RBC Academy Trainee Review

From Day One, I felt very welcome and got along with the team very well.

I was given a good level of support to get started in my role but also a lot of responsibility from early on in the internship. My manager encouraged me to work independently on certain tasks but was always ready to help me when I required and I equally felt comfortable to ask for help from my team members.

In general the programme is fairly packed as it requires you to complete the work assigned to you within your internship role as well as participate in group tasks outside of your core working hours. So although some days were very busy, I started to become more efficient in balancing my workload and my time management skills increased marginally.

I was given my own project to work on about three weeks into the internship and got an opportunity to present this work to a senior member of staff! This was a very exciting experience and great boost to my confidence as the work I was doing had a tangible impact within the time I was there. It was great to the results of my work within a short space of time.

I found the experience very helpful as I'm currently back at Uni in my final year of Economics BSc and writing my dissertation project on the topic of financial development. Therefore the knowledge I've gained has been perfect for this. Similarly learning how to: -manage my time efficiently -input various functions of MS Excel -analyse and present data and general commercial awareness will significantly help me to pursue a career in Banking.

The general atmosphere was quite peaceful and friendly. Due to the intensity of the work, people tended to be quite focused and busy for most of the day but the atmosphere allowed for an occasional moments to chat with colleagues and get to know them better. People also tended to greet you in the mornings and were on-the-whole cheerful.

Very well-organised. I received pre-advice prior to starting my role so I already had a good idea of the role I would be fulfilling. Additionally we had a primary contact in HR that we could send any queries we had to and this helped me really understand the requirements of the group tasks I had to complete. We also had a paper and electronically updated timetable embedded into our email systems so I knew where to be on any given day.

After working here, I have realised that the RBC culture is definitely a culture that suits me and my career aspirations and so I am currently in the application process to get a permanent position with them. Working for the few weeks over the summer was phenomenal so returning to RBC upon graduation would literally be a dream come true.

As expected with Central London, the price of socialising is very high. But that's no excuse to still have fun. The City offers a wide range of restaurants and bars so you can choose to visit a standard foodchain or one that's slightly more upscale. I had the luxury of living at home whilst on the internship so I just had to purchase a travelcard and I tended to eat food from the office canteen or bring in packed lunch.

There is certainly nightlife! Although I am not currently working in the area, I still attend bars and restaurants, very close to where I used to work, with my friends on special occasions. It is a location very easy to get to and get home from for most people so it is definitely an area I would recommend others to visit on a night out.

There were a variety of events advertised via email during my internship and I was able to join one of the staff internal groups and join the activities. Given the range, there were definitely more opportunities I wished I could get to involved in but the short timescale of the internship meant inevitably some events were out of scope.