Summer Intern Review

by UBS

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.3/5
  • The Role
    4.0
  • The Company
    3.2
  • The Culture
    2.5

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • The working culture at UBS is supportive and positive, and made for an enjoyable nine weeks. Exact experience I think will vary on an individualized basis, but I personally ended up within a team that was fun and very happy to assist me.

    4/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • My line manager in particular was very good at making me feel welcome and ensuring I had enough to do and knew how to do it. There was no obvious sense of dismissive behaviour due to just being an intern.

    5/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • Almost without exception, everyone I met was very generous with their time and welcoming in their manner. I received a good deal of help and never felt panicked or totally out of my depth.

    5/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • Our work depended on how busy trading desks were, so each day there would be occasional, quite frustrating lulls where there wasn't a great deal to do. These did, though, give time for independent learning/research which helped to keep on top of market information. Furthermore, software systems were very temperamental, and there were points where it wasn't possible to do any work because of technical problems.

    4/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • I mainly learned to assist in their day-to-day work, rather than work on my own, independent projects.

    4/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • The placement taught me a good deal about office dynamics and refreshed my general administrative skills, which I think have been very helpful experiences to have. In addition, UBS are very good about encouraging you to work out where you'd fit in the bank (and therefore are actively supportive of using time to shadow other departments), and I think this freedom has been very beneficial in helping me understand what types of roles I might want to apply for in the future.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • Really pleasant and helpful, but quite masculine in chat!

    4/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • Some really great things - lots of very good speakers, and the initial induction week was very helpful. There were some areas that seemed less seamless admin-wise; lots of people experienced technical problems as a result of being new-joiners, and there seemed to be a disjoint in communication between those in charge of the internship programme and individual line managers.

    4/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • Much of the programme seems structured around personal training and development, and there is support given at lots of levels - the Buddy system, the Mentor system, Line Managers. Feedback and opportunities were widely available, but I think there is a limit to what personal development can realistically be achieved over nine weeks.

    4/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • Company Parties/Events
    3/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • Quite uncertain - much of the area I was working in is being offshored, but there was a good deal of positive noise coming from the firm generally towards the interns

    3/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • Yes - there were some company-organised events and a good deal of socialising

    3/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Socialising costs were quite high (bars and food out are all quite pricey), living is more variable - UBS gives good links to student accommodation providers

    3/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Busy and expensive

    3/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • Some - workplace societies seemed to be on downtime over the summer, but there were a few volunteering opportunities

    3/5
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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Investment Banking, Logistics and Operations

London

August 2015

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