Technology and Operations Intern Review

The placement at Santander was a great experience that truly gave me the opportunity to put my experience within Excel and PowerPoint to good use when supporting my line manager as well as other members of my team. The culture at Santander really shines through with everyone you meet within the company being genuine and always being helpful if you need advice on how best to approach a certain piece of work.

After the first week of the internship I was straight away engaging in an important project that involved multiple business areas of the bank and required me to work alongside my colleagues to meet critical deadlines and liaise with senior managers and even gave me exposure to members at the director level of my business area. This showed how important the work I was doing really was and I was always complemented on pieces of work that I had completed to a high standard which was very motivational.

While working alongside senior managers in my team I was always given support anytime I asked and given guidance whenever I had to face a task I was unsure how to approach. I never felt that I couldn't approach them as they were always friendly when explaining further details of particular projects and keeping me in the loop in regards to any updates occurring on the project as a whole.

During the first week it usually consists of getting used to the work lifestyle and meeting members of your team and other areas of the business. The workload slowly picked up as I started to learn more about the project I was undertaking and after the first week I was given more responsibility such as taking minutes in key meetings as well as working on slide packs for use of senior managers and other stakeholders which kept me very busy over the duration of the internship.

Over the course of the internship I was given more responsibility following the first week. This was given in the form of starting to do the minutes and actions of a variety of meetings for the project I was a part of which included both senior managers as well as our director. The director also got to know me on a first name basis due to working closely when being given updates on how to improve the slide pack I was creating.

The internship gave me a great variety of skills including Excel and Powerpoint as well as interpersonal skills through liaising with senior managers and directors in order to meet deadlines and work closely on key projects. This helped me to become more confident when communicating with others and feel more valued in regards to my contributions which are skills that are going to help me greatly in my future careers.

The atmosphere was generally a great mixture between being able to joke between colleagues as well as having a serious approach when completing work for a tight deadline which gave a perfect balance in order to really feel comfortable in the workplace. Overall there was a relaxed approach as it doesn't get too hectic as long as I kept on top of the work I had been given in order to ensure the project was completed on time.

The internship was set up very well as I settled into the team very quickly and felt as though I was already an employee at Santander. I was always given support where required and given responsibility early on in order to show my skills in the workplace. The induction at the beginning was very smooth and gave a great introduction into the culture at Santander.

During my time I was able to ask my colleagues for help on any queries I had regarding the project which gave me the opportunity to learn more about the in-depth features of both Excel and PowerPoint which was very beneficial as this experience can be used for an array of tasks. Throughout the internship you spend one session per week with your line manager where you have the opportunity to ask them any questions about your experience as well as ask if you wish to take on more responsibility or any other support you require.

The internship is geared towards moving into Santander's graduate programme which you can find out more on in the 9th week based on your progression during the internship and your performance. There is a great encouragement to retain their employees and making you feel at home which is very motivating as you feel your contributions never go unnoticed.

There were a few other interns at my location which I was introduced to early on in the internship which was reassuring as this allowed me to talk to others in the same situation and learn more about other interns experience. During your lunch period you have the opportunity to meet others in the canteen through which I met some of the graduates who gave me more details about their time and experience with Santander which was all very positive.

Living expenses were relatively cheap and bars and clubs were also well priced on the weekends.

The Nightlife was reasonable but fairly average overall with there being around 2 or 3 main clubs on the weekend and a generous amount of bars to choose from. This gave plenty to choose from to go to during time off which were great places to unwind after the work week.

Santander hold community days where you are encouraged to volunteer for projects in your local community which are done during work hours. These are a great experience where you get to work with other interns of team members in order to get to know more colleagues as well as doing something helpful for others.