Spring Intern Review

I really enjoyed the insight programme as I found that the people working at Citi were very approachable and took time out of their day to speak to me.

Although many Citi employers were friendly and provided great insight into life in a bank, I wasn't given any particular project to complete and therefore found myself at times with very little to do.

All interns are matched with a buddy in their division which was incredibly useful. Even though at times you are left on your own to get on with tasks, it is nice knowing that there is an analyst who you feel comfortable to speak to if you have a query.

In terms of my degree, the things I have learnt will not help me greatly as I do not study a finance-related subject. However, many skills develop will assist me in the work place, especially if I decide to stick with private banking.

The first day was structured well with a morning of talks and workshops and later meeting colleagues in your specific division. There is a focus on the shadowing element of the programme and during the days where you are on your business floor all day, there is less structure and is very dependent on your team and analyst buddy.

Everyone at Citi made me feel extremely welcome and every sincerely seemed like they wanted to enrich your experience as an intern. My division was relaxed and the open-door philosophy made the workplace less hierarchical. I got the feeling that employers are very sociable and meet up out of the office for drinks together on a regular basis.

HR provided really informative sessions on "How to read the FT" and an introduction to life at Citi which all interns found especially useful. Whilst in my division, my buddy was willing to get me involved in team meetings and broke down some of the jargon that I was confronted with. I think during this work shadowing you developed more rapidly since it was first-hand experience as opposed to being taught in a formal/ classroom environment.

I certainly learnt a lot about what an analyst does day to day in my division having observed various tasks. However, due to compliance issues, I was unable to access certain information which made it hard at times to actually help out and aid the team with what they were doing.

Speaking with a wide variety of colleagues allowed me to get a feel for what the team is like at Citi, with many of them giving very honest opinions of their experience as well as invaluable advice. However, I guess there are limitations to how much you can gauge since the programme is only one week.

One piece of advice which particularly stands out to me is that the aim of the week is "to find out what you don't want to do" . This certainly helped me rule out areas of the business which didn't interest me so much and lead me towads a role which would best suit my working style and capabilities.

Option to stay in a hotel a few tube stops away from Canary Wharf but since I live within a commutable distance, I did not select this choice. Other travel to and from work was reimbursed having completed an expenses form.

Yes, there were two opportunities to network after the working day. One was with senior employees at a drinks event within the Citi office. A further networking opportunity was provided to meet juniors at a nearby pizza restaurant.

Social events were insightful because you were able to network with people at Citi in other divisions who you would not otherwise meet. I met several people who gave me their business cards and encouraged me to contact them if I had further questions. However, I feel that many of the interns did not really mix or bond with each other during these events.

Several people told me about the fitness facilities on site as well as other initiatives that you could get involved with outside of your division, for example researching new technology trends. Additionally, we attended a presentation highlighting charitable opportunities outside of the workplace.

I would recommend the Spring Insight programme to friends or students at university who are in younger years. I think it varies from other similar schemes at banks because you get a lot more exposure at Citi in terms of work shadowing which helps you understand exactly what your division does.