Global Markets Summer Analyst Review

I extremely enjoyed my internship at the Royal Bank of Canada. The rotational structure of the programme enabled me to gain an understanding of all the different products within Sales and Trading. It was also an excellent opportunity to network with the employees at all levels of the management structure, from junior analysts to Managing Directors.

All my colleagues made sure that they spent time talking to me about their daily routine, explaining anything that I did not fully understand or giving me interesting and challenging tasks. I was even invited to attend analyst meetings outside of the office. Additionally, I was given a project by the Credit Sales team and on the day of the presentation, over twenty of my colleagues came to listen, including Managing Directors.

RBC has a truly flat management structure. I felt that I was able to approach any colleague for advice or guidance, including Managing Directors. After each rotation, we were provided feedback by our supervisor for the two weeks. This was extremely helpful for the future, and also was useful for guidance in finding the product or role most suited to me.

The rotational structure meant that we were on a desk for up to two weeks. Different product classes provided different amounts of work shadowing and projects. I felt that there was a good balance between spending time with colleagues and also developing a further understanding through projects, and you could always ask for additional tasks.

It is difficult to gain much responsibility, as it takes many years to gain clients in most roles. However, I was asked to update presentations used in client meetings, to update the event calendar sent to a whole desk and assist with a research project. I felt that this was extremely useful as these were tasks that junior analysts would do, preparing me for the future.

I believe that the training skills from this internship were invaluable. I extremely enjoyed being on the trading floor and spending ten weeks in the working environment. I gained networking skills, presentation skills (supported by an RBC provided workshop at the Old Vic Theatre) and also developed an understanding of how Capital Markets work. Another very useful aspect was becoming more experienced with Bloomberg and other applications used daily.

The atmosphere was very positive. Everyone was willing to talk to you, regardless of whether you had spent time on their desk or not. RBC has a very collaborative culture, and that was very evident on the trading floor.

I think the rotational structure of the programme was excellent as it meant that I spent time on all the desks of major products. This also enabled me to network with as many colleagues as possible during the ten weeks. I also valued the Old Vic public speaking workshop, a group project as I got to meet other interns from outside Global Markets, and the charity work we were involved with.

During the first week, we were provided with training days, to give background to Global Markets. We were also taken to the Bloomberg offices and given our own account for the internship. I also valued the Lunch and Learn sessions weekly which further explained a product class or discussed relevant topics, with Managing Directors.

I was delighted to receive an offer from RBC in DCM. The offer is for one product class as the graduate programme is not rotational. I am very excited at the prospect of working at the company as I loved my internship and found Global Markets extremely exciting!

My fellow interns and I were very close during the internship. As more than one person tended to be on a desk, I got to know the different interns and worked with them on projects. We also frequently went for drinks after work and on the last day, organised a social event.

London is more expensive than most other cities. However, there were many restaurants or bars in the Bank area to choose from and the RBC canteen.

There are many pubs, bars and clubs in London. It was extremely fun to be living in the city during the internship due to the atmosphere.

RBC provided many opportunities during the internship such as optional talks, getting involved in charity work, a few dinners with the fellow interns and group projects. I always felt busy and really enjoyed finding out about the work RBC do outside of the office.