Wholesale Risk Intern Review

I very much enjoyed my placement with RCI Financial Services, I believe the opportunities granted to me were far beyond my expectations of a Placement Year. The work required was both challenging and rewarding in equal measures and I felt valued as both an employee, and as a member of the team during my year. Even during the difficult COVID-19 period, I felt fully supported by both my team and HR which enabled me to perform to the best of my abilities and still feel connected to the company despite working remotely.

I felt incredibly valued by my team, as soon as I walked through the door I felt welcomed and at home and I felt confident that I would be able to repay the faith put in me by the company. The thing that surprised me the most is how welcomed I felt throughout the company, Everyone in the office has a smile and is friendly, no matter how busy they are and that went a long way for me in feeling valued and appreciated in the company.

I could not speak highly enough about the support and guidance I was given my manager specifically, but also other senior members of staff. Regardless of the issue I was having, I would have support and guidance from the people around me who would help to fix the problem. I am very ambitious and like to get involved in lots of opportunities and if it wasn't for the guidance I received during my year, this would not have been possible so I am very grateful for the opportunity.

How busy I was on a daily basis would generally vary depending on the deliverable I have at the time. There would be days when I have numerous deadlines that would need to be met and therefore my days would be pretty hectic. However, these would be countered by days where I wasn't as busy and therefore could focus on trying to develop new areas within the business area. I can say that no matter how busy you are, there is always opportunities to take time out and grab a coffee, you have a team who will support you to meet your objectives.

One of the best things about my placement was that I was given as much responsibility as I was able to handle effectively. If I wanted to get involved in new projects and pieces of work then I was always given the opportunity. You have your core workload and deliverables that you need to achieve and these are what you will be assessed on. However, if you are confident and want to take on more work and acquire more responsibility, then providing you are able to handle it the you will be given the opportunity and this is something I cannot recommend enough.

The skills I developed across this year I will no doubt be able to use in my future career. There is knowledge I have picked up over the year that I didn't even know that I didn't know! yet now that I know it, I can't think how I ever got to where I am now without it. RCI has taught me more in my year then I could have ever imagined, and also have given me a career path that I didn't have before I started.

The atmosphere in the office was always positive. At no point was I ever left to feel out of place or uncomfortable, no matter how busy people are, they always are happy to stop and say hello. On top of this, HR go to great lengths during seasonal periods to have activities and decorations ensuring going to work is always fun. This being said, you are there to do a job, so while you can have a lot of fun during your work placement, you still need to ensure work is not compromised.

I believe the set up of the work placement was very impressive. There was plenty of opportunities to learn and find your feet and ask questions during the early periods of your internship. The guys set up multiple workshops during the first few weeks which involve various different activities (Learning/Team building etc ...) which grant you the opportunity to learn about the company, job role and also get to know your fellow interns which help you feel at home. Overall, it flows very seamlessly and I felt I was going at the perfect pace.

Similar to when speaking about the opportunities the company provided, this is very much dependent on how much you want to learn and develop. First off, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and develop while working for RCI. However, not all of these skills are required for your job role (Although they do help). If you are hard working and determined to improve yourself and learn new skills, then you will find that RCI will invest in you and grant you these opportunities to develop and train.

RCI has a graduate scheme which recruits generally frequently when the opportunities arise. Generally speaking, there is a tendency to hire previous interns to these graduate role positions. This is due to their knowledge of the industry and the business which makes them ideal candidates to 'pick up where they left off'. This being said, there tend to be more interns than graduates, which means you will need to leave a strong impression on the company to have an opportunity to get one. If you work hard enough and put in enough effort, these opportunities are definitely available to be taken.

The social scene at RCI was a lot of fun while I was there. RCI helped us get in contact with other interns before we moved down which allowed myself to get a house share with 5 interns. This enabled us to have a social 'hub' which meant that as we met the other interns when we started working, we had a house where we could go socialise. Socialising varied from watching football, just having movie nights and on weekends going out to clubs/pubs.

Cost of living where we were based was fairly good all things considered. The offices are based in Rickmansworth with our house being in Hillingdon which is a 20 minute drive away. Both of these locations had very good transport links into Central London which was convenient on a Friday night. Rent in Hillingdon was slightly cheaper than in Rickmansworth but both were fairly decently priced considering location, with general living expenses (Food/Petrol etc ...) being similar to prices down South (Where I'm based).

Nightlife is a funny one, because if you live in Rickmansworth then there isn't particularly a lot to do, few pubs and Wetherspoons is about as much as you'll get. However, Hillingdon was near to Uxbridge which had a few clubs and bars. Both of them are close to Watford which again have quite a lot of clubs and bars which make for a lot of fun. However, by far the best option it to take Metropolitan line into Central London which gives you more bars and clubs then you can ever need. The only concern being central London prices, which are a little steep compared to your local student bar.

Arguably one of the best things about living in 'West London' is the opportunities to get involved in as much as possible. Whether it be running or physical activities or taking up sports, there is so many opportunities to be involved in so many various activities. In my year there alone, I took up running, managed to do some river swimming, played more games of TopGolf than I'd ever imagined and got involved in so many more activities, just due to the perfect location and the opportunities they present.