Summer Associate Intern Review

I did enjoy my work placement at the Financial Conduct Authority very much. It was my first experience of work in the public sector and I could not have had a better start. The work environment and colleagues were very welcoming and contributed to the positive vibe that lasted all summer!

I felt very valued by my colleagues even if I was only a summer intern. My team and department were very small, hence this increased the collaboration (and workload) among colleagues. I was given very early on responsibilities and I felt that both my manager and colleagues always valued and took into consideration my input.

I was quite autonomous and independent during the internship. My manager lacked extensive experience as a manager and this was reflected in his approach to people management. He valued the completion of the ouput more than the personal development of his people. Furthermore, in numerous occasions he did not give me feedback on the work I had done, hence I could not improve or continue doing the things that I had done well. I did get a lot of feedback and support from the rest of the team and department.

At the FCA I was placed in a very small team and department, hence the workload was pretty high. I was kept busy to a good extent and did not get bored at all. When I did not have tasks to complete I had the chance to sit in on meetings and to participate in work shadowing.

Even though I was an intern, I got assigned many responsibilities, including the project management of almost an entire project. As I demonstrated being very independent and very efficient, my manager felt comfortable assigning me more and more responsibilities during the summer, which ranged from (at the beginning) small admin tasks and setting up meetings, to (towards the end) project management and leading meetings.

I developed a lot of useful skills that will be useful in everything that I will do in the future. Particularly, I worked on my networking skills, stakeholders management and improving my conciseness. I also developed skills such as professional behaviour and navigating a big organization, which will be very useful whatever I will be doing next.

The atmosphere at my office, and especially in my department, was very relaxed and familiar. Everybody knew each other on a personal level and stopped by each others desks for a chat and catchup through out the day. At the same time, silence and seriousness were present when the time came to focus on important work and tasks. I thought it was a good balance of formal and informal working style.

The internship was very well set up. The administration behind it was very easy to follow, and I did not have any problems during my onboarding process. However, when placed in my team, I did not have a very clear role from the start and I had to "take my own place" in the department. I attribute this to the limited experience my manager had in dealing with summer interns, and to the varied nature of the work being done in my department.

Even though I was only a summer intern, and only present at the company for two months, I had the opportunity to complete several online training modules and participate in on the job trainings. In the long term, on the grad scheme, I would have had the possibility to participate in proper apprenticeships scheme and take on professional certifications.

I am very confident if I want I could be coming back to the FCA for a graduate scheme starting after I finish my last year of university. The FCA as an organization puts a lot of emphasis in the recruitment of their interns, so that they could make good grads in the future.

The other interns were very social and friendly. Good bonding was established with the rest of the group, especially as it was a relatively small group of only 20 students. However, very limited opportunities were found to bond and interact with the colleagues on the grad scheme (with some exceptions).

As the financial conduct authority recently moved to Stratford (previously being in Canary Wharf) the cost of activities and socializing has declined. Furthermore, all employees of the FCA get access to the Westfield Stratford Retailer Intranet App which provides a lot of discounts in the big mall located just in front of the office.

As I did not live in Stratford (where I was working) I cannot say how the nightlife was. However, London as a city , offers many opportunities to enjoy the nightlife and social scene, I am definitely sure nobody and especially no intern could get bored when coming to live in London.

there were a lot of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. the financial conduct authority (FCA) has some network that organize activities and speak series for its employees. Furthermore, as the organization recently moved to the international quarter London (IQL) many opportunities for activities were also found by joining the Life at IQL group.