CMB Penultimate Year Summer Intern, Agriculture Executive Assistant Review

Placement within the agriculture team. Day to day activities involved attending national meetings with regional Ag teams as well as completing various placement projects. Outside of placement related tasks, I would be working on diversity & inclusion topics such as gender balance with a small group of fellow interns as well as working on a charity fundraiser which was also completed with a team of interns.

I have considerably developed my networking skills and have improved my confidence in talking to senior stakeholders. Throughout my time with HSBC I have spoken with interns globally and learned lots about different areas of the bank. As a biomed student, I was concerned I would struggle with technical knowledge, but this wasn't the case. I have been fully supported to grow my understanding of banking and now understand the fundamentals of banking.

I was given lots of responsibility on placement specific tasks. I constructed a presentation pack on financial performance for the agriculture team as well as a financial performance dashboard. These will both be shared with regional agriculture teams across the UK. I was given the responsibility to find new and existing events for the team. I spoke with senior stakeholders and got involved in the gender balance workstream where I organised speakers for an event.

I was supported heavily throughout my time with HSBC. From talks on wellbeing to regular check ins. We were lucky enough to receive a wellbeing package which provided us with items to support us during our programme and beyond. I was given a grad coach who I had weekly check ins with. We would discuss any advice she had for me as she completed the internship as well as getting onto the grad scheme.

Everybody was so approachable and willing to offer their help or get me involved where possible. HSBC teaches a lot about its values and how it aligns with them. We learned a lot about the sustainability ambitions and heard from global speakers all around the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with HSBC. I was given the opportunity to learn lots, grow personally & professionally and expand my network. The team welcomed me in and gave me lots of responsibility with no pressure on it. I was given lots of feedback and have now learned how to effectively give and receive goo feedback. It exceeded my expectations as the programme hosted various different events, it was not limited to placement projects.

Yes

Reach out to people on LinkedIn to get a better insight into the programme as everyone is so approachable and will be more than happy to help. Most importantly, be yourself, research the technicalities of the sector as well as the culture. Also there is much more to finance than numbers! There are so many opportunities to get involved so you won't be disadvantaged if you don't come from a traditional banking background.