Spring Week Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the placement. It did what is said on the tin and really gave an 'insight' into the company. It would appear that the organisers of the programme attempted to show us a wide variety of what the FCA had to offer and what we ourselves could potentially achieve.

Quite valued. The fact that they took the time to create such a jam-packed schedule for us showed that they obviously valued us. We were able to meet with people in senior positions and it's important to remember that these are busy people who are giving up their valuable time to spend time working and developing us as individuals.

The company attempted to give us a taste of what we could expect should we choose to work for them after graduating on a graduate-scheme. They informed us of the application/interview process that we could expect to experience. They also provided us with a session to speak to graduates in order to gain an insight to the programmes they have completed or are currently completing. We were also allowed to ask questions to professionals on how to better ourselves in order to enter the company which was definitely eye-opening.

I think that the insight has motivated me to try a bit harder with my studies, not that I'm not already trying hard, it has just given me an extra push. Often whilst studying it can be hard to see the end goal or what you may achieve from your hard work, opportunities like this show you what you can achieve if you are prepared to work hard and aim high. We had a talk with one of the interviewers for the FCA and from this session, I took away ideas on how best to answer interview questions and knowledge such as this is invaluable.

Very well structured. There was not a dull moment. Often when you are younger and go to a firm to complete a 'work experience' or 'work shadowing' opportunity, you can find yourself sitting around with not much to do. The timetable we had was action-packed and the days were filled. Even during our lunch breaks we were networking or listening to talks. The organisers definitely did a good job to keep us busy.

Positive. You are with like-minded people so you're always going to have something in common. This means that the atmosphere is comfortable and exciting. You can be yourself and are always encouraged to ask questions. Often people are afraid of getting things wrong, but this insight is a learning opportunity, so ask as many questions as you can and gather as much information as possible.

I feel the company invested in us as a group rather than individually, which is not necessarily negative as we can all learn from one another. The workshops based around interviews and graduate opportunities set out to develop us. I feel they wanted to inspire us and in the back of all the presentations was the idea that 'anything is possible' and that it doesn't matter who you are i.e. your gender, race, ethnicity or religion.

Quite well. The opportunity to shadow a specific department for the afternoon was a good opportunity to understand what the worker does on a day-to-day basis. I left feeling like I had a pretty good idea of what someone in CMI (consumer market intelligence) does in their day-to-day job.

The insight showed us how much the FCA value volunteering. We were given a talk about the various volunteering projects that the firm gets involved with throughout the year. We also had a talk on diversity within the workplace and how they do not discriminate against individuals. A talk from Julia Hoggett showed us how serious they take gender and LGBT rights. They have specially appointed individuals throughout the firm to promote awareness.

Very helpful. I left with the idea that i would quite like to work in the market segmentation section. The FCA attempted to give us an extensive insight into what varying sectors of the firm do.

I dont necessarily feel that not being paid was a problem. I think it's more about the experience you have and what you take away from it. Being reimbursed expenses meant that we weren't at too much of a loss.

We had a lunch 'n' learn session with a female in a senior position. She shared with us the importance of networking and having a mentor and even offered herself as a potential mentor for some of us. Another lunch time saw us have conversations with current employees meaning we could gain an even further insight into the company.

They were mostly effective. Having lunch with people is a good way to prepare yourself for the business lunches that you're likely to face later on in your career. It would have been nice to explore more networking for the longterm, say via LinkedIn or similar platforms.

Yes. We were shown that employees are encouraged to get involved in volunteering. They are given 4 days off a year which is still paid in order to complete these volunteering tasks. On a tour of the company, we were informed about the gym on site that the employees are encouraged to use.

Definitely. I've never attended something quite like this. The opportunity was so informative and I wish I could do insight's like this for so many more companies. The FCA have set a good example.