Corporate Graduate (Risk) Review

Controls Testing: wrote test scripts for and completed operational effectiveness testing for business controls in the Economic Crime and Specialist Services space. Audit: completed operational effectiveness testing and supporting documentation for audits into Treasury processes and 2nd-Line Oversight. Financial Risk Modelling: analysis of model performance in quarterly monitoring rounds, and supporting model redevelopment projects using SAS and Excel.

Developed Excel skills from beginner to intermediate level. Learnt SAS from scratch and now up to a lower-intermediate level.

Was given responsibility for managing tasks, and I volunteered myself for extra small projects in certain placements. Generally however, no, as the focus was much more on developing the critical knowledge required to perform the functions of the team well - especially given that I was only there for eight months at a time.

I received a lot of support from the managers and colleagues of the teams that I was undertaking the placement in. They were very professional but approachable and had a good attitude to onboarding graduates into their teams. I received support from one individual from the Risk team who were overseeing my graduate scheme journey as a whole. The good intention was there but the communication at times was very poor. I received no meaningful guidance from the HR-function-based team who were responsible for overseeing the graduate scheme as a whole.

Company Culture Pros: - Results orientated rather than timesheet orientated - A lot of trust between managers and their direct reports - Friendly and approachable colleagues - Colleagues really do care about providing the best service for members/customers Company Culture Cons: - Distinct lack of interest from many colleagues (not all) in coming into the office - a lot of complaining about having to come in two days a week - A lot of excuses about why they 'can't afford' to upskill colleagues in new technologies etc., despite strong financial results.

I enjoyed my graduate scheme because of the positive and constructive approach of my colleagues and team leaders to the work that they do and towards having a graduate on the team. I enjoyed the scheme the most when I was learning new skills, rather than just repeating skills learned in a previous team. The graduate scheme events were the only part of the scheme that I did not enjoy, as they did, in my view, not focus on skills that would actually benefit an early careers professional in the workplace.

Yes

If you are applying directly for a role in data - brush up on basic maths skills. If you are applying for an internship/industrial placement or other development scheme, the criteria for success is unclear, so just do the best that you can do.