Victoria Adams

University:
Nottingham

Degree Subject:
Russian and Spanish

Desk:
Commodities, IEB, Emerging Market & Ruble Swaps

My opportunities and responsibilities varied from desk to desk: one day I might be simply shadowing a broker and (during quieter periods) asking questions, and the next I would be booking trades and even covering Russian clients for colleagues. The desk rotation within commodities was truly excellent. I was exposed to all products within ICAP Energy, including carbon emissions, freight, coal swaps, crude oil and fuel oil, middle distillates, UK power and natural gas. My day started at around 7am and, depending on which desk I was on, finished between 5pm and 7pm. The day within Electronic Broking would start a little later and involved a lot of entertaining clients such as lunches and dinners. Drinks after work was of course optional, but this gave me another opportunity to get to know my colleagues and the business a little better.

The desk rotations have been challenging and it is precisely these experiences that have made it so exciting. When I first hit the desk I didn't find it easy adjusting to different price levels on the various spreadsheets each broker used, but that's something that you learn as you move from desk to desk. At the beginning you feel more of a hindrance than a help, and until you've tuned into each individual business, the voice brokers could be shouting out bus numbers for all you know!

If you expect an internship at ICAP to be all work and no play, then you are mistaken. As far as extra-curricular activities go, we took part in a touch rugby league and Capital FM's King of Shaves in aid of Help A London Child. With regards to the programme itself, I wasn't expecting so much structure - I had excellent exposure to a broad range of products and teams within the business and my desk rotations covered both voice and electronic broking.

Assess whether you think it's the right career for you. You need to have a passion for the financial markets, an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to get on well with people. If you want to get a place on an internship or full-time programme, make sure you add some colour to your CV by spending your summer vacations in work experience placements. Be proactive and you will achieve what you set out for!

The personalities of the ICAP people and their work ethic are what have made my time within ICAP - both in and out of the office - so fantastic. Being given various responsibilities was a great part of the internship, and knowing that I enjoyed what I could potentially be doing as a broker made me want a place on the training programme all the more.