Risk, Conduct & Restructuring Intern Review

Thoroughly enjoyed my placement, particularly how the work life balance was stressed. There were plenty of opportunities to develop my learning and it was widely encouraged for you to explore other areas of the bank or areas you were interested in. All of the staff were friendly and more than willing to help.

I do feel valued by my colleagues. This involved joining their socials, having lunch with them, finding out a bit about them personally and their background within the bank. However I do feel that some colleagues thought it was the responsibility of my line manager and line manager only to supply me with work.

There was plenty of guidance and support given by my line manager and my colleagues. Although the team itself was fairly busy, where constant guidance wasn't available it gave me the opportunity to demonstrate how I could learn independently. My only criticism is that the guidance could have been more constant throughout.

There was a reasonable balance of business. In some cases there was not enough work to do, or the team was too busy to provide you with work and provide guidance on this. However, where there was opportunity to get involved the team would always make sure this was extended.

I was given a moderate level of responsibility. Although I felt like I could take ownership of a task, the level of responsibility was restricted by my access to back office systems and various platforms the team used that required specific access. However, my line manager made sure I could see a project through from start to finish.

The skills I have developed and the opportunities for learning I have gained were possibly the best thing about the internship. The mindfulness and personal development skills I believe will help with my degree, yet the whole experience of being in the RBS environment and learning about business and finance culture will held be beyond.

There was a great vibe within the team. This included a good mix of business and personal conversation when appropriate. Everyone in the team enjoyed the work life balance, going to the gym during lunch or before work etc. and I believe this contributed to the atmosphere. The various teams in the office were maybe slightly siloed.

The induction was fantastic at giving a mix of RBS and internship related content, as well as useful skills and exercises. The organisation of the information packs and our line managers was brilliant and set out the objectives, assessment and expectations in a clear manner. The only questionable thing with organisation was confusion over pay, how this worked and tax.

I could not have asked for more in terms of personal training and development. The number of webinars, spotlight sessions and face to face lectures was endless and I loved that this was accessible to all. There were so many opportunities I would have loved to have undertaken, but there was just not enough time in the 10 weeks!

I am currently not sure whether or not I have a future Graduate job within the company. However, my experience within RBS so far has been positive and I would love the opportunity. In this sense a chance at future employment is very appealing. The internship has given me a good insight.

I feel very lucky to have met the people I have done on the internship. I feel this was massively helped by the induction and the fact that my placement was in Gogaburn where the majority of interns are and where the Edinburgh social scene is good, especially since I am not from the area.

The cost of rent was quite challenging, especially during August when the Fringe was on. I felt that there could have been a relocation benefit as had I been living on my own I do not think the salary would have covered the cost of a short term rent that was organised so late on.

The Edinburgh nightlight was good and varied, especially excited for the Fringe coming up. There was a mixture of groups you could socialise with, including the team who were very welcoming. There was also no pressure if you didn't want to attend every single event going on at night or intern related.

There were opportunities to get involved in activities, however you often had to go looking for these. The Sports council for example I was introduced to via another intern and had no idea what was to offer prior to this. It is great having the gym on campus and all the volunteering opportunities I believe are a bonus.