Intern Review

Really interesting 8 weeks, lot to learn and a good challenge to prepare for work after university.

I really bonded with my team, had a couple of socials with them, and would love to see them again in the future.

My line manager and her manager were both really helpful. We met up at least once a week to discus my work, how they thought I was doing, anything extra they wanted me to do, and it also gave me an opportunity to ask them further questions.

My first week was filled with learning all about my area, and then my project kicked off. In the middle there were days when I had less work as I was waiting for others to get back to me, but at the end it picked up again and finished well.

I was joint project manager on the task they had set me, and had to collate all the data into a report and two presentations. I learnt a lot and became the expert on that question which was really rewarding.

Having the opportunity to present at the end to a group I didn't know, and also the Heads of Departments was an amazing opportunity. I felt my confidence grow over the 8 weeks and really enjoyed where I was. I believe I learnt a lot that I can take forward wherever I work in the future.

It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many professionals who were experts in their field. Work was done everyday, and even though the hours were good, you could tell people enjoyed what they were doing as they would stay when they needed, but it was not expected.

Overall it went very smoothly. The first day was a nice indication with the other interns, and at the end of the first week we had a social organised. For the following weeks I saw a lot of the interns at lunches and after work, and really got on with them.

The Bank let you attend any further training or seminars you liked which I thought was really good. I booked myself onto some team building and mental health workshops which I really enjoyed, but also went to a lot of seminars where they had professionals come in and talk to everyone. These were full of information and really good for a more rounded view of the Bank and what it does.

As an intern you had to receive a score of 4 or higher to be entered into the pool of people they looked at for the graduate schemes. As I received a 4, I am now waiting until January to find out if a department likes the look of me to give me a job after university.

Like I said before, there was an organised social on the first week for everyone. After that, we had a group chat where we would arrange to meet every Thursday which was really nice to get to know everyone a bit better and see them outside of work. Hopefully will be seeing some of them in December as well.

London is very expensive. As I'm not from there I had to pay for a flat and to live by myself. I was however paid, and so it worked out as about even, but it was very expensive. That's not so much to do with the Bank though, I could have lived with a friend if I wanted, but I wanted the whole experience so chose that instead.

I went out at least once a week while I was there, with either people from the internship or my friends coming to visit from home. I was living near Shoreditch so there was a really good night life, I passed about 10 bars every night on my walk home.

There wasn't really any activities that were put on. One day I arranged for my team to go axe throwing before a meal and night out, but that was as more of a thank you for them all having me instead of something that the Bank had put on for their employees.