RBS Banking Internship Review

I quite enjoyed working here because it gave me quite a new understanding of banking in terms of foreign banking and currency and it was quite interesting to see how banking is standardised when certain processes are international or even at a national level. This made it quite interesting, I feel, to learn new things and work on projects.

I did feel somewhat valued by my colleagues as nearer to the end of my internship, I took part in projects with the employees of the bank which was quite fun as it allowed me a real insight into the world of banking and what exactly a job in banking would entail.

I was given a lot of support and guidance by my management as they introduced me to new skills that I did not know before as it was my first time working with certain skills or doing certain tasks as it required a much more holistic view on banking, in the way it worked at a larger scale.

I was never too busy on a daily basis, especially near the beginning of my internship as my tasks primarily would consist of learning a skill and applying it. Towards the end, when I was involved in projects with the company, I found I had a lot less free time but this was of course more reflective of working with the bank.

I feel like I was given quite a bit of responsibility during my placement in the way that I was expected to learn a few things and learn to apply them by myself in order to be ready for the projects later in the project. I also felt quite responsible when doing projects with my team.

I think that the skills I developed in the world of international banking will definitely be useful to me after my degree ends as I will be looking for a job in the world of economics and these skills are very much transferable, I feel. Furthermore, the training I received will help a lot if I do want to work in a bank.

I think that the atmosphere in the office was generally quite fun. This was especially apparent at the beginning of the placement as I did not have much work so I was able to talk to the other employees there and this made it a lot more fun and much more enjoyable.

I think that the overall work placement was set up quite well as there was a learning phase and an actual working phase which worked quite effectively. However, I feel like a lot of the learning was independent and I would have benefitted more if I was helped more in this aspect of the internship.

The company did invest quite a lot in me as they gave me the opportunity to work in projects and contribute to the end of such. Furthermore, they provided me with an opportunity to apply my knowledge. However, I again feel like they could have been more personal in the learning phase.

I do not think that this internship would make me stand out significantly, on its own, as many other applicants would have similar roles under their belt. However, I feel like this may appeal more if applying for economics roles that are in the international interest due to its large scale.

I think there was a good social scene amongst me and the other employees there. This was mainly established during the beginning phase of the internship which meant that we could socialise and relax throughout the internship. This also helped teamwork when working on projects later on in the internship as we knew eachother quite well.

Of course, there are many different RBS locations across the UK. My location was in London so I did not have to move out but the accomodation prices would of course be high in London. The socialising opportunities were also quite expensive but I did not go to such often so it was not much of a strain.

There was quite a lot of nightlife in London, as would be expected, but this would differ a lot depending on the location in which you are working. In London, there were a multitude of nightclubs and bars to choose from and you really were spoilt for choice. However, costs for such could reach high prices.

There were many opportunities to get involved in outside of work. There was a real social scene between me and the other colleagues, and this, paired with the fact that there were many socialising opportunities around the office, meant that there were many opportunities to get involved in outside of work. In terms of work, I got to meet with international clients of the bank, which was quite interesting.