Summer Analyst Review

The placement gave me an opportunity to firstly work in an office environment for the first time. This was enjoyable and will be valuable going forward in my career. Secondly, the placement was a great opportunity to put some of the theory I had learned in university into practice. the experience was also enjoyable as it gave me a real insight into financial services as a career path.

My colleagues enhanced my experience during the placement and were continuously supporting me with feedback and encouragement. On top of this, I was given roles within my team that represented real contributions. As it felt like I was doing important work, I felt valued within my team. My team would give me shout outs for the contributions I had made

Management were always very supportive and helped me in my journey to learn how to work. They were supportive with offering me training on technical skills such as excel or more soft skills such as running through presentations with me. Management were also very supportive in offering critiques and suggested improvements for myself.

I was given a variety of tasks that in the early parts of my task kept me busy and engaged. As I became more experienced in these tasks, they naturally took less time. When this happened, it was my responsibility to go out and find new challenges and contributions. I was never gave too much work but I could always find ways to fill my time.

I was given tasks that had to be completed weekly or monthly and these came with responsibility with regards to making sure they were done accurately. I was also given the opportunity to work on a variety of time sensitive projects while also going to important meetings that gave me the opportunity to explore the firm.

I have definitely became more efficient in excel and I no longer struggle with basic to intermediate excel use. This will be invaluable in education and future work. My presentation skills were also tested and enhanced through presenting and Microsoft PowerPoint. Again, this is very useful going forward. The technical skills I learned will be useful in the financial services industry.

The office had a very good atmosphere to it with regards to culture and social events. There was very little hierarchies with regard to management and I always felt comfortable to approach anyone with my problems. There was also a variety of social events that allowed people in the office to get to know one another.

The placement had a lot of structure with regards to events. There was a variety of events ranging from volunteering, parties, financial training and more soft skill focused. The programme also organised talks from senior management that were invaluable. The background checks part of the process was very slow though and could be improved.

The company arranged for a variety of technical and soft skill courses for the interns to go on. This gave many interns an introduction to the financial markets. The firm also had thousands of online courses available through their system that were accessible at any time for interns and it was encouraged to use these resources.

The organisation offers a very good place to start your career with a wide variety of opportunities. The business in Glasgow appears to be expanding and seems the place to be. On top of that, the business offers the opportunity to work internationally with world class colleagues in a very interesting industry.

There was a variety of social events focused around the interns. These events included bowling, end of year party, scavenger hunt and a quiz. Due to this, a lot of the people on the internship became friends aNd were then able to arrange there own social events on top of the official ones.

Glasgow is traditionally a cheaper place to live and socialise than Edinburgh and other larger cities south of the border such as London. The cost of living is cheap with regards to rental costs and in certain areas of the city, can be really cheap. There is many places offering a cheap night out.

Glasgow has a variety of bars, pubs, clubs and entertainment to make sure people are having fun. There is key areas such as the West End and merchant city that offer good quality food and drink at reasonable prices while being very close to the offices. The Hydro is also close by for access to large events.

The firm offered a variety of activities out with work. There was consistently events on such as musical bingo, summer balls and quiz nights. On top of this, it was highly encouraged to get involved in volunteering and the firm offered up opportunities to volunteer in the community. There was also the opportunity to go to speaker nights.