Business Support Officer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at HSBC. The placement provided me with many opportunities to grow develop new skills which have left me well equipped for my future career. Over the year I faced many challenges which exposed me to many situations I wouldn't have had if I didn't do a placement and so I am very happy to have completed a placement at HSBC as I have came out a much more well rounded individual.

I developed strong relationships with my colleagues which was a highlight for me. They supported my growth over the year and were very appreciative of the work I produced, which made me feel very valued. They were all very helpful in helping me where needed and were proud of the development I made over the year which was a nice feeling.

My manager and colleagues were extremely supportive and would offer their help to me whenever it was needed. If I didn't understand a task there was always someone who was happy to explain it to me. My manager also played a key role in my development as he would often deliberately put me in challenging situations to allow me to develop new skills and to keep growing.

On the whole I found the work balance fair and I would always have enough work on my plate. I was also able to maintain a healthy switch off point from work and socialising time. As I worked on projects I would sometimes have to work longer hours when a project live date was nearing, but my manager would be appreciative when extra work was being put in and because it wasn't a regular occurrence it was fine.

Over the year the amount of responsibility I was given expanded greatly, but I wasn't throw into this responsibility instead as I grew confidence in my role so did my responsibilities. I was happy with this as I wasn't thrown in the deep end but I was put outside of my comfort zone by taking on higher levels of responsibility. However this was key in allowing me to develop my confidence and it was rewarding to see that I was being trusted with higher levels of responsibility.

I believe the skills I have gained will greatly help me in my future studies and career. This year allowed me to refine key soft skills, to name a few time management, communication and team working. I believe these skills are paramount for education but will also be extremely useful in my future career. Throughout the year I was also able to develop more specific and technical skills including the ability to carry out user acceptance testing and the use analytical softwares. The level of training received was also great and included personal development days, presentation workshops and agile training sessions which allowed me to enhance my skillset greatly.

The placement was set up well and if you had any queries the Emerging Talent team were easy to get into contact with.

HSBC put a lot of effort in developing their employees. Over the year I had many opportunities to complete training workshops in a variety of areas. You are also encouraged to create a personal development plan which is regularly reviewed by your manager to ensure you are always aiming to develop and keep growing as an individual.

Following my industrial placement I have been offered a graduate scheme with HSBC which is a 2 year rotational program. The prospects beyond the scheme are great as the bank itself is so big and many roles can be found within it which I look forward to exploring.

The Industrial placement cohort would regularly go for meals or drinks after work which was a nice way of building relationships within our cohort and made us a close knit group. The social scene at work at a whole was also good as teams would regularly go for drinks on a bi-weekly/monthly basis.

I lived at home and so I didn't occur the costs of living in Birmingham, however the cost of socialising I personally didn't think was too bad. In city centre there is a large choice of places to go and so the socialising scene can be well catered towards the price range you want, whether that is cheap or expensive.

The central location of the office is great for nightlife. The office is less than a 2 minute walk away form all of the bars and clubs on Broad street which makes it a great location. Brindley place is also a short walk away where many popular bars and restaurants can also be found.