Intern, PBB Mandatory Transformation Review

I really enjoyed working for RBS, and I have discovered it is a good company to work for. I did enjoy the internship as a whole, however I have discovered that the job I applied for probably isn't one that I would like to go into in the future. I generally take this as a positive though, as it was one of the main reasons why I applied for internships in the first place. Overall I leave having found it a very positive experience for my personal development and it has been a great learning curve.

Whilst some of my colleagues were fantastic in responding to me and I felt like the work I was doing was valued, others in the wider team have ignored my emails which were important in completing work set by my Task Manager. I was able to attend meetings which had varying levels of importance which I was very grateful for, as these were some of my greatest learning experiences. Only one colleague who wasn't working with me directly approached me to welcome me to the team and I think this should have been replicated- not just for my own sake- but for new, permanent employees who should also be welcomed to the work place.

My assigned Line Manager was based in London. I met him twice and spoke to him fewer than around 8 times throughout my whole internship. I feel this was a crucial error in assigning those based in Edinburgh to a manager hundreds of miles away- you will never have the same contact as someone who sits and works with their manager on a daily basis! This is perhaps my biggest criticism of the internship as a whole and I was completely unable to build a good relationship with my assigned Line Manager. He had an incredibly small contribution to my overall development. However the Line Manager assigned to me in Edinburgh [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] to cover my objectives, my Task Manager [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] and their manager [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] have all been fantastic and have helped to shape my internship into what it has turned out to be.

My levels of work varied dramatically, especially earlier in the internship. I preferred my days dramatically when I was proactive. One thing I was happy with was that I was able to say 'no' to my task manager if I was busy with some of the assessments, which I really appreciated. I think I could have had more work in general and would have been happy to take on some menial tasks just to keep me occupied.

I was happy to be treated as an adult with real responsibilities in my internship, though I feel these could have been stretched even further. I enjoyed being given a larger task and spending a lot of time on it independently, rather than constantly having to run back to my manager and ask for more work. I think this would have been a good way to stretch an intern, rather than more of the admin type tasks (which did still help my learning). I hope that my team saw my work as beneficial to their daily and long term work.

I have learnt a lot in this process, but I am unsure how much my various skills have developed. I think in terms of working at RBS or another banking institution in the future, I the process has been really beneficial as I know far more about banking than I once did. In terms of my degree programme, History, there is very little that can be applied from this job to my degree, and I would say that my studies have helped me with this job more than anything. I did pick up some presentation skills that I will take forward.

Very large office space, generally very corporate especially in comparison to the offices like the Digital Studio. Some charity events moving round but not many. As there were so many teams it felt like there wasn't much collaboration between them and nobody was quite sure who was in the various teams sitting right next to them. I get the impression that other departments were far more collaborative than they were in my office.

I was contacted less than 24 hours before my assessment centre in February inviting me along on the day. Obviously this worked out well for me in the long run but it was not ideal to say the least. I arrived on day one to a team that thought I was arriving the next day, and it was incredibly difficult to access a lot of the computer systems in place which made it difficult to get started in the job. I have heard lots of stories about people who thought they were going to be placed in London and had to arrange accommodation two weeks before they arrived in Edinburgh, which I think is incredibly poor planning. As previously stated, my Line Manager being based in London was a real error that hindered my experience dramatically. I know managers based around the company is a normality for many within RBS, but I don't think this is how an intern should be welcomed into the company, especially if the manager doesn't travel between the various bases regularly, which mine did not.

There were online courses available, but nothing that really stood out to me dramatically. I have an interest in Marketing but it was up to myself to organise these chats and visits which could have helped me with my own personal development. I understand that 10 weeks is a short amount of time to invest in qualifications etc., but I did feel like the vast majority of my learning was down to my own independent learning and some from the help of my team.

Very- I like that there is potential for another job at the end of the internship and there seems to be a lot of room for movement within the company which also appeals to me. I would definitely work for RBS in the future.

I live in Edinburgh so I am used to the cost of living. The Edinburgh Festival does meant that prices rise considerably however.

Edinburgh festival meant that it was great in August but due to a smaller population in June/July this meant it wasn't as good. Lots of good bars though.

Many of them were sports based, which isn't my thing. There were many different chats at the inductions saying that we could get involved with lots of things but I never heard from the vast majority of them. I did enjoy Pay Day Drinks as this was a great networking opportunity. I think there should be clearer communication about how to get involved with the many different activities and it should be communicated clearly at the beginning of the internship.