Driving Diversity - Spring Insight Day Review

The Driving Diversity Spring Insight Day was packed full of many different activities throughout the day. RBC had clearly made sure to show all aspects of their banking operations whether that be Investment Banking, Equity Research or Wealth Management and there were people from each division that were available to talk to.

Although it was only a one day event you did feel that everyone there had time to talk to you and you didn't feel like you were wasting anyone's time. However because it was only one day it is difficult to get a real sense of feeling valued at the company but for the timeframe everyone was very welcoming.

The Insight Day was well structured so we didn't have to do anything without instructions. We took part in a case study to do surrounding deal advisory and the we received guidance on how we should go about the task and we could ask for help throughout. The same goes for the simulated training game we took part in.

Since it was only a one day event it was difficult to develop a thorough and varied skill set and because we were not doing any real work there were not as many skills to develop as there would be in an internship. However it helped to develop networking skills and group skills, although these skills are not necessarily related to degree studies.

The Spring Insight Day was very well structured from start to finish. We were given a sheet with the itinerary for the day and it was packed full of different activities and talks. However there was a lot to fit into one day so at some points it did feel a little bit rushed.

The general atmosphere during the Insight Day was very friendly. The whole company generally has a friendly vibe to it, with everyone being very approachable and happy to speak to you and deliver presentations. Definitely not what you would expect if you were thinking it was a strict, hierarchical Investment Bank.

In terms of personal training and development the firm could not invest in us much because we were only there for one day. However attending the day meant being given an opportunity to be fast tracked for the Summer Internship programme so in terms of development I guess the firm did invest in that aspect.

Despite the short timeframe the Insight Day did help to some extent to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the firm because of all the information that was given to us and the opportunity to ask employees about their daily roles and responsibilities.

The Insight Day helped me to understand that the firm has a very open and friendly culture and values all opinions from people of any background. Although it was difficult to understand what the day to day culture would be like because we were not there for long enough .

RBC Capital Markets tried to expose us to all the divisions within the firm, with employees from different departments delivering presentations in the morning and joining us in the evening for networking. This helped me decide which division would be best for me, although because time was limited I'm sure there were a lot of details left out.

Travel was reimbursed

There were opportunities throughout all of the presentations to ask questions to the employees delivering the talk. We were also taken around the Trading floor where we had the opportunity to speak to traders as they worked. In the evening we had the opportunity to network with many different employees.

The networking/ social event opportunities were well put on and very useful. Everyone was very approachable throughout and you did not have to worry about asking the right questions as they were happy to answer anything you want to ask or even just to have a chat to them in a more casual sense.

We were not really told much about activities that employees could get involved in outside of work. However employees would have been happy to answer that question if you wanted to ask about it. I know that RBC does run a lot of different activities outside of work anyway, whether that be charitable or sporting.

I would definitely recommend the Insight Day to a friend, it was a great opportunity to find out about the firm with a lot of information provided. It was a shame that the event was only one day long because it could have easily been 3 days or a week long and not quite as rushed.