Summer Analyst in TECBAC Operations Review

My work placement was highly enjoyable for a number of reasons. Primarily, RBC had organized a variety of different activities, quests, evenings, and training sessions throughout our period with them that proved both enjoyable and educational. I was also placed in a team that was extremely welcoming, with a task being assigned to me on my very first day that would have lasting benefits for said team beyond my stay with them. This, for me, was one of the most gratifying elements of working there for the two-month duration: I was spending my time doing something useful and not just menial. The only negative was that, due to it being the summer period, there were periods were my direct managers were not in the business and thus the workload taken on by the team meant that I would have days with little to do as the tasks needed doing were either too complicated or access based for me to help or there was simply nothing to be done.

My team made me feel extremely valued throughout my time with them. There were even brief moments of argument over who I was to help that day! I was also made to feel valuable by the division as a whole, with the European manager of Operations talking to us to discern our feedback on the programme but also on the division she oversaw. There was a definite feeling that the managers wanted to hear what we thought and what we had noticed.

RBC makes sure that there is quite an elaborate system in place that ensures managers and supervisors give support and also that you feel able to raise any issues you may be having. They, of course, were impressed by those of us who actively reached out to other peoples and areas to provide education and help we thought we needed but they situated a clear support structure around you. In fact, my manager and the direct team were so supportive that the failure of my buddy to do more than host a 5 minute coffee chat with me once does not impact upon my overall impression of the support given.

This is a complicated one as it varied greatly. Some days I ate my lunch at me desk and worked endlessly, feeling slightly rushed off my feet to answer all the questions and work being directed at me. Other days, I felt there was absolutely nothing to do. The problem was that, in my team, they didn't just want to put me to work on the menial tasks but give me a larger project they didn't have time to do themselves but needed done. Thus, somedays, this task didn't quite provide enough depending on certain factors.

I was given a surprising amount of responsibility: even left in charge of a colleagues investigation into an aspect of the organization while he was out of the business. It involved scheduling meetings with staff from across the business and contacting others for in-depth understanding of trades. I was also given access to the banks' accounts and bill records with external groups, as well as the job to contact some of these in relation to detail changes needed or clarification on certain issues.

This one is harder as the internship was largely detached from my History degree ( a point of constant surprise and query from colleagues). Thus the lines are not as easy to draw directly. Of course, you can make the usual vague claims about time management, organization, teamwork, etc but more than that is hard to truly claim.

It was an extremely relaxed office, with managers and supervisors all easily visible and accessible to those of us in the muddle. The space was large, with cleanly constructed social areas for chats and meetings, as well as glass meeting rooms and offices helping add a feeling of space and modernity to the space. It was a casual dress code, with very little care to the fashion choices made unless deemed inappropriate - thus making it a very relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

There were numerous activities, training sessions, external events, and speakers organised for us during our time with RBC. All were designed to benefit us in some way and were highly enjoyable. The structure and timing were made clear to us on the very first day, allowing us to plan around the events but also to look forward to them. They were oft organised across business areas and departments allowing us to integrate with people from all over the bank and learn about what they did on a day-to-day basis.

They gave us a lot of training, almost too much for the short time we had to engage with it in the initial week. However, we did learn on the job and were provided with numerous online tutorials to refresh and add to the course given to us over two days at the beginning of the internship.

Working for RBC in the future is highly appealing as the bank focuses on internal progression, wanting to ensure the money they put into their staff is retained within the bank. They also offer highly flexible working hours, the opportunity to work from home, focus on good work-life balance, provide subsidized gym memberships (as one example), and the list keeps growing.

Everyone was very friendly, with people actively wanting to make the connections with those around them. People went out for evenings together, explored the City at lunch, met up for quick coffee chats during the day, and generally stopped for quick chats when walking past desks. Everyone was extremely social and pleasant and wanted to be social- particularly on the nights of work events!

London is expensive, the City of London even more so. However, no one was unaware of this when they applied to work at the bank and thus people lived and socialised as one would expect. They either shared a rented space or stayed with a friend, and then socialised as much as the money they earnt during the internship allowed.

It was not really an area for Nightlife - you had to travel to other areas of London to find a good area for that. They were not too far away from the bank but they are not considered to be in the same area. It is much like any big city: there are certain areas for certain things. There were a few bars and pubs, but it wasn't the best area for such things.

The bank encouraged us to get involved in the banks' extracurricular groups. I, for one, was taken along to a council meeting for the women's group for the bank. The group was run between Canada and London, and I was privy to seeing how the group organised new and upcoming events and schedules across the banks' many locations. The women on the council were very happy and excited to have some of us new faces interested in what the group did.