Application Development.
Turn theory into practice.

When researching the Summer Placement at Baillie Gifford, the opportunity to take a project from start to finish was what attracted me. I liked the long-term approach of the firm and how they see the bigger picture. When I applied, the interview process was very relaxed. It was less about my technical ability and more of a conversation. I thought if I enjoyed the interview, I’m sure I’ll enjoy working there. 

A couple of months before I started my placement, I met with some of the people I would be working with to find out about the project I’d be involved in. The task was to create an interactive investment game to explain investment management for schools, inductions and university events. That meant I had a month before the placement to prepare and do some online tutorials in the tech skills I’d need. It felt great to be working on such an interesting project and hit the ground running.

Although every week was full of new things to learn, there was a clear structure to keep you on track. At the beginning of the week, I would meet with my mentor to go through my current tasks. I also got to meet people from different teams two to three times a week which helped me understand the business on a broader level and helped us develop the content of the investment game we were building. Then, at the end of the week, I’d have a retrospective with my project supervisors to review the work and plan where to go next.

One of the most challenging things for me was learning to ask for help. My instinct had always been to work things out myself, but I can’t afford to spend a lot of time on a small problem during a big project. Asking for help is encouraged here – it’s how you learn. My team is supportive and always there to help me with anything I don’t understand or to just point me in the right direction. Learning this lesson has made me better at what I do.

It was great to choose some of the technologies we used on the project. As well as React and Redux, I got the chance to use Django for the back end and worked with Docker for deployment. I also worked on APIs and really consolidated my understanding of connecting front and backend systems. After the summer placement, I felt the company was a great fit for me, so I was delighted when I got a place on the graduate programme. Two years on, I’m now coming to the end of that programme and looking back, the summer placement was a great indicator of what it’s like to work at Baillie Gifford full time.

I found out about Baillie Gifford through word of mouth as one of my friends joined the firm through the graduate programme. I did a bit of research, and the company’s Shared Beliefs, particularly their customer-focused approach, really resonated with me. At the time, I had a part-time job in the leisure industry and understood the importance of putting customers first. In addition, the application process was very straightforward and relaxed, which suited my personality and allowed me to show who I really am.

Since I was sixteen, I've worked as a lifeguard, so understandably, I had some apprehension about my first office-based role. It’s a very different environment! But I was soon at ease as everyone was so welcoming and encouraged me to ask lots of questions. In addition, it was interesting to meet people from different departments within the firm and better understand the business. I was lucky enough to spend time with an investment manager, a senior trader in the Trading Department and the Settlements Central Support manager. With the Trading department, I even helped put a real trade through, which was very exciting.

During the placement, I worked on a project for the Client Department Support team. Our task was to create an events management system from scratch, where ticket availability can be posted, people can express interest and then tickets can be allocated. It was really satisfying to work on a real, live project from beginning to end.

As part of the project, we piloted a new web application template developed internally and used Angular for the front end, which was a whole new language for me. It was a learning curve, but we received a lot of resources to support our development, such as access to online courses and internal workshops. I was also really inspired by our Tech Lead, who joined as a graduate just three years before and was already managing projects.

My experience on the internship was so good that I applied for the graduate programme and was lucky enough to get a place. Thanks to the knowledge I’d gained during the internship, I could pick up where I left off when I rejoined as a graduate trainee. The opportunities here are leaps and bounds ahead of anything I had in previous roles. I want to work with like-minded people, and I want to give everything to my job and do the best I can. Everyone at Baillie Gifford feels the same.