Account Manager Support - Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship with Handelsbanken. I felt the whole process right through the application stage to being offered a full time role with Handelsbanken was smooth and I was were well informed along the way. You were given regular training days with other interns so you can share your experiences and develop yourself for your role back in branch.

I felt very valued and supported by the colleagues in my team throughout my internship. Whenever I needed help or training there would always be someone willing to give me that support. One of the benefits with Handelsbanken is that there is clear consideration that goes into placing you with a team who you will fit in well with as well as in a commutable distance from home.

At the start of the internship all interns where given a 3 day training course by the training and development team that was so valuable for when we joined our branches as well as having a couple more follow up training courses every 3 weeks. Whilst in the branches we were provided with a training plan which helped you keep track of what you had and hadn’t exposure to. Myself and my manager worked through this training plan together and I had fortnightly meetings with him regarding my development throughout the internship. This allowed me to learn and develop so much as an intern.

The team I was placed in was a fun but hard working team. Time was put aside for the team to bond and socialise which helped me settle and feel part of the team quickly. Handelsbanken understands the importance of a work life balance which I believe is something of a rarity in the banking and finance today.

The internship was very well organised and I felt informed the whole way through the process which helped me feel at ease. HR take pride in developing the internship year on year and there was ample opportunities to give feedback on what did and didn’t work well. It was clear that thinks had been taken on board for my internship program as a result of feedback from the previous interns.

The company definitely invested time in me as intern. My colleagues put time into training me in my role and the training and development team offered approx. 5 training days throughout my 12 weeks, each with a different agenda and area of development. Time was taken by other colleagues in the organisation to share their experiences and how they find working for Handelsbanken.

I am now working for Handelsbanken full time at the team that I undertook my internship with. I felt that throughout my internship they were gearing me up to having a job if I wished. Although there is not obligation from either side to offer or accept a job, if you are wanting a job I feel that Handelsbanken will listen to you, access your progress through your internship and hopefully offer you one if you’re the right fit from them and they are for you.

There was definitely a good social scene amongst my fellow interns. As a result of so many training days we all got very close with one another and knew we were all their to support each other. There was absolutely no competition on the Handelsbanken internship for possible jobs at the end meaning that the fun you had with your fellow interns was genuine. We were also included as interns with the younger employees of the Bank social scene which was really lovely as you got to learn from their experiences.

I was living in London so any socialising is expensive.

Very good.

Yes as well as socialising with my team there are drinks once a month with the fellow young people in the bank. I think it would be nice to have some more social events but for quite a small organisation in comparison to other banking and finance companies there is enough.