Intern (Associate) Review

I enjoyed this virtual experience very much. I was initially disappointed to find that it had been made virtual due to the pandemic, although I fully understood why, and I was apprehensive of how the internship would be structured. However, everything was run very smoothly. The permanent staff are kind and helpful, despite never having met any of the interns in person, and were always willing to help and answer questions. Moreover, the work I was assigned was interesting and substantial, rather than just work given to me to fill my time.

I felt extremely valued during my time at the FCA. Despite never having met me before everyone was always happy to get on a Teams call to talk about the work or to tell me more about what they do so I could get a well-rounded perspective of how the organisation operates. I was given interesting work to do, and encouraged to feel comfortable asking as many questions as I needed to, no matter how long the email chain got! Even though my internship was only 7 weeks long I was added to the team's WhatsApp chat which was kind and made me feel included.

I received a lot of support and guidance from everyone I came across. People were kind and helpful and no matter how busy they were with their own work they were always happy and willing to make the time to speak to me, which helped me connect better with my colleagues since I have never met any of them in person. Many also offered to meet me in person for a chat once the pandemic improves and the restrictions are eased.

The skills I developed and the information I received will be of much help to me in my degree studies and beyond, as I gained a well-rounded, better perspective of the financial services industry from the inside, and had the chance to hear from and interact with senior management who are experts in their field. I also improved my transferable skills, such as time management and organisation. In every way this experience has taught me a lot.

The virtual experience was very well structured. The online learning modules were easy to access and simple to follow, as were the weekly Kaplan training calls that took place over Zoom. The community project was engaging and allowed the intern teams to truly bond with each other and make good friends despite only knowing each other virtually. Finally, the business work was well-explained, and the rest of the team was always keen to answer any of my questions, so I never felt uncomfortable or awkward or out of my depth.

The general atmosphere was wonderful. I could not have asked for nicer, more helpful colleagues and my fellow intern cohort was fun to interact with and get to know. The graduates assigned to mentor us were all lovely and very honest about their work, which gave me great insight into what a future career with the FCA could look like. Even the grads who were not assigned to mentor interns were approachable and friendly. Everyone was great to work with and I will definitely miss them and keep in touch.

The FCA invested in our personal training and development to a large extent. We had weekly Kaplan training sessions for three hours each week, focusing on areas such as self-management, developing resilience, and communication skills, as well as Mandatory Training modules to complete by both the FCA and Mind Gym. Everything was very relevant to where we currently are in our careers ie. just starting out. The training was tailored to make us better-rounded individuals and to equip us with the right skills needed at this stage.

The virtual experience helped me understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the FCA as despite the internship being online and not having met any of my colleagues in person, everyone was more than happy to give me their insight into life and a career at the FCA. From the general attitudes regarding work, from observing my colleagues and the way they were given flexibility regarding things like childcare it was clear that the FCA cares about its employees and their personal development.

The virtual experience helped me understand the company culture greatly as I saw the way my colleagues treat each other as well as us interns and the grads. Everyone was kind and friendly and always willing to make time in their busy schedules to chat or help. As an intern who was new to this industry and had lots of questions I never once felt like a burden or an additional unwanted responsibility to take care of. I always felt very valued.

The content was very valuable in helping me decide on my future career path as it was a brand new experience for me, my first time in this industry, and I learned a lot. The training that the FCA provided throughout the internship as well as the work I did for my business team showed me a lot about the industry and the FCA in particular, and speaking to the grads who were in the same place as I am right now just one or two years ago was very insightful.

The internship was supposed to be 10 weeks long and in person but due to the pandemic it was reduced to 7 weeks and made fully virtual. Even so, the FCA kindly honoured the original agreement and generously paid us for the full 10 weeks. This definitely made a big difference to a lot of interns and was much appreciated by everyone. In addition to this, the pro rata salary was generous in its own right.

There were plenty of opportunities to reach out to people across the organisation by email to request a chat over Teams, and people were generally friendly enough to oblige. In addition to this, there were regular Lunch & Learn sessions with employees from across the FCA, for them to tell us about their work and for us to ask them questions. However, there was no concerted effort to organise any networking events, particularly amongst the interns, outside of our own project groups. However, this can be understood as it is no small task to coordinate a cohort of 41 interns.

There were enough networking opportunities as we were able to email and set up video calls with whomever we wished to across the organisation, but there were no real social event opportunities. I think there would have been if the internship had taken place in person as it was originally supposed to, but due to the pandemic I imagine it was difficult to organise virtual social events for a cohort of 41 interns across the FCA.

I found out a lot about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work because of a video call I set up with a particularly proactive grad who has taken the initiative to set up lots of social activities that are non work related. However we were not exactly systematically informed of the social opportunities or activities available to employees outside of work. Nevertheless it appears that there is a lot going on that employees can get involved in particularly when there is no pandemic.

I would definitely recommend this virtual experience to a friend, as the organisation made every effort to organise a wholesome, well-rounded internship for us despite the mitigating circumstances. I learned a lot about the financial industry during the seven weeks and made connections with people across the organisation and the intern cohort whom I would like to keep in touch with in the future. I was initially apprehensive about the internship being fully virtual but I was not disappointed at all. I will remember this internship very fondly.