Summer Analyst Review

Overall I really enjoyed my work, as I was given exposure to interesting live projects and pitches from day one, with a good degree of responsibility for my own work whilst still having plenty of colleagues to turn to for support. Rothschild's deal flow has the effect that you get exposure to a broad spectrum of transactions, which makes the work varied and interesting day-to-day.

My team were great at including all of their interns into the group, and it meant that we quickly felt at home. As an intern one needs to expect a degree of simple, repetitive tasks, but I never felt that any of the tasks I was given held no actual value for the project. Furthermore, when the opportunity arose, my colleagues were very open to my opinions on various matters.

Overall my supervisors were great and I always felt that I could discuss matters big or small with them, regardless of how busy they were. The same applies to the analysts and associates in the team. Overall I felt like I had a great support network, whilst also having the responsibility to come up with own ideas/approaches to solving problems. This meant that I was motivated to attempt the tasks to the best of my abilities, but also felt comfortable to ask "stupid" questions when I was stuck

Investment banking has a reputation for its heavy workload, and Rothschild is not exception. However, whilst it may be a cliché to say, I never felt that there was a culture of facetime, which meant that when there was nothing left to do in the evenings I was told to go home. During the day there were enough tasks to ensure that I had minimal downtime, which is something I really enjoyed compared to previous work experiences.

Given that I was an intern I felt like I was given a fair bit of responsibility. Of course all my work had to be checked by my colleagues, but they placed a lot of faith in me to deliver complete pieces of work within the allotted time. The tasks themselves were varied and interesting, and as I proved myself I was given increasingly complex pieces of work.

Investment banking provides one with a broad skill set that is extremely applicable to your continued career. Given that most of the work is to be presented to C-level executives you are forced to become extremely detail oriented. Furthermore, you develop immensely when it comes to working in Excel, PowerPoint, and similar programmes. Rothschild's training prior to the internship gives you a good foundation from which to rapidly develop once at your desk.

My floor had a great atmosphere, and I really got the impression that people know/are familiar with a lot of the people in different teams. Senior members of staff were also very approachable. When completing a charity challenge as part of the internship everyone was very welcoming to our fundraising efforts, and donated/helped out in any way they could.

Very well organised overall

At the beginning of the internship Rothschild had arranged for a week of training. Whilst some bits were quite basic, the overall content and teaching was at a good level, meaning that I felt comfortable when joining my team. Throughout the internship presentations were held to give us insight into all the different teams, and an understanding of the various sectors

Rothschild remains one of the most lucrative places to work within the investment banking sector, and the company provides every resource necessary for you to develop. Given the deal flow of the firm, you great exposure, and as a result you progress rapidly. Looking at people at a senior analyst level this is clear, as you can see the skill sets and expertise they have developed during their time here.

The intern group is quite large (30+), meaning that there is a bit of an issue to organise for everyone to socialise at the same time. However, people are really friendly and there was always the option to meet people for a drink on a Friday if you wanted to.

London is generally expensive, however as you are well paid during the internship it is less of an issue. The office is by Bank and it is easy to get there and back with the tube. If you want to save a bit of money there is also the option to buy food at the subsidised canteen that has a great variation of meals

Bank has a lot of clubs and bars scattered around to accommodate all the office workers in the area, so there is no shortage of places to go

Given that investment banking is very busy generally it means that there is not an abundance of outside activities, like sports teams, etc. However, my colleagues always made sure to invite us when people within the team went for drinks or did other fun things. We were also free to go the gym as we pleased, workload permitting.