RBWM Intern Review

I enjoyed the working environment, it was very supportive and not at all ruthless as I thought it might be. All the staff I came into contact with was friendly and helpful which furthered my experience. It is only a 6 because overall I found the work to be quite mundane.

I actually felt very valued as a member of (temporary) staff. I was given responsibilities straight away. Initially I didn’t expect this much responsibilities but it was actually very useful and motivating. All the staff treated me exactly how they would treat their peers. Supports were given when needed and appraisals made when I have completed a task to a good standard.

The extent of the support and guidance weren’t as much as I anticipated. However, it was definitely the right level of support my manager would give to other members of his/her team. Although I struggled with this at first, but very quickly I adapted to it. It was also great that it actually provided me with a realistic expectation of how much support I would get as a graduate.

As there were 2 parts of my internship, they need to be treated differently. I was fairly busy for my first rotation where I had work/projects going on almost every day. It certainly kept me busy. The GCC charity projects also kept me busy. This is not quite true for the second rotation in retail. I feel like there was definitely a lack of project work to do.

I was given quite a lot of responsibilities straight away. Initially I didn’t expect this much responsibilities but it was actually very useful and motivating. The responsibilities were quite scary to deal with at first as I’ve never experienced such responsibilities, but they also made me feel like a valued member of a team where my inputs count towards the bigger picture.

Some skills I have developed throughout this internship are stakeholder management and organizational skills. These have helped me to plan for my year in advance. An example of this would be, I am starting to looking for graduate placements now and is actively doing research on them. Whereas before, I would have probably left it till November time.

The general atmosphere in the office was very chill but supportive. Everyone had their own work to do but was happy to answer any questions etc. It was not intense at the slightest, I heard no heated arguments or fall outs. In general, it’s a work environment I would definitely work in.

I think it was fairly organized. I knew where to go to for the induction days, I knew who to contact, which branch to go to etc. The only part I had a problem with is the IT. I didn’t get my laptop till a week later and had problems with my emails as well. I feel like they could have organized this part better.

The inductions days were good but I feel like that is about the extent of it.

The employment prospects at HSBC are great. Because it is such a huge company, there is bound to be a role perfect for me. As it is an international company, this also greatly appeals to me as I would like to travel. The career progressions and support given are also tremendous.

There was certainly a good social scene when I was at 8 Canada Square as everyone is in the same building but just on various floors. It was very easy to organize a meet up. Whether it is for lunch or just for a quick coffee break. It was harder when I was in branch in Edinburgh, there were only a few other interns in Scotland so we didn’t really have a social scene.

Since I socialized most while at Canary Wharf, it was pretty expensive (as expected). In terms of living, when I was in London, I lived fairly far away from Canary Wharf. It would take me around 45mins to a hour on the tube. Even given that, cost of living in general was high. The cost of living very low in Edinburgh in comparison as I lived at my parents house, rent-free.

Nightlife is great in London. You are always only a few stops away from good clubs, bars and restaurants.

Not really.