First Year Internship Programme Review

I have had an amazing time during my retail branch internship at HSBC. It has definitely been an invaluable experience, and not only have I really enjoyed the placement, I've also met a lot of really nice people.

I think at the branch, everyone has been really friendly and helpful to me. They all made me feel really welcome, and didn't mind answering any questions I had. There was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere which was good.

My manager was really helpful, and we made a plan of things I had to complete by the end of my internship. Everybody was really friendly and helpful which was good. You have to make sure you do what you want to achieve at the same time, as your manager may not be aware of this.

It depends on a day to day basis on how busy the branch is, and what kind of work you are doing. If you are greeting and assisting customers, this can get quite busy especially during lunch times.

I think that I was given quite a lot of responsibility due to being given the role of being on 'Meet and Greet' after the first few days. You are sort of out of your comfort zone and have to assist customers by yourself almost immediately, although you can ask for help from your colleagues if you are unsure. Obviously, at a bank there are still a lot of things I wasn't allowed to do as a lot of training is required for some of the roles but in the time I was there I think I was quite independent and learnt a lot.

This has definitely been a worthwhile and amazing experience for me. I'm really glad I did this internship, and it has given me more confidence and helped me to develop skills that will stay with me for the rest of my degree studies and career! I would definitely recommend this to any first year internships student!

The atmosphere was quite relaxed, but at times it got really busy when there were a lot of customers! I guess it varied on a day to day basis. There was generally quite a friendly atmoshphere.

The internship was very well set up, as we were given a booklet with an outline of what we were expected to complete during the 7 weeks we were there. This gave both us and our managers an idea of what kind of work we were expected to do which was really good.

We had a lot of mandatory learning we were expected to do in the first few weeks. We had an induction programme going through what the company was about etc, and had personal development plans. The company took our internships seriously which was really good for us, as everything was structured.

HSBC seems like a great place to be able to work. There are so many different opportunities as it is such a massive, global company. I would love to work for them, and there is also opportunities to work in different countries which appeals to me.

There is a really good social scene at HSBC too. There are always socials being organised, and it's a great place to meet other interns/graduates etc!

The cost of socialising in London is quite expensive, but that's expected in London.

The nightlife in areas near where I worked was really good. There are loads of restaurants/bars/clubs to go to.

Yes, there are lots of different opportunities to get involved in. For example, one day we ran a charity shop which was really fun!