Industrial Placement Analyst, Operations Review

My placement within Operations gave me a fantastic insight into the world of finance and banking. I have learnt a huge amount about the organisation and how the industry works. In terms of my job itself, I enjoyed the chance to be able to influence processes, including implementing new and more efficient ways of handling tasks. The only downside was that sometimes some of the daily workload could be monotonous.

Morgan Stanley has a great culture, and everyone is treated as an equal. My team around me gave me fantastic support throughout my placement.

I have regular meetings with my managers to assess my progress and to give me a chance to take on more responsibility. Regular catch-ups were also scheduled with the HR team which were also very useful.

This varied throughout my placement, but overall I had a good balance between my daily processes and time to work on projects too.

To an extent, I was given as much responsibility as I wanted to take on. This allowed me to take on more responsibility as I became more confident in my role.

The skills I have developed will greatly benefit me in both my final year of my degree, and more importantly, in the working world following graduation. It has been great to experience the culture of a huge organisation and the opportunities that are available are massive.

Whilst work was treated seriously as it should, there was a big social side too. There would be regular social events organised by the Placement Students, my team, my department and also the organisation itself.

The program was very well run by the HR department. The placement was structured very well, with various performance reviews and goal-setting meetings throughout the placement.

Whilst we may not receive quite as much training and development as a full time graduate, there were still opportunities to go on different courses, shadow individuals in other teams and departments and a wide range of networking events.

We are assessed throughout our placement, and based on our end of year review we can be offered a Graduate position.

The placement students were very socially active, and there always seemed to be something happening, especially during the summer months.

Whilst living in Central London can be expensive, it is affordable, and offers the chance of experiencing the buzz of the city for a year.

The nightlife in London is great, ranging from bars in and around Canary Wharf, nightclubs, and other venues as well. There always seems to be something to do!

The organisation offered many opportunities to volunteer and participate in charity work, whether this is helping teach in a school, or working with the company's chosen charity, Kid's Company, with their important work.