Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

The final straight; 9 working days; not long. So the beginning of the end is well under way, with the majority of our internship almost over it is evident that the working wheels are beginning to slow down.

More work for us now means more work for the full time staff to finish after we have gone. It has also meant that the last few weeks have been little short of hectic for me personally.

I guess the hecticness (is that even a word? Spell check said no – I’m going to roll with it anyway) started after I demanded more responsibility and a greater work load. I wanted to be pushed and tested and I wanted to make a difference. I’m not sure how much difference I’m making but I’m certainly being pushed and tested. It is a liberating experience having real responsibility, real projects to deliver, and real deadlines to meet. Execution is a terribly difficult thing to complete with quality.

Part of my role as a business analyst is to delve into problems and suggest solutions, but where do you draw the line? It’s a fascinating role which enables you to engage your brain, other people’s knowledge and experience then apply practical solutions to real problems. My undergraduate degree of Computing and Management has been a great help during my placement. Understanding technology and data whilst also understanding different financial products and banking terminology has left me with a reservoir of knowledge to apply to the different projects I have been working on.

The last few weeks has also seen us do various non work related events. We have had social networking events at the various drinking houses situated around Canary Wharf. We were given a day off to clear Mile End cemetery park – a day which involved the 160 interns in Credit Suisse T shirts rolling our sleeves up and doing good for the local community. The philanthropic work Credit Suisse does in the local community has been very impressive. Corporate Social Responsibility is a buzz word in the industry; especially because of the negative rep the financial services industry has taken over the last two years. But Credit Suisse has identified where they feel they can really make a difference and there is a lot of commitment to do good in local schools and for local children.

The next two weeks hold the key to whether we are to get an offer to return next year, I have presentations to give to my director regarding the projects I have been working on, I have an end of year review to undertake with my line manager and my HR correspondent. I’m hoping for an offer, I very much believe in my ability to contribute change through my role within Credit Suisse however I understand the competition for places in fierce. I’ve put all my efforts into the previous 8 weeks and I know the last two are going to be just as much hard work; I hope it will pay off.