Business Manager Review

My role was to shadow my line manager in the fixed income team and to go to other departments in fixed income to see what it's like. On a day-to-day basis I went to meetings, met with people with job titles I had never heard of and did many e-mails!

I have definitely improved my communication skills, physically and through the internet. I also learnt about self-control and how to know what I am good at and what can be improved. In terms of the company, I have developed my knowledge about IT; before, I wasn't really confident but now that I've been here for this week, it has taught me great skills.

I enjoyed this a lot because I have never thought about working in investment management, but this has completely opened up a new door for me. The only thing I would say is that I wished it was a programme for two weeks rather than one and also that we were more involved in our line manager's job.

I feel very valued as my line manager seemed very appreciative of my time here, and I was recognised by many as a well mannered woman. People definitely valued me and I could tell this because a lot of people were trying to set up meetings with me. Also, they wanted to get to know me on a personal level and not just on a work basis.

I would say that it was quite well structured, however there were some problems with organisation because for quite a lot of us here there were either problems with our packs(things missing etc.) or problems with logging into computers (they hadn't set up logins for some people). But overall it was decent.

I received a lot of support from my training provider as she helped me with anything that I may have questioned and she mad sure that I was never confused with anything that I was working on. From the vibe I was getting, my training provider's general attitude was caring and helpful because she made sure I was comfortable in whatever I was doing, but also pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Honestly, I didn't receive much support from my employer because we only could communicate with them through email or Skype message so they weren't really supporting us. Although she did speak to us about what was going on during the week, she never took time out to individually talk to me personally.

I actually didn't get paid for this job, as it was work experience so really it was kind of like volunteering rather than work experience . However, what I would say is that the travel to work was great because it isn't too far from my house so I got there safely. I had no travel costs as I am still a child so therefore I used a Zip card, which is free on buses.

I was not informed about other opportunities outside of work, but at the same time they did tell us to keep in contact with them because there may be other things that we would want to do with them (e.g. apprenticeships). This is the only thing that they have told us about so it is quite disappointing that they haven't mentioned anything non-work related to us.

Yes

Because it is a great opportunity to learn something new and (especially for people who never thought about going into investments) it could make you change your mind about possible future career paths.

I would say for them to makes sure they know where they are going and how to get there because M&G is quite hidden and in the process some people may get lost!