Wealth & Personal Banking Summer Intern Review

Worked on two placement related projects: one, assisted in the implementation, strategy and roll-out of a new proposition by conducting market research, analyzing competitors, advising on customer pain points, opportunities and threats in the retail finance space. Tailored the proposition to match client needs and from both a merchant and client perspective. Two, developed ideas to improve another proposition through a Gen Z lens and looked at methods to maximise current opportunities. Aside from the placement, worked on two projects: One related to solving a problem statement for an HSBC ERG, and the second a fundraising initiative for charity.

HSBC has a lot of development opportunities to upskill yourself. HSBC university combines useful courses from across the internet that are relevant to the banking industry with in-house courses of their own by staff. Degreed is another platform where you can learn skills like Excel and JIRA, keep up-to-date with the industry and share courses with other members of the internship cohort. Aside from these platforms, regular development sessions, speaker series and Excel masterclasses were held throughout the course of the internship.

The internship placement managers give you meaningful work to complete during your internship that has a tangible impact on the team. There is also flexibility to ask for more work or varied work, depending on your individual strengths. By the time you complete your internship, most interns will have a specific deliverable that was set as a goal that they achieved. You are also in charge of leading your own fundraising and planning activities to meet your goal, as well as the ERG project.

HSBC offers exceptional support, more than what is currently offered at my university by a long distance. There are more than three points of contact for you to reach out to at any point during the internship for anything from the mundane admin questions to mental health support (your On Programme Manager, your placement manager and your GradCoach). The GradCoaches especially are a useful resource, as the relationship is more informal and open, and they are available most times.

The company culture is friendly and welcoming. People are generally willing to help and although the internship is competitive, most interns are also willing to help and collaborate across teams. The hybrid nature of the work gives you a lot of flexibility to work from home depending on what your team requires. There is a sustained emphasis on volunteering and CSR initiatives - all interns are expected to take one paid day to contribute to a registered charity, and there are D&I initiatives in place to make BAME interns feel more included.

The work was meaningful, the nature was flexible, the team was welcoming and open (and keen to get a fresh perspective on the status quo). The Emerging Talent team also invest a lot to ensure that Induction and the final Celebration evening are well thought out, and in general it is clear that the bank focuses on nurturing and retaining new talent. The internship met my expectations and I would definitely go back given the opportunity to do so.

Yes

1. Be very clear on their values and tie your motivational answers back to how to aligns with their values. 2. Similarly, keep in mind their strategy and long term vision 3. In the AC, try to make your interview a two way conversation and attempt to establish a relationship with your interviewers 4. The website is the most useful resource - research the division and the products they offer as some of the questions are scenario based.