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 found the placement interesting and challenging, which were the two attributes I was hoping to find in my summer internship, and I enjoyed both the work and social aspects of the placement. M&G has a very accepting culture, my team worked normal 9-5 hours (which is unusual in a city firm) and employees are judged on their output, not the time they spend sitting at a desk. The Student team went to a lot of trouble to organise socials outside of work where we could interact with the other interns, often offering prizes and well as free lunches and drinks.
I was placed in a reasonably small team and given real project work to do from the first week, which made me feel that my contribution was valued and that the utility of the work I was doing would endure past the duration of my internship. I was given a lot of freedom and responsibility over the projects I was working on, and was supported to run pilots of both my major projects during the time I spent at M&G.
My manager scheduled regular one to ones with me to make sure that I felt happy with the work I was doing. Both the student team and the managers of my department gave me feedback in the middle of my internship, which helped me to feel confident enough to express my opinions even amongst senior managers. The only problem was timing: as my internship was in the middle of the holiday season, many of my team were away for large periods of the internship, which meant that I sometimes had to wait for their return before my proposals could get approved.
Because the work I was involved with was mostly conceptualising and structuring large projects, the work-load varied day to day. Sometimes I had to wait to meet a particular person in order for a project to progress, which could lead to less busy periods. At other times, all my projects had work coming in at the same time. At M&G, there is quite a lot of opportunity for you to control your own workload, so when I didn't have work to do for my projects I would ask a co-worker if they could introduce me to one of their projects. Interns were also encouraged to contact managers from other areas of the organisation so that they could get a better picture of how M&G works as a business. I rarely had to stay outside of normal office hours and it was always my choice to do so.
I was put onto three major projects during my first week at M&G and told that I could decide how I wanted to approach the work. This was a large responsibility, but I was encouraged to use my team as a resource to help me create useful and realistic plans for project implementation. The amount of responsibility I was given surprised me, as I have not taken part in any other internships were placement students were given so much power and control. For one project I put together a selection of six options for running a large group ideation session (expecting my manager to choose one to take forward) and then was given the final decision myself. Taking this responsibility was a little nerve-wracking at first, but it allowed me to take control of my projects and feel confident within my team and the organisation.
The most important skill I developed was confident decision making. I feel that being encouraged to trust in my own opinion, even in an environment where I was the most junior employee, has taught me to be more productive and assertive both in the workplace and everyday life. The work I was involved with was not as technical as I expected, (I originally expected to be working in software development) but the cross-disciplinary nature of my projects means that I learned some important communication and collaboration skills.
The Company
Very relaxed; employees are encouraged to work in a manner that they find productive rather than having to sit quietly at a desk (although many still choose to do this). The permanent employees were very supportive and welcoming to the interns and made an effort to include us in the many sports and social activities which are organised by the company. The office is generally quite busy, with lots going on, which makes it an interesting place to work. However, it could get a little quiet during mainstream holiday periods.
The Student team organised training and introductory meetings with senior management during the first three weeks or so, which set the interns up very well for the rest of their stay. Social events were planned out at regular intervals during the internship so that the interns could spend some time socialising outside of work. I was also paired with a graduate buddy who was very supportive throughout my internship. Halfway through the internship we undertook assessments and were given useful feedback by our managers and the graduate recruitment team. These feedback sessions were well placed as they allowed us to work on the areas that were highlighted to us and better utilise the second half of our internship. The student team also organised all of my training to fit around a few days when I could not come into the office and went out of their way to make sure that I felt confident with the materials if I ever had to miss a session.
The firm provided all interns with a broad range of training about the financial system, which was interesting and helpful for me (as I come from a technology background). They also put a lot of time into our feedback sessions to make sure that we felt we were getting the most out of the internship. My job did not require particular new tech skills, but my team members happily took me through the work that each of them does so that I would have an understanding of how their contributions come together.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
For a city firm, the culture at M&G makes it a very appealing option for further work. Proactive graduates who take initiative seem to do very well in the company, and if they ask to be moved to a particular department the company will do all they can to help. M&G focus on retaining graduates, so they aim to treat their young hires well in order to keep them on for many years. I would be very happy to come back and work in the technology department.
The Culture
There were opportunities to get involved with intern and employee social events during the placement, but unfortunately travel arrangements and the cost of socialising in central London often made it difficult to take up this offer. Also, the intern social scene was slightly split between the two locations, with interns who worked in each building being much more likely to socialise with those in the same building.
London is very expensive and the culture of drinking and eating out in the city meant that living costs were quite high. The canteen in my building was very good but very expensive, so lunchtime food bills could really add up. Rent and travel expenses can also grow very quickly, I would advise future interns to try and stay with friends or family where possible.
There are quite a lot of pubs and bars in the city but they are expensive (London prices) which limits the amount that you can go out. They also tend to be very busy straight after work with people heading home quite early, so there isn't much to do later in the evenings. Local restaurants and bars are very good and varied, but you will need to book a table at the well known ones.
There were lots of organised events, both for the interns and for permanent employees. These varied from pub quizzes to sports events to Ping-Pong socials and movie nights in the work auditorium. The interns also organised social events for a charity challenge we took part in which allowed us to mingle with the company's graduate intakes from the last few years. There were also opportunities to be involved in charity volunteering initiatives sponsored by M&G in the local area.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Data Science, Financial Management, Human Resources, Information Technology
London
August 2015