CMB intern Review

There is a world of opportunity at HSBC. Whether I decide I want to live abroad or at home, work with lots of clients or have more of an analytical role, there will always be something new that I can embark on. This is one of the great benefits of working for such a global organization with so many different areas within the bank – I can always learn something new and find a new challenge for the future.

The people that I meet here are consistently kind, with a real interest in helping you to be at your best. The team I work with are always eager to help you and answer and questions, and we have had 2 post-work outings to build stronger relationships. My colleagues give me feedback that I have really contributed to their success over the 8 weeks and I do feel valued.

I was given just enough guidance to start different projects, but not so much that I felt like I was being micro-managed! I was given the trust to do what I thought made the most sense, which means you learn more along the way. I also felt more excited to come to work knowing that I was responsible for my own progress as well as the team's.

I was usually just the right amount of busy. I had to drive my own progress. I had allocated projects to do by my line manager, but when I finished these I would ask the team members for any additional things I could work on to help them and they always found something for me to do. I also had a project ongoing with other interns to come up with a presentation about the future of trade finance. I've had many great opportunities to learn.

I was given a healthy amount of responsibility - enough for me to feel like I was really bringing value to the organization and getting a lot out of the internship - however not too much to make me stressed out and worried. This could differ depending on management style but I was allocated a very good one. As an intern group however, we are encouraged to drive our own internship - for example, if you are interested in trade finance you can make it your responsibility to set up a work shadow or ask to attend a client visit around that topic (instead of getting your manager to do it for you).

The internship was helped me develop better report writing skills, communication skills, networking skills, as well as teaching me to be more assertive and ask for the things I really want. It has also helped me to feel relaxed in an office environment and realise that we are all people here and I can be myself at work. I would say these are great skills for life. In terms of training, we received a series of training days to enhance our knowledge of the business segments, potential roles, career paths you can follow. These were very educational but also good networking opportunities as we could meet with around 50 other interns in the same boat from around the UK.

At the beginning of the week, there is some chatter and catching up from the weekend and then people get right to work and focus on their tasks. Throughout the day there is general chatter because people will be helping each other out or informing about different updates. There are also people on calls often. Towards the end of the week, people start to chat more again and there is a dress-down Friday to ease us all into the weekend. I have experienced a great work life balance here and I think the atmosphere is generally relaxed and friendly but more quiet and focused when it needs to be.

Excellently organised. The internship programme managers have done a seamless job when organising the internship events as well as coordinating placements, answering queries quickly and lots of other things. I can't think of much that I would change myself apart from the odd small thing but it was overall very good.

We had a two-day induction, a development day, a corporate social responsibility day for dementia friends, and a two-day farewell event to round things off. We had online learning experiments which touched on ways to be a high-flyer, learning from others, the importance of reflection, organised note-taking, how you can make an impact in a meeting and many more. These were fantastic ways to make you think a lot more about self-development. We also discussed the results with a mentor and left a comment - giving rise to hundreds of comments with advice you could adopt from other interns and their mentors. A brilliant resource which you can access at any time. I also had regular face to face meetings with my line manager to talk about my progress.

Very appealing. I really hope I am taken on for the graduate scheme because I am won over by the company - there are endless opportunities, people to meet, things to learn. There's also great development opportunities and promotion opportunities and the perks of the job are very good.

Very good we were actively encouraged to mingle and talk to each other and I have made genuine friends here and met some brilliant people. I have never felt like I am in competition with the other interns, there is nothing "cut-throat" about it. Everyone is friendly and keen to help you succeed and enjoy your time here. We had an organised bowling night and a black tie dinner on a separate occasion!

I was living from home and commuting 20mins on a train to work so I saved a lot of money. I found the cost of living to be completely fine and socialising has always been easy. I know a lot of interns in London who struggle a bit more because they are paying for accommodation there however they are given a little extra salary because of the high cost of living.

The nightlife is good as it is the same city which I go to university in. I also went out in Birmingham with some interns after one of the networking/development events and it was fun to get to know people in a more fun atmosphere. I'm satisfied with the nightlife in my area.

There was a group of colleagues who were going to represent HSBC at pride events, as well as a cycling event which you can attend, and a wellbeing day about health. I also set up a charity bake sale in the office and it was a great success - we are encouraged to do things like this.