Account Manager Support Review

I enjoyed my experience at Handelsbanken as it provided a different outlook on retail banking. They did things differently than I had imagined and it was nice to see a retail bank where the customer was at the forefront of the banks operations. However, as my placement came to an end the work became slightly repetitive however this is down to the highly regulated sector of retail banking, and no fault of the bank or its staff.

At the beginning of my placement I did feel as though I was of little value to the company, however I think this can be expected anywhere as you cannot be familiar with the manner in which tasks should be carried out straight away. As my placement progressed and my colleagues became aware of my skillset, there was rarely a time where I had no work to do, and this led to me feeling more and more valued by my colleagues as it was evident that I was saving them time and resources.

Without failure everyone in my office would offer me guidance and advice if I asked them for it. This was extremely valuable as my colleagues were highly experienced compared to me. However I got the impression that I would not have received as much advice/guidance as I did if I was not proactive and asked for it when opportunities arose.

In the first 2 weeks of my placement there was moments in the day where I found myself with nothing to do. This was a shame but could be understood as all tasks within the bank had to be carried out in a certain manner, therefore requiring a member of staff to free up time to show me first. However as I became aware of how tasks should be done, my colleagues sorted out long terms projects to work on if I had half an hour/ an hour where there was no set tasks for me. This was great as I always found myself with something to do.

I did not have much responsibility within the bank but this was more to do with regulation of the industry, rather than the organisation of my placement. For example I could not officially approve a credit as I have no banking qualifications, making it futile to give me this task as it would require another member of staff to complete it anyway.

In the first 2-3 weeks of my placement whilst I was working alongside the bank managers I learned a lot about both banking and customer service. All of my colleagues embodied Handelsbanken's niche of high customer service quality, and so spending time with each of them provided me with great exposure to this. I would advise anyone on the placement to frequently ask questions about anything as all of the staff were extremely knowledgeable and could explain things well.

A lot of the work in the office was independent and computer based which made some periods of work dull. However we had a team meeting weekly, and due to small size of my team I ended up having good relationships with all of my colleagues which made work quite enjoyable.

Due to the branches being of small size in Handelsbanken, there was a relatively relaxed structure to my placement. None the less, the guidelines that were in place ensured that I had a good understanding of the purpose of my work as well as ensuring I gained a great deal of knowledge from my placement.

The bank allowed me to be involved with everything that I could be in day to day work. They dedicated both the workers time to spend time with me as well as paying for me to attend external networking events which was great for my personal development as it taught me how to engage in business conversation. The bank was fantastic in this regard.

Handelsbanken is keen to attract a younger workforce as they have traditionally hired experienced professionals from RBS/Barclays etc., it is my belief that if both me and my branch manager think that my placement has been successful, there is an open invitation to return next year, all the way through university, with the end goal a graduate job.

There was limited opportunity to socialise with fellow interns as I was the sole intern in my branch, with the next nearest branch being a 20 minute drive away. I did engage in a swap day which enabled me to visit another branch, however in terms of discussing work with fellow interns, there was very limited opportunity.

I lived at home during my placement so did not have to pay rent etc.. However the area is not too expensive to live and train tickets to surrounding cities such as Manchester and Birmingham tend to be relatively cheap. If someone was to pay there own rent, the cost of this would not be too bad in my opinion.

The nightlife was good for me as I know many people in the area because I attended both school and sixth form here. there are a few good places to go out but nothing out of the ordinary for a medium sized town/city. There are probably better places to work i.e. London, Leeds and Manchester.

There was one networking event I was invited to at a golf club but only 7 people attended. Out of work activities were limited but there are plenty of places to eat/drink out as well as go to the cinema. Again there are several cities in the U.K. that would be better in this department.