Lending Product Franchise COO Review

Work was very interesting. Worked in an agile environment which meant I was always doing different tasks and the work was very fast paced. Also had opportunities to see and talk to other areas of the bank and line manager was helpful at making connections if I couldn't arrange myself.

I spent the first couple of weeks understanding the products offered by the bank and the structure of the bank. There were also several it systems that I needed to register for. After that I was able to start making valued contributions to the team and felt like I was actually part of the team.

Line manager was always very supportive at answering my questions. Also recommended tasks that would be in my skillset. There is also learning available through HR such as Determined to Lead and a course on agile working. You are also set goals to make sure you get the most out of the internship.

I was busy with work on daily basis as I wanted to experience as many different areas of the bank as possible so had experiences beyond my team. The hours were very reasonable being 9 to 5 and I was never expected to work longer but I would say there was an expectation to get the work done.

Working in an agile environment that is task based I was given my own specific tasks to complete. I had full responsibility in completing those tasks. I also had my own project that I worked on with the help of other members of my team and also other teams in the bank.

In my team I think I learnt many useful skills. I had to present my progress to the teams in fortnightly meetings which helped me developed my public speaking skills. I also learnt a lot about agile working which allowed our team to achieve a lot in a short amount of time. In addition I was able to speak to lots of different people which developed my networking skills.

I worked on a pilot floor which had hot desks. The environment was very relaxed and we were given cards to access laptops from lockers. You could sit anywhere you want and in the middle of the office there was a land rover which had a desk in it for meetings.

The placement was fairly well organised. We received regular emails informing us of learning and development events and I felt well supported and could always have my questions answered. The only area where it didn't feel organised is I didn't feel well informed about my pay and tax and also access to IT systems.

There were several in person training opportunities available to me which my manager was always happy for me to take time out to attend. There were also loads of online courses available which I could also access some from home. I was also recommended other courses to take from my team such as courses from Google.

After the internship there is a 2 year grad scheme which has rotations lasting 6 months each. It is a great working environment and having spoken to all the grads they all say that it is a great place to work. Employees are very supportive when talking about future careers.

Amongst the interns there was a good social scene. On our floor when not with our teams we would work together which was helpful for figuring out things such as pay and tax. We also made sure to do something outside of work at least once a week. I also had socials with my team.

Working in London the cost of living was high however, I commuted in from home and costs can be avoided by buying meal deals instead of going out for lunch. Also taking advantage of happy hour in the evenings. To compensate RBS give a bonus to those working in London.

Office was based in central London so nightlife was very good. There is a lot of variety available so you'll never get bored. It is more expensive than I am used as I'm not from London. However, we stuck to cheaper bars and didn't feel so bad about spending money after a day of earning money!

Outside of work there were sporting activities / competitions however, my team didn't really get involved with this. There was table tennis on our floor so we would regularly play during lunch breaks. We also had after work drinks both with my team and with other interns and grads at social events.