PMC Summer Intern Review

I worked in the Pensions Management Consulting team, supporting a range of DB pension scheme clients. Day to day, this involved a mix of research, analysis and preparing materials for client and trustee meetings. I worked on projects looking at areas such as scheme governance, sponsor covenant and different endgame options, including buy-in, buy-out and run-on. I also had the opportunity to speak to different stakeholders, help map existing governance processes and contribute to documents and presentations used by the wider project teams. The work was quite varied, which meant I got exposure to both the analytical side of pensions and the more client-facing side of consulting.

Yes, I felt I was given a good amount of responsibility throughout the internship. I was trusted to take ownership of parts of projects rather than only doing smaller administrative tasks. For example, I carried out research and analysis independently, helped conduct stakeholder interviews and produced work that fed directly into client deliverables and discussions. At the same time, there was always someone available to review my work or answer questions, so I felt I had enough independence to learn while still having support when I needed it.

Yes, I developed quite a few of my existing skills, particularly around communication, research and working with clients. I became more confident working with unfamiliar information, pulling out the key points and presenting them clearly rather than overcomplicating things. I also improved my Excel and analytical skills through the project work, and developed my ability to manage different pieces of work at the same time. One of the biggest improvements for me was probably communication, especially through stakeholder interviews and seeing how consultants adapt the way they explain things depending on who they are speaking to.

I received a high level of support throughout the internship. From the start, people were very approachable and happy to explain things if I was unsure, but I was also given enough independence to work things out myself. I had regular check-ins with members of the team and received useful feedback on my work, which helped me improve as the internship went on. I also found that even when people were busy, they were generally willing to make time to answer questions or talk through a piece of work with me.

The culture was very friendly and welcoming. People were approachable regardless of seniority, and I found it easy to ask questions or speak to people outside of the immediate team I was working with. There was also a good balance between people taking the work seriously and the office still feeling relaxed and sociable. I particularly liked that interns were included in team activities and conversations rather than feeling separate from the rest of the company, which made it much easier to settle in quickly.

I really enjoyed the internship overall. The work was varied and I liked being able to contribute to real client projects rather than working on purely hypothetical tasks. I also enjoyed learning more about pensions and seeing how the different areas, such as governance, funding and covenant, fit together in practice. The people were a big part of the experience as well, and the combination of interesting work and a friendly atmosphere made it somewhere I genuinely looked forward to coming into.

Yes