CMB Penultimate Year Summer Intern Review

During my two four week placements at HSBC I was given a great insight into the commercial banking industry. On the whole it was thoroughly enjoyable with a change to network and get to grips with the day-to-day work that is done within the bank. Many social events were organised after work to become more than colleagues with fellow interns, grads and full-time employees, something which will benefit me in the years to come. Sometimes during the day I became bored when I had finished my work and there was nothing left to do however, something which wasn't helped by having a busy manager.

HSBC has a big focus on its "Emerging Talent". This meant that all of its employees welcome interns and grads with open arms and from day 1 make you feel a part of the team - the social events that were organised enhanced this feeling. On the odd occasion when managers were busy it was difficult try and found work as I didn't want to be a hassle but generally they were good with me asking and didn't make me feel like I was hassling.

My two managers on the whole were great. My first manager was great and helped me grow my confidence with analysis, something that was needed in my first days in the role. My second manager was more wanting to throw me in the deep end, which although was scary in hindsight helped me to grow and enhance my knowledge - a bit more of a helping hand would've been great though.

Busyness varied between each role. My first placement was more of a constant workload so when I wasn't busy made it easier to find extra work from other people in my team. This was different in my second placement which was more project based, meaning whilst I was waiting on responses to my emails I found myself twiddling my thumbs a little as there wasn't much ad hoc work that I was able to help out with

I was given a reasonable deal of responsibility in both placements, more so in my second placement, as I was thrown in the deep end. However on my first placement I wasn't able to have any client contact which was annoying as this would've been a great experience. In the same role though I was given the task of completing a credit paper which was to be sent off to credit, something that was great for me to do.

Overall the knowledge I gained across the 8 week placement is very valuable. From a finance perspective it gave me a better view of the industry, something that is easily transferable on to my economics related degree. The biggest thing for me was learning a lot more on cash flow, something that I had an okay understanding on before, but with a secondee from KPMG in my first team I was able to thrive off his knowledge and ask him any questions that I had.

The general atmosphere on my first placement was brilliant, there was a real family vibe with constant laughs, obviously though with us doing our work when needed but this made me want to do even better because of the friendly environment. On my second placement, again was a good environment, but due to being at Head Office in Canary Wharf was a bit more serious and stressful, making a bit more on edge about impressing than I was in my first placement.

Overall the intern programme team did a wonderful job. All of the inductions and welcome days were organised brilliantly and as a result constantly knew what and when I was supposed to do something. Throughout the placement there was constant contact via email as well as conference calls every Wednesday afternoon from a different guest speaker from various departments. Two volunteering projects were also arranged during placement, with one being a volunteering day in London, something that I really enjoyed.

Future employment prospects with the company are fantastic. The turnover from internship to grad scheme is really high so this relieves a lot of pressure on me during my third year at uni to get a grad job. Also beyond the grad scheme you can roll off into a permanent role at any time for a full time job. At some point as well there is a chance to apply for the International Manager programme, something which is a great opportunity if you can commit to the upheaval of moving country every two years.

All of my fellow interns were lovely and wanted to get to know each other really well. A group of us became good friends over the course of the internship and certainly will remain in touch. Socially we tried our best to meet for lunch most days - obviously when the job didn't get in the way - and met for a catch ups chatting about how our placements were going.

As I worked in London for all 8 weeks the cost of living and socialising was really expensive. Eating out for lunch regularly wasn't affordable so I tried my best to bring packed lunches - but obviously wasn't easy when I was too lazy to make food on some days. Going out for drinks after work wasn't cheap either with bars costing quite a lot. The pay on the internship was reasonable though so this made it a bit more affordable.