This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I thoroughly enjoyed my time working for M&G Investments.
Everyone was very friendly and supportive. From the first day I was made to feel valued and treated like an equal by all. M&G is a very welcoming place to work, which is especially unique due to the sector it is in.
I was given support and guidance whenever I needed it. Although everyone was very busy, they were still willing to take the time to help.
This ranged from being very busy on some days to having relatively little to do on others. Generally there was a task to be getting on with though, and if there wasn't, I could use the learning resources available to study.
I was given a great range of tasks, often working with the senior managers in finance.
As an Accounting student, it was great to see what it's like to work as an accountant in a real world situation. The training I received on Excel has made me far more proficient and I think it will be of great use to me.
The Company
Friendly, encouraging, relaxed. Couldn't have asked for a better place to work.
For the first few weeks there were daily presentations and lunch talks provided to all the interns by various heads of each department. After this, the majority of the internship was handled by each of our teams. However, we did have a couple of meetings with HR over our time to discuss how the internship was going and how we could improve it. Overall, it was well planned and a lot of the time I forgot that it would eventually be ending!
We were given lots of presentations and lunch and learns to learn about the company. We were also given access to all the learning resources and guides that the permanent employees use. These were very useful. We were also given Vault learning guides before we started which was a great read. Lastly, we were each given a personality test to complete, followed by an in depth report with HR into how we came across. This was a very interesting and useful report.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Working from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
Unlike most of the other internships, we did not have a full selection process carried out in the Finance department. This has meant we were not able to be offered jobs straight from the internship like others. However, we have been fast tracked with our applications to be full time and future employment with M&G is very appealing.
The Culture
There was a good social scene. Plenty of after work drinks and activities arranged. We also participated in a few sports activities provided by M&G which was a lot of fun.
It was the Centre of London. It obviously isn't a cheap place. However, we were paid well so it was all affordable. It was never an issue.
Plenty of pubs and bars around. Thursday evenings were particularly good.
Yes, we were able to participate in the sports events they held, along with team away days and pretty much anything the permanent staff were allowed to do.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Accounting
London
November 2014