Business Operations.
Explore your potential.

My internship was with the recently formed Central Information Management team, which manages the firm's fund data. As this team works closely with lots of others around the business, I learnt about their responsibilities as well as several other functions in investment operations.

During my placement I found ways to improve some of the team’s processes and helped them shorten delivery times. It didn't matter that it was an unconventional route into finance either. At Baillie Gifford, it's about the skills and perspective you have rather than what subject you studied

One of the reasons I decided to apply to the graduate programme was that Baillie Gifford really cares about its staff. In engineering, I could have found myself working 14 hour days and living on oil rigs. While at Baillie Gifford, I could have a challenging job that I would really enjoy but also be home in time to have a life outside of work.

I was really impressed by the amount of training offered during my placement, especially because some of the courses were delivered by external providers. The firm was very willing to invest in me, even though I was only there for a short period. Everyone I met was so friendly and willing to answer my questions. This level of engagement and investment in my development has continued throughout the Business Operations graduate programme and into my role in Internal Audit.

After finishing my undergraduate degree I worked for some international development charities. This was when I became interested in how organisations engage with their staff and decided to do an HR qualification. Rather than apply for jobs after my Masters, I wanted to get a placement that would give me an oversight of the whole HR function and help me find the right specialism to build my career. Therefore, I applied to Baillie Gifford because they have a large HR department and a reputation for looking after their staff.

As I had already worked for nearly two years before my Masters, I was slightly concerned that the placement wouldn’t be challenging enough. However, I needn’t have worried as I was given a great mix of responsibilities. As well as helping with day-to-day tasks, I’ve been working on longer terms projects to develop an internal
training course and research a new recruitment initiative. The work has been challenging but also incredibly rewarding.

It’s a really supportive environment here. Our achievements are acknowledged, and they encourage us to learn from any mistakes. I have regular meetings with my line manager to go through any questions or concerns, and she’s always willing to stop what she’s doing to explain things to me.

To succeed at Baillie Gifford, you need to have a positive mindset and be open to everything that comes your way. You have to be proactive. My involvement in several projects came about because I had shown an interest, and accepted the opportunity to get involved. If you’re ready for a challenge, then you can learn a lot at Baillie Gifford.

Many people I know had their internships cancelled this year, so I was shocked when Baillie Gifford offered a four-week virtual substitution. Fifteen of us worked across all departments in the firm and we spent 80% of our time together in a broad range of educational sessions. Working in online teams, we undertook two main projects.

I’d hadn’t heard of Baillie Gifford before or considered a financial services organisation. I met them at a career fair as I had heard they were interested in meeting people from all subjects.  I read all the literature, but I still didn’t think I would pass any of the online tests. Then I realised that there weren’t any! Application processes can be very generic, but here it’s a lot more personal. The interview was very enjoyable. I was immediately put at ease and felt valued as an individual.

All of the interns were allocated a mentor, and mine was really supportive. We had regular one-on-one meetings, and I was able to shadow her team meetings. I don’t have a financial background, but I have a real interest in the sector. I wanted to know more about the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks appearing in investment. For example, can we force British diversity values on Japanese all-male boards? To help me learn more, my mentor organised a Zoom call with Jonathan Gordon, an ESG Associate in the business.

One of our projects was to put together a presentation on how Baillie Gifford can maintain a culture that embraces radical change, whilst remaining competitive. As part of my research, I sent out emails to people across the firm. How many responses I got and how willing people were to help blew me away. They were all very quick at getting back to me, even though we’d never met face-to-face. I soon realised that this is just the way they do things at Baillie Gifford. It’s such a positive culture, and everyone is very supportive.

I’d not heard of Baillie Gifford, but was interested in the unique structure of their in-house Legal department. It was a different approach than those taken by my peers who were looking to work in law firms. I wanted more experience in commercial and contract work, so I did some research on the Legal team at Baillie Gifford and realised that many of them had similar work interests to mine.

We had a full induction on our first day, including an introduction to the firm and an icebreaker exercise. Prior to the session, we had to send in two truths and one lie about ourselves and then, during the icebreaker, guess which was the lie for each person. Then we had an IT induction. We learnt how to use Zoom and to make appointments so we could set up meetings with people around the business. We also got introduced to our mentors, who we would meet with every week to discuss any questions.

At the end of the internship, we all had to do an activity to raise money for a good cause. So I decided to run 10k through the centre of Glasgow. I enjoy running, but I’d never run that far before! My mentor during the internship was hugely supportive and circulated my JustGiving page to all his contacts. Overall, I raised £370 for the British Red Cross. I really like how the company always get behind charity projects and community work. It’s an ethos built into their culture.

I have two highlights from the internship. Firstly, getting to meet so many different people through our scheduled meetings with all the departments. I got to really understand the firm and how the business works, and from that, I was able to build greater commercial awareness. Secondly, taking part in Friday socials with all of the other interns. We all got on really well and would often stay online after our work sessions to have ‘virtual coffee breaks’ together.

I knew of Baillie Gifford’s reputation as a friendly firm with a strong cultural ethos, so I applied for the Client Administration placement. The interview process and induction were personal and showed me that the firm was interested in me as a person. This continued into the placement, where the aim was to teach us as much as possible while giving us tasks that add value to the business.

I worked in the Unitised team within the Client Administration department. This section looks after over 70 funds, and it was my task to write a description of each fund, its history and the day-to-day processes. It was a great project for an intern because it gave me an overview of all the different funds and how they work. As well as my ongoing projects, team members took the time to show me what they do day-to-day and gave me the chance to assist them, which I really valued. 

Everyone is very open and welcoming, which creates an excellent environment for learning. Being part of such a supportive team that appreciated my hard work was the absolute highlight of my internship.  

Although part of my degree is in economics, I wouldn’t say it put me ahead of anyone else. Interns come from a range of subject backgrounds, so you’re not expected to know anything about the industry at the start. I also got a lot of support from a mentor in the department. We had weekly catch-ups where I could ask questions and she even invited me to team social events. It was such a positive experience that I joined the firm permanently in 2019 on the Business Operations Graduate Programme.