Intern Review

I found the internship to be a very rewarding experience. I was able to get involved in a wide variety of tasks that covered a broad range of companies. As well as this i was able to get an experience of all the different teams within my individual sector of the company.

I was only there for a short time < 2 month but yet everyone within my team still made me feel very welcome. having attended a social night before i started the internship this allowed me to get to know members of the team in advance of starting. This meant that i had a good rapport with several of the members before starting.

The managers and supervisors were very helpful. Even down to the lowest associate grade i felt that i could quite happily go and ask questions of them and be given either a reasonable answer to my question or to be directed the place that i could find the information out for myself.

Due to the time of year that i joined my line of service work load varied day to day. Some days were very busy with absolutely no time or capacity for other things. then some other days were much quieter and this was used either for training and development or going round the various members of the teams to see if they had anything they could give me to do.

Most of the time once i was given a task to do and been explained everything that i needed to complete i was left to my own devices to complete it. Due to my inexperience anything that i had done was checked and double checked by those senior than me however actually completing the task up to the point of review was left mostly in my control.

Some of the skills i have learned during my internship will be very useful in the world beyond. In terms of degree studies the main skills learned would be work balance and making the most of the time you actually have as sometimes time can be incredibly tight and you dont want to not have enough time to do things. For the world beyond there were many skills that i picked up during my internship that will prove useful.

The general atmosphere in the office was very positive. However it was also very professional. Everyone in the office knew when it was time to get to work and get the deadlines finished but at the same time when things were a bit quieter things could be a bit more relaxed and you could have a discussion about random topics in the news or outside of work.

The initial residential trip was very well organised however there seemed to be a large amount of focus on the software for one particular line of service which left the others with no training on their specific software. That could have the potential complications if someone is asked to use a software they have never seen or used before.

The firm feels very committed in giving the best impression of themselves to you. In a way they are investing as much time and effort in you because that will be given back ten fold in a job environment. The firm seemed to want to invest in all the interns as much as possible and provide them with a number of development options as well.

The thought of working for the firm in the future is a very appealing prospect. The culture within the firm seems to be one that would push you to achieve the best that you fully could. The firm seems genuinely committed to trying to get you to achieve your best and as a result they would be the kind of firm that you would want to work for.

All of the interns in our intake became close. we all had lunch together most days- provided that nobody had any urgent work that needed to be done. As well as this there was socialising at the residential every night and then in the airport waiting for the plane home. As well as this the interns in the other line of service would help each other if they were struggling with particular pieces of work that the others had done before.

As i live only a short distance away from the office on the train the cost of living was not too bad. The cost of living is not as expensive as say London but things could begin to add up if you are renting a flat and having to buy shopping and then on top of that socialising. In fairness any company events were subsidised by the firm so there was limited cost there.

Nightlife was not something i participated that much in during the internship. In saying that though there are dozens of bars and clubs that you could attend if desired. As well as this the two organised nights were dog racing and horse racing so the nightlife that was provided as an option by the firm was unique and interesting.

As said previously the main activities were socialising such as the dog racing or the horse racing. However there were some in firm events such as a sandbox which is a kind of forum for intrapreneurship. As well as this there was a dragons den style event to try and solve problems of getting people into the city which was interesting.