COMMERCIAL BANKING PENULTIMATE YEAR SUMMER INTERN Review

My role involved working within the Business Banking Team for the City of London, supporting SMEs and business owners looking to grow their businesses. This meant working with relationship managers to support clients, attending meetings and completing the preparation and follow-up work required. I also undertook a longer-term project to support my team, and had a responsibility to attend any meetings I was invited to.

People skills, given that I've interacted and met with various clients and seen the variety of different working patterns across the sector. I'd also say time management given the variety of different tasks we were given on the internship to manage. Within the role, I also learned a lot about the way SMEs are run and some of the challenges they currently face, especially with CBILS and BBL loan facilities being required.

The team I was in certainly gave me responsibility by allowing me to take the lead on my own with a project, but remaining available for support as well throughout my time. The work I further sought was also meaningful because it helped support the day-to-day functions of an RM. I was exposed to the front-line operations by attending client meetings, but also given the autonomy to reach out to attend additional meetings.

Having a buddy within my team helped immensely with easing me into my new role and checking in with me very frequently. It was also reassuring to continually meet the wider team in the tri-weekly meetings they had where I could also raise any concerns I had. My placement also allowed me to spend a different day with each member of my team, who were all really supportive and took the time to get to know me.

The Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) contributed towards an open, warm and welcoming culture, as the introductory events allowed us to speak to the people who ran those ERGS and ask questions. This attitude was further reinforced by how open they were to intern involvement, further improving my exposure to the company's culture by meeting and interacting with people outside of my team.

I had a wonderful time on my internship, and can honestly say that it went by really quickly. The responsibility I was given made it feel like I was actually contributing to the operations of my team, and the fact I was supported so well helped ease me into an unfamiliar environment. In fact, I got so stuck in that I may have taken on slightly too much to do and enjoyed all of it!

Yes

When approaching the online assessment centres, ensure you have done the research and know about the organisation, but certainly treat it like the opportunity to have a nice conversation with the interviewer and fellow applicants.