Customer relations intern Review

I very much enjoyed the virtual experience. What it lacked in having to be purely online, it made up for in well coordinated meetings with diverse business leaders and graduates, collaborative charity events, and inventive icebreaker sessions with other interns. Given the tough situation with coronavirus making this an unprecedented internship for all of those working at Natwest Group, they managed to make the each day thoroughly engaging by providing new opportunities, some of which would not have been presented in the original internship.

The organisers of the internship, and all of those involved including speakers and graduates ensured we as interns felt just as part of the company as themselves. One way this was achieved was by their commitment to paying us for the originally agreed 10 weeks of work despite this having to be shortened to 4 weeks. Furthermore, the constant support from the organisers and graduates, including the buddy system, made me really feel involved and valued by Natwest.

Once again, the buddy system, whereby I was given a graduate who would check up with me at least once weekly, answer any queries or worries I had, and even set up meetings with other business leaders I wanted to know more from. This support was greatly appreciated and utilised. Also, the chatrooms, messages and help pages on the RBS portal were extremely helpful, especially for solving inevitable technical difficulties. Without this support the virtual experience would have been the cause of great stress and anxiety. On top of this, chats made with the interns externally from the company provided a great source of support.

The vast majority of information received from business leaders, graduates and external speakers will be, or has already been immensely useful to me. NatWest Group made sure of this by running personally chosen development sessions. One key bit of information that I have already taken onboard is the importance of connecting with people and networking. Almost every speaker gave the advice of putting more effort into making connections, and I have developed this skill greatly through this internship. The virtual nature of this internship has pushed me to go to greater lengths to connect with people, and make these connections robust. Other speakers imparted valuable knowledge which I am certain will be of great aid in my future at university and beyond, such as how to maximise my potential, or the importance of having a growth mindset.

The internship gave a structure which first gave us more information and insight into the company, into their values and how they are run. The second week then gave interns a wider view of some different job roles in the bank, utilising business leaders and graduates who shared their experiences and willingly answered questions. This enabled us to gain a greater understanding of what different divisions do in the bank, and allow us to discover what division may interest us. The penultimate week focused around our personal development, and the final week gave us an insight into the future of banking and NatWest's future. This structure worked very well, and the organisers ensured that we as interns we given opportunities to get to know each other throughout.

The environment was a fun, friendly and inclusive one throughout the experience. From the internship organisers to the graduates this atmosphere was created without fault, and mirrored the NatWest Group value as a purpose-led organisation. Organised activities such as an escape room, the CSR challenge and hackathons all ensured the experience was never dull. Furthermore, the other interns seemed motivated, curious and inclusive which gave the general atmosphere a great energy whether we were in a large meeting of over 100 people or a breakout room with 5.

All of the organised talks, given by graduates, guest speakers or business leaders were all tailored towards our development. In particular, each speaker was asked to give their top 3 tips, or best advice for entering the working world. Furthermore, one of the 4 weeks of the internship were entered around our personal development with self-selected development sessions such as how to maximise your potential or how to build strong relationships, or how to have a growth mindset.

The top tips given by speakers, and the insight given by the many graduates that spoke to us helped build an idea of what its like working at NatWest. Also, speaking to my buddy, a graduate assigned to help me with any problems, helped me to get to grips with what the graduate program would be like for me. However, we were unable to undertake any tasks that might replicate what we would do in a full-time role at the company as the internship was made virtual, so the internship was unable to give the experience of what a job at NatWest would actually be like.

The first week gave us information and insight into the company, into their values and in doing so we were told what their culture was. The second week then gave interns a wider view of some different job roles in the bank, utilising business leaders and graduates who shared their experiences and willingly answered questions. This enabled us to gain a greater understanding of what different divisions do in the bank, and allow us to discover what division may interest us. Through this and the way the graduates and speakers spoke about working at NatWest, we gained a deeper understanding of the culture at the bank.

The career advice from speakers, the insights from graduates currently working at NatWest, and the guidance of my buddy all gave me a better idea of whether I wanted to work at the bank in the future or not. My decision has no been narrowed down to if I go into banking, I will do so with Natwest. Furthermore, the insights into different sectors at the bank have shown me the variation in possible future jobs at the bank.

The bank made a commitment to paying us for the originally agreed 10 weeks of work despite this having to be shortened to 4 weeks. This was a great gesture of good will to us interns, and reflected their culture and values of caring about their customers and workers.

There were well coordinated meetings with diverse business leaders and graduates, collaborative charity events, and inventive icebreaker sessions with other interns all with the indirect aim of creating networking opportunities for us interns. The speakers were mostly welcome to us messaging them on platforms such as LinkedIn to find out more about them and what they do, and events such as Virtual Coffee sessions with business leaders allowed us to have increased exposure to people we may not otherwise be able to talk so.

There were well coordinated meetings with diverse business leaders and graduates, collaborative charity events, and inventive icebreaker sessions with other interns all with the indirect aim of creating networking opportunities for us interns. The speakers were mostly welcome to us messaging them on platforms such as LinkedIn to find out more about them and what they do, and events such as Virtual Coffee sessions with business leaders allowed us to have increased exposure to people we may not otherwise be able to talk so. These opportunities were well planned.

Yes. One such activity wad the 2.6 charity challenge which we found out about early on and were able to participate in with other interns. We were also told about a week where workers are able to spend time raising money for their own dedicated charity initiatives. We were also wold about activities organised to improve teamwork and connectivity within the bank such as sporting events or escape rooms, however we were unable to participate in some of these due to the current situation.

Yes, definitely.