This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my placement at Goldman Sachs. There were enough events (Talks, Trips and Conferences) to let you explore what what your division specifically does as well as enough time to really get stuck into the project you were working on during the internship. I enjoyed the project i worked on specifically and felt that it improved my current skills and taught me some new skills.
From my first day, the team I was working with were very welcoming and ready to answer any of the questions I had. They always checked if i was ok and we went out a couple times for meals or events. They congratulated me when i achieved something substantial and always encouraged me to challenge myself.
I was always encouraged to ask questions if i had any. I has weekly meetings with my manager where we would talk about how i was doing with work and how i could take full advantage of the internship. I also had multiple supervisors/buddies who were always ready to help me if i had any problems.
I was constantly kept busy enough on a daily basis and if i seemed like i didnt have much work, i was asked if the workload was enough. There wasn't a single day where i felt that i had nothing to do and there wasnt a single day where i felt i had to miss an event because i had work to do.
The project i was working on was created so I would get it done within the internship, therefore it was my responsibility to produce it within the set timeframe. Most of the frontend feature, made using AngularJS, were written by me. There were also weekly meetings with the future users of the completed project and it was my responsibility to take that feedback and to implement it in the next iteration of the project.
The skills i developed during the internship were all transferable to the real world. This included the programming knowledge i learned, the importance of testing your work and, of course, teamwork and communication. The programming knowledge i learned was directly useful to me straight after the internship since i enjoy working on personal project and also freelance work.
The Company
The atmosphere of the office was quiet but close. We were a rather small team however that allowed for easier communication whether it was about the project we were working on or just day to day communication about ourselves. I would definitely say that it was more relaxed than i expected.
The internship was very well organised. As mentioned previously, there were always activities to attend. These activities were either organised by those in charge of the internship or by a committee within the company which also created events for interns to attend and socialise. Other than the social activities, there were also events to assist us in learning more about the company and the multiple departments within the division i was working in.
From the first day, the company provided me with an account to a service which provided a large library of videos which provided knowledge on many different topics. These topics include programming languages, software and project management techniques. The company also had their own in house site which provided information on topics such as compliance and allowed you to sign up for classes to attend.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
Working with the company in the future is extremely appealing after the internship. I got to meet a lot of great people and learn a lot of new skills which are directly transferable to all my work in the future. I look forward to learning a lot more skills in the future from the company and the people in it.
The Culture
There were many social events that we were able to attend.
Food and Drink in Central London is very expensive.
It's London.
There were a few events available outside of work during my internship. There was a dragon boat race in which we could participate in and also a community event where we went and cleared areas around the thames river.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
October 2017