Commercial Banking Penultimate Year Intern Review

As with all internships there were periods of tedium and things which feel pointless and unnecessary, however, a fair amount of effort was made to ensure that interesting projects were set, and there was a variety of things to do every day. When combined with proactivity about what one is doing, this leads to an enjoyable experience as the projects were interesting and tailored to suit the individual and their interests. The interns and graduate teams are good fun, and this helps to make the internship enjoyable.

Everyone at HSBC holds their values quite dearly, and this is reflected in the fact that people respected me despite being only an intern and knowing very little. The staff make a lot of effort to ensure you understand what is going on and discuss what they are doing with you, as well as taking time out of their day to help you out. I felt that both the graduate team, and the individuals I was working with valued me highly.

With supervisors on the graduate team, and local line managers specific to the placements, and a graduate assigned as a buddy, there was plenty of support and guidance given. This includes senior management, too, who were happy to provide support and lend you their time. They are all happy to help out, and as new graduates are common within the organisation, everyone is accepting of interns, too, who they treat similarly, trying to aid and improve your knowledge and experience.

On a daily basis I wasn’t all that busy, but this is dependent on how proactive I was on that day. Some days were very busy, with a placement based project, charity projects with other interns, helping out your manager, and conference calls and online seminars and training to attend/complete. Other days, particularly towards the end of each placement, were less busy, but there is always more one can do, and by being less busy in those times I was able to spend time with teams other than my own to gain more experience. Realistically, one is as busy as one wants to be.

The level of responsibility given is dependent on your line manager, but managers tend to be happy to give a reasonable amount of responsibility to you, particularly later on in the placement after demonstrating competency. I was given work directly from my managers in-tray to deal with, and worked on projects that contributed directly to regional management. I felt that the level of responsibility was sufficient to make the work feel worthwhile, but not overwhelming.

The skills developed will help quite a lot, as I gained first hand, real world experience of financial analysis and experience of client meetings. By being contributing to real world decisions taken on the basis of financial information, I was forced to really understand every aspect of a financial report, which will certainly help in my degree and future job.

The general atmosphere was good, as there was a mix of teams in my office, and it was a rather large office. The managers are respectful of the fact that you are an intern, and don’t expect too much out of you. Being placed with other interns or graduates provides for a good atmosphere.

As with all internships there were some issues and delays, but in general the internship is very well set up and has improved significantly on previous years. The graduate team are always in touch, and quick to solve any problems. There is a good mix of things to do, with charity projects, charity days, and actual work and socialising. It is very well set up.

There were weekly web seminars with senior leaders and very interesting speakers who educated you on a particular topic. There was a lot of personal training to ensure that you left knowing about the whole business, not just the specific area in which you ended up being placed. There was also an induction weekend and farewell day, with speakers and talks both by HSBC staff and interns on a variety of areas and topics within the bank.

Future employment prospects seem very good, but are mainly limited to the internship area (e.g. commercial banking, retail banking, investment banking etc) that you have applied for. People do move around, but it is not all that common. The bank is keen on investing in people who have been there, so interns are aided as much as possible to get a graduate job within HSBC at the end of the internship.

There was also a lot of socials, which were thoroughly enjoyable, both within the internship cohort, and with my respective placements. There are national socials in London with every intern from across the country, and regional socials with the interns you are working with in your particular area. In general the social scene was good, and not forced. People could stay as long as they liked, and the graduate team attended a healthy balance of the socials.

Reasonable. A good attempt is made to place you somewhere that works for you, be it nearby to home, or university accommodation. For people who could not be placed at a good location, financial help was provided. Socials in London are expensive, as to be expected, but in general the cost of living and socialising is dependent on where your placement is.

In Reading the nightlife is fairly average, but in London the nightlife is obviously good.

There were a few, but not a huge amount. There was a football tournament, and charity work, but aside from that I did not notice too many things going on outside of work.