Summer Internship - Bank of England Review

The placement itself was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. I was given one main project another side project, both of which constituted meaningful work that later used by the Bank. The work-life culture at the Bank is very accommodative and all of the people are very friendly, helpful and supportive.

Colleagues at the Bank are all extremely friendly, easy to talk to and supportive. Throughout the course of the internship, verbal and written feedback was provided for the work that you complete - whether this be praise of points of development. Colleagues do their best to make you feel welcome and included as well as being happy to answer any questions.

Upon joining the Bank you will be assigned a line manager who is responsible for you throughout the course of your internship. They make sure to have time with you, often cutting out at least one appointment per week to assess how you are getting on with your projects and answer any questions you may have. Other than this you are more than welcome to talk to your manager/staff at any time, verbally or through email, and they will be happy to support you no matter what for.

During the internship you will have one main task. This task should keep you busy for the majority of your internship and you can take on extra work if you find yourself with too much free time. The work you will be given is meaningful, rather than being a random piece of work that will never be used just to keep you occupied. Other than work, you are able to spend your time attending some of the many events and seminars organised by the Bank, meet different people for coffees to find out more about the work they do and shadowing other teams.

You are given the responsibility to manage your work and tasks independently. I imagine managers and staff would be more than happy to help if things were to get too much, but for the most part will let you get on with your work in the way you wish. Staff and managers will also listen to suggestions/comments you make - they treat you more like staff than an intern. You are given, for the most part, complete control over how you spend your time and what you do - this obvious caveat is that you actually do your work!

Throughout the course of my internship with the Bank, I have learnt a plethora of work and life skills that will be utilised throughout my degree studies and future work-life. The Bank is very accommodative with helping interns develop their skills as well as identifying points for development (things that you could improve - it can't always be praise!).

The general atmosphere in the Bank is one of pride, friendliness and belonging. People take pride in the work and there is a real sense that staff at the Bank feel like they are genuinely a part of something much bigger; they want to do their best for the Bank, it's image and the UK economy as a whole. Everyone is friendly and it makes you feel like you belong there.

The placement was extremely well organised. They have a team (EarlyCareers) which is primarily responsible for organising recruitment events/activities such as internships. Managers and projects were all set up in advance, we had one induction day in which we were all caught up to speed and setup within the first day - allowing you to just get on with learning and starting your projects.

At the Bank, they allow you to spend as much time developing yourself as you like (within reason). You are welcome to attend any events/seminars set up by the Bank, as well as gaining access to company software/website if there is a business case (even if there is an associated cost). Staff at the Bank are constantly providing you with feedback, whether this be praise or developmental points.

There is absolutely no shortage of future employment prospects at the Bank. At the end of your internship you will get a rating, this rating will determine the likelihood of you being able to rejoin the Bank for a postgraduate internship/placement or even move into a graduate role (employee at the Bank after university). On top of this at the Bank there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with not only your division, but anywhere around the Bank.

The EarlyCareers team helped organise the first social in order to allow interns to exchange numbers and organise their own events. Among us we organise another 4-5 events during the course of the internship as well as regularly meeting for lunch, drinks or going out somewhere - there is no obligation to attend however.

It is in London, therefore compared to the rest of the UK it is not cheap. The Bank, however, have 2 coffee shops and a canteen inside which are both heavily subsidised. These bring down the cost of living (i.e. lunch, breakfast etc.) dramatically and makes the internship surprisingly cheap - especially considering that they pay well.

The Bank of England is in London - this pretty much says it all. There are no shortages of bars or clubs in the City, although don't expect it to be cheap. You'll have a fantastic night out and enjoy a plethora of options although it is somewhat expensive.

The team that I was a part of organised multiple events outside of the Bank during my internship. These ranged from drinks to lunches and even zip lining - staff at the Bank are eager to get interns involved in opportunities /work events inside and outside of the working environment.