Finance Summer Intern Review

Overall I've really enjoyed my time at American Express over the summer, more than I was expecting to. It has actually been lots of fun

I feel that everybody at the company is valued regardless of their age/role and you really feel like you are part of the team you've been placed in. There are weekly and fortnightly catch-ups where you can talk to your colleagues about any topic - regardless of whether it's work related or not. Overall everyone is really friendly & easy to get a lot with - you definately feel valued

I think that the level of support I was given was fantastic. My manager/team was always ready to help me with any issues that I had and were able to help me to move on to the next steps. I think that support was given from people outside of my direct supervisor as well, (for example the campus team) everybody that I met was always ready to help with any issues I might have

I think that because I was mainly in charge of my own project over the course of the internship, I always had things that I could be working on. This also allowed me to plan out my tasks and next steps especially during times where it might be busy.

At the start of the internship I was given my own project to work on over the course of the whole internship. Whilst the majority of the decision making was up to me, my manager was still the one to have a final say on what I was proposing. However, given that my project was a real life task that would have an impact on the company, I feel I was tasked with a high level of responsibility. Something that I was happy with

During the internship I learned a lot about how the organisation works and how it is structured. Due to team work being a big part of the culture here I was able to interact with many different people in different roles which helped me to develop my own team working skills. Because my project involved a lot of Excel work, I was able to really develop my skills in this area - at the start I had almost no idea how to use Excel but now I feel confident with complex formulas. Overall all of the skills will be a big help to me in the future

I think that I was surprised by how relaxed the the office atmosphere can be at times and how it is very easy to talk to your colleagues even about topics that are not work related. However, I feel that the atmosphere was definitely professional when it needed to be but not overly strict or formal.

I think that the internship as a whole was very well organised. There were a few HR contacts that overlook the whole process which helped to ensure that everything ran smoothly throughout. There were catch ups organised where you could meet with the relevant people to discuss the internship and any issues that you might have. I personally had no issues.

I think that the company really makes an effort to help with training and development. Your manager and your team will always try to help you to develop any work related skills. But also the company would set up workshops to developed other skills such as a presentations training to develop presentation skills etc.

I think that when you are part of the organisation you are able to develop a very clear career path of where you might like to end up. I feel that there is a high chance of internal promotions and everyone is able to reach a higher role within the organisation.

I think that all of the other interns were very easy to get along with. Everyone is in the same situation so will want to get to know people. Also it was very easy to organise events outside of work with the other interns.

In terms of living costs - London is quite an expensive area to live in but I was staying with family so I was fine. The cost of socialising in London is quite high - -would be better if it was cheaper especially as a student

Nightlife in London is great there are always things to do and places to go

There were always activites going on outside of work that were easy to get involved in. Many of these were set up by the campus team (who did a fantastic job with all the events). Some of these events included a boat party down the river Thames, a community day in Holland Park etc.