the business. I also feel that the company valued my personal development in terms of offering a wide range of training and learning opportunities to suit my needs.

I was given a lot of support by my team in terms of helping me with my day to day role and also guidance for my projects. Further to this people across the business were more than happy to share their experience and lend their knowledge if I needed any help with my work; overall this meant that there were ample resources from which to lean on.

On the whole I was busy throughout the placement. I was given a range of projects during my first week and this meant that I was kept busy throughout. There were times where I was waiting on information or feedback however I asked for more work to keep myself busy. At the same time I was never overworked and the rest of the team valued the effort that I put in to my projects.

I was given responsibility to deliver projects from day one and I valued being given work that would genuinely add value to the business. The level of responsibility increased throughout the internship, which meant that by the end I was doing more work to directly support the rest of the team.

I think the placement has given me an opportunity to put the analytical skills I have developed at university into practise, and this should benefit me going forward in terms of being confident in my analysis. I have also significantly improved my Excel skills which will be invaluable throughout the early stages of my career.

There was a lot of positive energy in the office, particularly given that I was placed on the trading floor throughout my internship. Although there are quieter areas of the office in general people are very focussed and passionate about what they do which helps to create an appealing atmosphere. I would say this is one of the strengths of BP as people are very open to collaboration and the open plan office really helps to foster this culture.

The internship was well organised and we were given a timetable at the begin full of the activities and training sessions for placement. I would say that communication could have been better before the internship in terms of making us aware what role and team we would be joining so that we could have done some preparation. Having said that HR were very proactive in terms of providing assistance during the placement itself.

There was formal excel and general markets training during the first week which provided a good foundation going forward. There were also opportunities for additional technical training available to all employees. Importantly interns are valued at BP and people are willing to share their experiences and knowledge which is just as important as any formal training.

I would accept a full-time opportunity if I am given the chance. The internship is combined however you have to choose whether to apply for the Trading or Commercial Development Programme at the end of the internship. There is a lot of competition for places and the selection process is somewhat opaque. However the graduate programmes are well structured over 3 years and there are good opportunities for long term career development. I would suggest if you are interested in becoming a commodity trader there are few better training programmes around.

There were regular social events with the rest of the interns and all of the interns would meet for lunch everyday in the subsidised canteen. There was not many HR organised events compared with other companies however the cohort at Canary Wharf is small so it is easy organise independent social events with the rest of the interns.

I lived at home however rent is expensive in Canary Wharf.

Expensive but lots of options.

There was a volunteering day arranged for the interns where we helped at a nature reserve for a day in the sun, this was also a good opportunity to meet interns from other offices. Further to this there are many activities open to BP staff such as football or touch rugby, both of which I got involved in during my internship.