Roy Boiko
Henry Martin
Career Lab UK Summer Internships are an exclusive opportunity to undertake a six-or eight-week paid internship with a UK employer during the summer vacation. In 2023, there were over 150 internship vacancies exclusive to second or penultimate-year students at Sussex.
You can gain a perspective of what our intern employers are looking for here:
We connected with Henry Martin, a BSc Chemistry student, and Roy Boiko, a Mathematics and Economics student about their internship with Fenrix:
Henry Martin
What subject did you study at Sussex?
Chemistry (BSc)
What scheme/internship did you take part in?
Initially, a 2-month long internship (as part of the Career Lab UK Summer Internships), which was extended to 4 months.
What was your role in the organisation?
Market Analyst Intern
What would they say to a student who is unsure about taking part in the scheme?
If you are concerned that your contributions as part of the scheme will be inconsequential, in my experience this was absolutely not the case. Fenrix diligently balanced teaching me new skills whilst still giving me real responsibility from the outset. Despite my limited experience in business/finance practices prior to the scheme, I was pleasantly surprised to be trusted with tasks that made a tangible impact on client businesses.
Even though my internship was virtual, I still felt as valued as a full-time employee and had no issues integrating with fellow staff and interns. I was even able to represent the firm at several corporate events that were relevant to the projects I was engaged in. Additionally, this scheme is perfect for exploring and gaining experience in fields that may not be directly related to your degree. Coming from a scientific background, I was initially unsure of how I would be able to channel my skills into a business context. I was relieved to find that Fenrix were always on hand to discuss any questions I may have had, helping me understand new terms and processes whilst still allowing me to learn independently "on the job".
Lastly, it's worth mentioning that the firm was extremely understanding of academic commitments alongside my internship and were more than fair in both holiday allowances and monetary compensation. This made it easy to balance my internship with other commitments during the summer holidays meaning I could gain experience without disrupting my summer plans.
What skills have you learned? How do you think the scheme has helped you going forward?
The scheme provided an outlet for me to apply numerical and analytical skills from my chemistry degree to real-life business cases. Practically this involved analysing market data, identifying/interpreting trends, and compiling this research into both internal and client-facing slide decks to give recommendations to clients. In some cases, I presented my findings to executives of client businesses, which wasn't something I had exposure to as part of my degree and was a welcomed challenge.
Moving forward, my internship at Fenrix consolidated that management consulting was the career I intended to pursue and armed me with great examples to discuss in interviews when applying for graduate roles. To conclude, my participation in the scheme was undoubtedly instrumental in helping me to obtain a graduate position in management consulting and I would strongly urge you to take part!
Roy Boiko
What subject did you study at Sussex?
BSc Mathematics with Economics
What scheme/internship did you take part in?
Fenrix Analyst Internship- a remote 8-week internship in the consulting company Fenrix.
What is your role in the organisation?
Analyst/Junior Consultant
Can you tell us a little about what your work involves, and what you enjoy about it?
The main objectives of my job were market research, sizing and analysis(competitive and qualitative) and detailed company profiling.
What was your experience of the scheme like?
Definitely pleasant. The tasks were well explained, and for me personally, quite interesting. Had an opportunity to learn a lot about one specific European market and some bits of basic financial theory as well.
What was your main takeaway from the scheme?
The internship definitely made me consider the field of consulting as something I would gladly choose as my future career.
What skills have you learned? How do you think the scheme has helped you going forward?
First and foremost, the internship clarified how exactly the consulting business works, what are the day-to-day activities of people working in it, and what set of skills it requires to have and to develop.
For me personally, this internship taught many different skills, starting with the most basic such as the use of pwpt and Excel, and ending with far more complex ones like how to research markets properly(what to pay attention to, how to look for sources, what are the different ways to analyse it, etc)
What was the application process like?
I feel like the application process was rather standard for the consulting field. It consisted of three stages: CV submission, the first Zoom interview (mostly discussion about my past experiences, motivation and the description of the position) and the second Zoom interview (this time with the Managing Director - similar to the first, but this time, in the end, it included a case study example).
Did you need to have any previous knowledge or skills in the field before applying?
It is a well-known fact that a consultant's job involves constant work with three tools: Excel, PowerPoint and literally the internet(for research). It is important to be at least familiar with them.
What were the highlights and challenges of taking part in the scheme?
The highlights:
- Great overview and introduction to the field of consulting.
- Instant and quality feedback on any task.
- Well-established communication with your colleagues and superiors.
- Accessible help- I was able to get tips, aid, and answers to even the most simple questions and issues.
- Remote Job style(no commuting and great work-life balance)
The challenge:
- Remote Job style(lacked the "In-office" experience.
What would you say to a student who is unsure about taking part in the scheme?
Would encourage them to do it. In my opinion, it was a great experience.
Interested?
Career Lab UK Summer Internships are open to all second, third and final-year undergraduate students. Applications open in March 2024. Early applications are advised, as vacancies may close at short notice.
The programme is part of Career Lab, a series of opportunities designed to develop students' skills, experiences and confidence, to help boost career prospects. Places are prioritised for students from underrepresented backgrounds, and we particularly welcome your application.
Further information: https://student.sussex.ac.uk/careers/career-lab/uk-summer-internship