Technology & Operations Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship with Santander. The people were all very welcoming and encouraging and I felt like a valued member of the team. There was a good work/life balance in the office which was refreshing to see in a corporate environment. I would recommend interning at Santander if you want to experience what it is like to work for a global bank.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues and by the end of the 10 weeks, I felt like an integral part of the team. As I was given more responsibility and became more aware of the demands of the role, I felt more at ease and valued. I was sceptical when applying for internships as I thought I would be treated differently and be given insignificant jobs, but this was far from the case at Santander - you are treated very fairly and like a part of the team.

My manager was very helpful throughout my internship - from the weeks leading up to my internship and during. I had a call before my start date where I was told everything I needed to know about the role I was going into and some background about the bank. During my internship we had weekly 121s which I found very useful. They were a great opportunity to raise any queries or concerns and to learn how to improve on the job.

This varied quite a lot. I travelled to a different Head Office for a day or two during some weeks for meetings and workshops, but during other weeks I had no travelling to do so could just get on with on-going tasks that I had been allocated. I think that the workload was about right and I was always asked this question during my weekly 121s. There was definitely a good balance of extremely busy days and quieter days which I enjoyed.

Again, I felt sceptical at first as I thought that I wouldn't be given much responsibility as it was only a 10 week internship. At the start, I was given some responsibility, but as the weeks went by, I was given more and more responsibility which I liked. Understandably, there is a limit to the jobs and responsibility you can be given in 10 weeks, but I felt like there was a good level of responsibility in my role.

Although my internship is not directly applicable to my studies, I think that the skills I have learnt can definitely be carried forward into my final year of university and into future job roles. Skills like time management, working in a team and communication are all transferable and are skills that I have developed during my internship. I was actively encouraged to reflect on what I had learnt and complete weekly learning logs each week.

Generally spirits were high in the office. People were busy, but when there was a quieter period, everyone would socialise - interns included. In general, I would say that this was a good atmosphere to work in and people really involved the interns in their conversations and social plans (e.g. lunch). It was a good working environment as it was quiet when it needed to be, but people still had fun when the time was right.

Personally, I felt that it was very well organised, but I think that this is largely due to the team that I was placed in and the line manager that I had. Having compared my experience to other interns I worked with, I would say that I had a better experience than most when it comes to organisation. Nevertheless, I had a great experience and felt as though my internship was well organised. On my first day I had my photo taken for my security pass (which I received two days later) and had a laptop delivered and set up. I also received a work phone a couple of weeks after that. Overall, I could not really fault the organisation of the internship.

We had to do mandatory training during the first week which was very generic. I also had to do some online training that was specific to my role and ended up being quite helpful. It introduced me to the specifics of my job and the processes they follow. We also had to carry out a CSR project within our allocated intern teams. We were allocated 1 hour per week to this project and we arranged calls and meetings within our team to set up fundraising events and brainstorm our ideas.

It is appealing to work at Santander in the future as I think there is a great working environment and good work/life balance. I also think that getting a place on the Graduate Scheme is appealing as it would be a guaranteed job after university (conditional on your degree classification) and gives you the opportunity to move around the organisation and to experience different roles within your chosen business area.

Not really applicable. It was good to socialise with the other interns at the Head Office that I was placed at - we went for lunch together each day and sometimes took trips out at lunch time or went for pub lunches. I think the best opportunity to socialise with the other interns was the intern events (on-boarding and off-boarding) and also at the off-site event that I had. However, the off-site event was only for my business area, so the vast majority of interns may not have had this opportunity.

The cost of living was very cheap for me as I still lived at home and lived very close to my workplace (within walking distance). Again, socialising was fairly difficult, but we were only a short drive from pubs so we could go on team pub lunches if we wanted. I think the cost of living is reasonable though as my buddy (a graduate) lived in the area and said it was reasonable.

The nightlife is average - there are a lot of bars in the centre of town and a handful of clubs. This is about 20 minutes drive from the actual location of the Head Office however. I did not experience this with any fellow interns or colleagues, this is just from personal experience. There is about 3 pubs in the surrounding area (within walking distance) if you wanted to go for a drink after work though.

There was the opportunity to get involved in charity events that people had organised. For example, there was a rounders match organised within the team and some of the other interns planned events that you could get involved in. I would say that the level of involvement depends on the individual and that this is maybe something that could be improved.