Intern Review

This internship has been an incredibly valuable experience. I have been given the opportunity to work on new skills, work in different areas of the bank, and lead on a project. As part of the internship at the moment, we are also asked to raise money and awareness for a charity partner. This is an important social opportunity to make a difference which might encourage others to apply for this internship.

My team has been excellent at making me feel welcomed and a valued member of the team. This has been in small things, like comments during the day, or formal recognition, such as shout-outs in colleague calls. They have listened to my inputs and I have not been dismissed because I'm an intern.

My Line Manager is very supportive and even though she no longer works in my team, I know that I can approach her if I need to. I have had the opportunity to develop personally - confidence, organisation, and people skills - as well as professionally - presentation, delivery, and time-management skills. Whenever I've had a difficulty, she's been incredibly helpful and I've been able to overcome the issue.

I have been given significant opportunities to get involved in projects. But I have also had the chance to reach out and shadow in other areas. As long as you manage your time wisely, you are able to complete your work and develop in other ways - whether this is shadowing, completing online training, or in other ways.

I have been given a project to lead which is a significant amount of responsibility as it needs to be delivered by the end of my placement. While I've been offered guidance, I've also had a say in shaping this project into what I think it needs to be. Also, I've been relied on to stick to deadlines and if I didn't complete them then this wouldn't have gone ahead. That's quite a lot of responsibility.

I've been able to develop as a person by building my confidence, interpersonal, and social skills. This, and other transferrable skills, will be essential to excelling in any career. I've also had the chance to develop my degree studies. My placement project relates incredibly well to my degree so I have been able to employ my degree skills to my work. The project has then allowed me to apply knowledge to the real world and this is something that will help me to write my dissertation.

The atmosphere is generally very positive and vibrant but we have flexible working so some days may be quieter than others. This allows a change of pace. It might be worth considering reaching out to someone when you apply/receive an offer to ask about the atmosphere as your perception may be different depending on your personality (introvert/extrovert).

The on-boarding process this year could have been better but I have done other internships here when it wasn't as tough. There have also been other areas of improvement: clarity on grad schemes, communication of information, and so on. Otherwise, organisation has been good. I had equipment available within the first week. Perhaps this depends on LMs but mine was well prepared!

I have had a variety of opportunities to shadow, train, and attend workshops. Generally, I've been encouraged to try new things, visit other offices, and expand my horizons. This is perhaps down to teams and LMs. I think a part of this is up to the individual. You have to take opportunities as they come and speak to people to get the chance to try things.

LBG is a great organisation to work for. There are a lot of advantages as well as opportunities. Depending on your team, you have access to training and development. With the grad scheme, you can rotate to different areas and locations to get a clearer idea of the kind of career you want. This is appealing to me because I don't have a clear idea of what I want to do.

Depending on your location, cost of living can be quite high. This can be a barrier for some but the internship is paid and the accommodation is provided (which may have a gym). This is a great opportunity to learn how to manage expenses and pay alongside your commitments. Any work-related costs can be claimed back.