Summer Intern at Coutts/Student at UCL Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed the internship programme at Coutts & Co. (part of RBS group). I have experienced what life as a graduate is like and the various tasks that will be expected of us in the coming years. I have developed both personally and professionally, whilst building a stable network of business contacts, upon whom I will be able to call in the future.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. From the very first week, I was given great responsibility by various members of the team. It was also excellent that they were so patient when I needed clarification on matters. It was also very welcoming that I was able to approach other teams in the bank and complete ad hoc work with them, allowing me to maximise my exposure to the various teams and functions across the bank as a whole.

My Line Manager, [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions], has been absolutely excellent. I have felt supported every step of the week, with regular meetings and catch-ups to discuss my process and my actions for each week. I feel that I can ask my Line Manager for support and guidance with any piece of work. Despite the fact that she has an extremely busy diary, she always has time for me to ask for guidance and to check-up on my progress.

My diary tends to be varied in terms of how busy I am. However, whenever I don't have physical tasks or events in the diary, my team are more than happy for me to get involved with their projects and help with their workload. Also, we have on-going tasks and projects to complete throughout the internship meaning that there is never a moment where I have nothing to do.

I have received huge amounts of responsibility during my internship and this has really helped me to feel a valued and trusted member of the team. I have been allowed to contact clients from the first week and have been invited to attend meetings with various bankers and wealth managers. That being said, I never feel that I have been given too much responsibility, meaning that I felt out of my depth and unable to complete a task fully.

I study modern foreign languages at university and therefore although I have not directly used any language skills that will assist with my development, general communication skills are definitely something that I have improved during the placement. I now feel much more competent and at ease when speaking with clients, understanding that although I may not have the answer to every single question, I can call on the help of my team and the excellent resources I have around me to be able to assist the client to the best of my ability. I have also completed large amounts of report writing over the internship, and written communication is an excellent skills to continuously improve and develop.

The office was a very friendly place to be. There are always events happening across the bank and as an intern I had great exposure to all of these. I never felt as though I was left out of a meeting or event as I was an intern and would be returning to university in September. Everyone is very friendly and chatty which made the working environment a great place to be.

I believe the overall organisation of the internship was good. Sometimes it was difficult as the RBS early careers team is based in Edinburgh and for interns in London and at Coutts, I have felt that sometimes we have not received the same experience as those in Edinburgh. For example, room bookings for the spotlight sessions on Fridays were not arranged for Coutts interns.

The company invested huge amounts in our personal and professional development and I am hugely grateful for this opportunity. A particular highlight was the sessions during the induction in Edinburgh, in which we had a wide range of speakers and interactive workshops. I believe I developed skills which were not only useful for my internship but for the rest of my working life during this induction.

I am highly interested in pursuing future employment, in particular a graduate programme, at Coutts & Co. as a result of my excellent experience on the internship programme. I believe I have made excellent contacts within the organisation and hopefully I will have impressed the team and RBS Early Careers enough for them to offer me a place on this excellent Private Banking programme.

The intern cohort at Coutts is an excellent group of students. We are all from a range of background and universities and we have all got on so well throughout. We have occasionally met with other RBS interns, however, only at events organised by the Early Careers team. It would have been excellent to get to know the other teams more.

The prices in London are challenging for any student! I have been lucky enough to stay at my family home and commute to work every day. The cost of going out in London has not been a huge problem, however, as there are often many events at the bank itself and we have found local places where it is not too expensive to socialise.

The nightlife in London is excellent, however, very expensive in comparison with other cities across the UK. It is not tailored for students and this explains the high prices. That being said, the group of interns have founds places that offer student discount and that are not too expensive, meaning that this has not been a problem and has not deterred us from socialising together.

There were various opportunities to get involved with both RBS and Coutts. There are so many events, mainly fundraising, which employees can get involved in. Personally, I am organising a charity raffle with a team of interns and this is outside of the workplace. This has been excellent to achieve a great work-life-balance.