Summer Internship Review

I loved the experience. Given such short notice to plan for the event, they by far exceeded my expectations with its well thought out structure and interactivity. The people I have met on the internship have been amazingly friendly, and outgoing. The environment overall has been fantastic, we got to play games, focus on our mental wellbeing, and even get times to interact outside the contact hours with peers, and through that, I have made lifelong friends. I'm looking forward to what's in store for the graduate role.

I was given the chance to single-handedly talk to some of the most prominent people in the company and they showed extra care in meeting my needs (given that this was online this was an amazing feature they really thought about). The fact that any such query or question I had was always followed up, even if it meant the speakers having to take time after the sessions, truly showed the passion and care the company has in my growth.

The support was great, and I had a buddy who would talk to me weekly to help me with my needs. Areas of improvement would be to have a few more drop-in sessions for Q&A related material, as they were a great opportunity. A great guidance/support experience I had during this internship was the focus sessions on mental wellbeing and support. We also have Friday's sessions for social activities like playing games, relaxing, meditation, etc.

While we didn't receive any formal project work, and very understandably there wasn't the opportunity to develop those hard skills in the proper internship. I was able to develop my soft skills and adapt myself so much easier coming out of this internship opportunity. I learnt also a lot of technical information about the commercial and corporate banking sector and the new developments ongoing and how the NatWest Group is tackling these developments with a rising competitive market.

The overall layout was very thoroughly thought out and it's clear from how successful the internship has gone so far that it has been developed with our best interests at heart. This internship has focused on shorter but well-detailed Zoom sessions in the mornings, giving people the opportunity to spend the afternoon either away from doing work, or focusing on their projects with their colleagues. For example, we worked in CSR teams throughout this internship experience, and a lot of my afternoon I dedicate to this.

The atmosphere was great. The hosts of the sessions were such lovely people and really showed enthusiasm for the sessions and events. People were very open-minded and friendly to all activities, communication. Not only did my fellow interns be so proactive in reaching out to me and having conversations I would not have experienced in a normal setting, but the hosts/directors also showed extra commitment in reaching out to us and showing support. RBS definitely showed they have an amazing workplace culture this summer.

They provided growth and skills-building sessions. Bringing in experts from outside the company from top talented industries to give us these development sessions. This showed to me they really cared about my growth during this internship. Moreover, they even gave us the opportunity to vote for what skills sessions we would like to see. This was a great way to ensure I got to experience what I was seeking during this internship, and so I think they really went out of their way for my development.

This is a difficult question due to the fact I was unable to experience the internship first hand. Moreover, we were taught extensively the daily operations of each area of the business and how we would operate there. However, I myself am more of an experience-based learner, and so this would prove difficult for me to learn. They did try their best to ensure I would experience some project work. One area of improvement would be to have a dedicated work project to work on throughout, but this is understandably missed due to such short preparation time because of the uncertainty of events.

The company culture I got to experience first hand on this internship. I got to learn in my first week in detail the new 2020 Rose Review and the changing and more progressive culture RBS is embracing under its brand change. I also got to learn from experts their cultural experiences, and see from how relaxed and informal these chats were with such leaders of the company really highlighted the company's embracing culture. You really do feel valued while at your time at RBS.

While I can't give this a perfect score due to the fact that we didn't get to experience in real-life the daily operating activities at the company. RBS really did push how the graduate works at RBS in detail, as well as bringing in graduate's own experiences. Moreover, RBS even taught us how the industry operates on a whole, teaching us areas even outside commercial banking, to allow us to compare what activities and operations occur in each industry at RBS.

RBS paid more than adequately for my time here. Not only did they pay me for this virtual experience. They even paid for the full 10 weeks of work (that I was meant to have earned pre-COVID). This with the fact that the contact hours were significantly reduced meant that RBS really exceeded any and all expectations in giving their workers the full pay they could. This is a great fact in showing that RBS truly valued your work while with them at the company.

We have lots of opportunities to interact with others. We often go in different breakout rooms with other interns from other areas of the business and get the opportunity to network with them during our meetings. We also have some social events to interact with and get to know one another, as well as unlimited access to contact other interns on a social wall/contact book. One area of improvement would be outside of contact hours have a more formal way to meet other interns, as some interns don't seem interested in networking unless it's run by the company.

We are on a call of over 100 other interns and as I mentioned, we get to go into BreakOut rooms often to talk to other peers and network with them. Although this is mainly to talk about the work or areas of the business as instructed during the meeting. Outside of the contact hours, we have the ability to work on CSR projects with other interns which have been a great networking opportunity. One area of improvement would be to have afternoon social events, more game events, etc.

A really fascinating topic I learned during my time at RBS was it has "societies" for graduates who dedicate themselves to different activities like CSR, as well as other events. While it is virtual and unfortunately I can't experience many of these activities first hand, RBS has really tried to commit us to the outside activities by offering us the ability to participate in the 2.6 challenge for charity, as well as the Feel Good, Do Good challenge, which has been ways we can commit to activities outside our normal contact hours.

Definitely! It's been a great opportunity to learn more about the bank and RBS, it's also a great way to meet likeminded people, and I have definitely made lifelong friends during even this virtual experience. RBS is definitely a company that lives up to its commitment to your growth and they have a great workplace culture that can even be witnessed on Zoom calls with prominent members of the company. I am proud to have been part of this internship experience overall.