Summer Intern Review

From an organisational perspective, the Grad Team and HR did really well to create events and give us the right experience. The division itself was really good, although it took some time to adjust. However, would highly recommend.

I got on really well with my colleagues in my division.

My manager in the division struggled at times because he was really busy, however, there were other seniors to help out. The grad team and hr were superb.

The job required extended hours. I'd usually work between 8.30 to 6.30/7 with lunch at my desk. But I liked that a lot, it kept me busy and the day flew past.

Due to the nature of the team I wasn't given any significant responsibilities from the business side of things. However, I did have tasks which I had to deliver to relevant stakeholders.

The soft skills I gathered are valuable throughout and above academia, whereas the hard ones (product knowledge, using databases) won't be as relevant to my degree, but could for a future career.

Work hard, play hard. The team worked extremely hard to make their customers happy, so at times the office would be quite tense, with deadlines fast approaching and stakeholders awaiting. However, the team seemed to embrace that way of work, and I myself didn't find it too difficult to find my bearings.

I worked on an ad hoc basis, therefore, apart from projects given by the grad team every day was a new task. At times I would have to go round the office and ask people whether or not they needed help with something, which on some days did not bear fruit. However, again, I rarely found myself bored and as the internships progressed, the tasks got more and more interesting.

A lot- this was the strongest part of the internship. I would attend team training sessions on a weekly basis and got exposure to so many different areas of the business side of things. From accounting, to ratings, to management, my boss ensured I'd get acess to as many training sessions as he could get me into.

Good- the company seems to have a set path for graduate students and thereafter offers its employees opportunities to grow within HSBC nationally and internationally. For me this is especially important as I would like to have an opportunity to work abroad in the future. Moreover, this organisation pays above average intern/graduate salaries, which is also quite appealing.

I think in terms of a strictly social side, the interns seemed to have been well matched and it was visible with most as to why they've been chosen to this. However, from a working perspective, working with different interns was challenging at times. This was mainly due to different ideas but similar ambitions, however, the coms training before the internship helped facilitie and resolve any arising conflicts.

London in general is an extremely expensive city, therefore, going for lunch, especially in Canary Wharf is always a cost. However, that's something I'm used to as I live in London on a daily basis. Socialising, on the other hand, was great! The division I worked in seemed to have culture of going out together and during those events, I wouldn't pay for anything.

Canary Wharf isn't a night clubby area, but London in general very much is. However, I can't offer advice on nightclubs as I don't attend them very often, and when I do, it's usually to the ones which are university based venues with reduced prices. In general, clubbing in London is an expensive and often unrewarding experience.

The internship team ensured we would do some things outside of work. For example, they organised a charity team event, or we would be invited to development days in Birmingham, for which the company paid for. I saw also throughout the division that people (associates and managers alike) had a personal life and their own personal activities that they would get into.