Human Resources Intern Review

I really enjoyed working at Catlin this summer - the work was varied and interesting, the culture was great and the people were sociable with a strong work ethic. I got the chance to experience life in a dynamic and growing insurance company, with an excellent internship programme. The team are extremely flexible and regularly ask you if you have any preferences to steer your internship. The first week was really useful as we had an induction week that allowed us to bond as a group of interns and gain a strong understanding of Catlin, the insurance sector and the financial markets as a whole - and this was all provided by an external trainer; making us feel quickly valued as interns.

The people culture at Catlin is great - people from across the business, both in terms of role and department, are willing to take some time out of their day to help you with any projects. People are willing to give interns responsibility - which is a great opportunity to learn more about yourself in the working environment. You are assigned a buddy and a line manager and both are on hand to answer your questions - this allows you to quickly become comfortable around people in your department.

Every week all interns have a meeting with their line manager - mostly for a general catch up, to see what work you've been doing that week, to see what you are/are not enjoying, to see if there's any work you are particularly interested in that you have not yet had the chance to see/do. You also have a mid term and end of term review which is a nice touch in with the graduate recruitment officer to see your suitability for a potential future graduate role.

My days were often fairly busy - I always had ongoing projects running at any one time which I enjoyed. This replicated the real working world. There were some points during my internship where I was given work that I couldn't progress with because I finished it earlier than expected

I was given a lot of responsibility. The staff at Catlin have a lot of confidence in the interns to complete work to a high standard. The are more than open to help answer your questions, but do offer a challenging and stimulating workload that is varied.

The first week training about the insurance sector was extremely useful and will be helpful in better understanding the market and how this fits into the city of London. I have developed confidence in my work, experienced additional responsibility and learnt how to properly network with people from across the business. In terms of my degree, I have learnt how to better research for projects - often you are given a project at Catlin and have to see it through from research stage through to completion. This is a useful skill to have in a work based environment.

The office had a really good atmosphere - every last Thursday of the month, there is a 'Buys the Beers' event whereby a Business Group Leader buys all London staff drinks at a local bar, which is a great opportunity to network.

On the first day in our teams, we were given plans of which team we would be in and when - aswell as what projects we were set to undertake. This was good as it meant the internship rotations had been planned beforehand.

The first week was spent with an external training firm who taught us about the finance sector, insurance and Catlin's place within this sector. This really made us feel valued as interns at Catlin. There was also a strong emphasis amongst the grads that catlin supports exams and study plans in your career, which is extremely appealing.

I am really keen to get involved on the graduate programme here at Catlin. There is a strong emphasis on people and I can really see myself fitting in with Catlin's culture.

The interns regularly go out - several times a week and the business goes out as a whole on the last Thursday of every month. Individual teams also do volunteering and drinks after work if an employee is leaving or if they have just completed a busy period.

Fairly expensive in terms of travel and rent - but it is based in London, and Catlin do pay their interns well, which does compensate for this.

Really great - there are a lot of bars local to London but the prices are quite expensive. Catlin gets discounts at some local bars which is great

There are many - including volunteering and sports teams. I found out about the sports team quite late in my internship so make sure you ask really early on so that you can take full advanatge of them!