Financial Analyst (PMO) Review

I hugely enjoyed my placement due to the god mix between being talked through processes, site visits to projects and actively helping out with the work. I feel that over all I gained a well rounded experience of the company and the industry. This was further enhanced by being involved in team social events, and events with other interns.

There was a mutual understanding that I wanted to succeed in my conversion interview at the end of my placement. As a result the team treated me like a graduate, making sure I would have plenty of work and feed back to talk about in my interview.

There was a good structure in place meaning that I could informally approach my buddy and ask for any help necessary. Over the first couple of weeks this relationship extended to the rest of the team, and I found everyone to be extremely approachable and willing to help.

During my placement I had a steady work load from my team and a project to prepare when the work was done. Spare gaps in my schedule were filled with helpful site visits and attendance to meetings which helped my understanding of the work.

I did some work which was entirely my responsibility although my main task was helping where possible and shadowing more experienced workers. There was an independent project to work on, so I feel this was a good balance.

The skills I learned will be extremely helpful towards my understanding of developments and management during my final year of study and career beyond. It will make me much more understanding when relating to the construction process and hopefully help me to see issues which may be overlooked by others.

The atmosphere was fantastic. There was a great balance between work and fun, creating a culture where everyone was friends and willing to help each other. This was particularly good for me in settling in, and motivated me to work harder and repay the time invested in me by the team. We were also invited along to the social events by those in the office, which helped improve the atmosphere further.

The placement was well organised. We were provided with all the correct equipment and inductions, as well as enough time to introduce ourselves properly. Being in real estate the induction seemed like it was too focused on the accountants, but this is understandable bearing in mind the huge ratio of them compared to us. We had well populated calendars, and the projects kept us busy.

There were several online tutorials we could take when we were free, although the team kept us occupied so we never got round to doing them. I was not really here long enough to benefit from any training other than the induction day.

It is appealing that the conversion interview at the end of our placement offers the chance to stay on as a graduate. Fortunately I enjoyed my work and did not wish to change service lines, but there is a good framework for those who find other service lines more appealing.

Due to the smaller number of real estate interns it was easy to stay close and organise several social events. We were also often invited to wider events within the company as a whole which was a great way to meet many other people.

Being in central London was extremely expensive. It may have been helpful if the company had offered to help with either transport or food costs, as is common practise.

There was a wide range of pubs, bars and clubs, so many in fact that we would never have expected to explore them all!

Yes, there were invited to society events such as Mexican themed nights, and many team socials. These were organised across the company as a whole so it was always a great way to meet more people and get different insights into the business.