Operations Internship Review

Everyone within the team is welcoming and willing to help. HR ensure that you have a combination of soft skill sessions to compliment your professional skill development. Living in London is very exciting and the work life balance ensures that you are able to experience the best of both your career and the city.

The team I was based in made sure I was given many face to face sessions early on to bring me up to speed on their current projects. My team was split between the London office and Edinburgh which did make communication tougher than it would have been otherwise. However, I was pushed to take on my own tasks within the team and they made sure I was kept busy.

My line manager was a very supportive and keen to get to know me even though she was based in Edinburgh. E.g. when I was ill they made sure I was looked after and there was no pressure to come back until I felt better. HR put on extra sessions with senior leadership that were invaluable.

Not very busy. The internship began at a faster pace than it finished. I believe this is due to the work my team completed though. Given projects take a considerable length of time, it meant that I joined a lot of them midway through and so a lot of knowledge had to be acquired before I could become actively involved.

The responsibility picked when I was fully accustomed to the processes my team were involved in. I was trusted to co-ordinate projects internally and lease with external custodian banks and given an independent project that would improve the efficiency within my area of the business. My responsibility diminished towards the end of the programme due to my imminent departure.

The skills I have learnt aren't very applicable to an Economics degree. Exposure to different derivatives will be useful when trying to understand the terminology but, I had little exposure to investment/pricing strategies. Stronger understanding on how to conduct yourself within a business environment is an invaluable skill that I will carry with me for the rest of my career.

The atmosphere was calm and pleasant. I never felt like there was any animosity or unhealthy competitiveness. People spoke freely and there was always a nice buzz about the office. Conversations were balanced well between work and leisure. I never overheard any shouting matches from other desks in the office either which speaks volumes for the way people conduct themselves at the firm.

HR made sure there was a clear outline for our personal development throughout the programme. We had weekly sessions often lasting half a day that would work on a different area of our personal development. However, my role within the team wasn't as clear at the beginning of the programme.

One on one sessions with key members in my team brought me up to speed on the projects. We were provided with advanced Excel training day (V-Look ups, Pivot tables). Human resources provided personal development sessions. Opportunity to meet with senior leaders within the business including the CEO Keith Skeoch.

I am very excited by future prospects within the firm. The best part about the programme is that it gives you a broad exposure however, HR aren't keen on allowing movement into a different streams from internship to graduate positions.

Very good although, it was all arranged by the interns themselves. Everyone is up for a good time on the weekends however due to our different work schedules in the week that was often hard to co-ordinate. People often only socialised within their teams but, purely for convenience to organise.

The firm provide housing support for anyone who has to commute from outside of a certain distance which makes the living expenses much more manageable. But, London is very expensive to go out and socialise in any capacity. Though living expenses aside from rent can be kept down (apart from rent cost).

London is great for night life, the office is located very central and easy to get around the city. You have many pubs and restaurants around the area. Bars and clubs stay open late and there are always a wide range of options. Ye Old Watling is very lively and just around the office.

We got involved in a charity volunteering day. Where we were able to restructure the small charities fund raising model. There were sports teams that were run by different departments however, I didn't have time to attend very often. ASI offers plenty of opportunities for young graduates to get involved in activities out of the office.