Summer intern Review

Overall I enjoyed the experience. The work could occasionally be quite dull, especially at the beginning, but when given meaningful work to do (eg casework) I found this much more enjoyable. I think it also depends on your team as some of the interns were given more responsibility, and therefore enjoyed the experience more, than others.

Again, I feel this might vary based on your team, but I personally felt very valued by my colleagues. They trusted me to help them with their work, and I felt I was given real responsibility. My team made me feel very supported and valued, despite the fact that I had never worked in an office before and am quite young.

I was given a good amount of support from my line manager. We had fortnightly catch ups, as well as 2 more formal reviews. If I had questions or came across a problem she was always willing to help, or point me in the direction of someone who could. She also supported me in trying to find out about other areas of the organisation, by putting me in touch with some of her contacts.

This tended to vary - some days I had a lot to do, whereas others I was searching for things to do. However, on the less busy days, people were very willing to give me more work to do, I only had to ask. Also, I think this again would depend on what team you are in.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility. In the second half of the internship especially, I was given my own cases, which involved me investigating and contacting firms who were in breach of our rules, as well as liaising with colleagues in other parts of the FCA. However, this was always overseen by a more senior colleague.

I definitely think this placement will help me when I enter the world of work for good after graduation. I learnt how an office works, eg simple things such as email etiquette. I also think it has made me more confident going forward, so for example when it comes to apply for grad schemes I will feel more confident in interviews and at assessment centres.

The office was extremely friendly. Everyone was very welcoming, and people are always happy to take you for a coffee to tell you about their work, or just for a chat. The general atmosphere was always quite relaxed - I never felt stressed - and I liked the flexitime policy. Overall I would say that this is a very pleasant working environment.

It was ok in this aspect, but it could have been better organised. There were a few 'lunch and learns' set up to help us find out more about the organisation, but I only found one or two of these actually helpful. We were encouraged to find out more about other areas of the FCA, but I think that some structure to the internship (eg everyone spends a week in another team) could have facilitated this.

The HR department put on several 'lunch and learns' for us throughout our internship, which enabled us to find out about other areas of the FCA, and certain topics such as cyber security, or a workshop on networking. However, I only really found one or two of these actually helpful. We were encouraged to set objectives for our internship, as well as personal development goals. I think this was helpful in making sure that we got the most out of our internship that we could. However, I'm not really sure this counts as the company 'investing' in us.

Pretty appealing - I liked my team, overall I enjoyed the work, and I found it a pleasant place to work. The grad scheme is very attractive - I particularly like how there are opportunities for multiple (internal and external) secondments, and it is a well-respected company - an ideal place to begin your career.

There was a good social scene amongst the interns - we ate lunch together most days and usually went out for a drink on Friday evenings. Some of us also went out in the city on Friday nights. Everyone was really inclusive and welcoming, which was especially nice if you are new to London and don't really know anybody there.

Stratford is not a particularly nice or interesting area. There are some bars in Westfields but these are usually chains and usually expensive, so we tended to just go to Spoons instead. I get the impression that people preferred the Canary Wharf location of the old offices, as there was more choice for after-work drinks there.

Yes - there are lots of sports and other clubs that you could get involved in. For example, I know a lot of the other interns went to badminton every Wednesday. It was a little tricky to get properly involved as we were only at the company for 10 weeks, but for someone working there full time there would be many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work.