First Year Summer Internship Review

The internship was a good mix between hard work and good fun, from the hustle and bustle of branch work, to selling doughnuts for charity. There was a good variety of things to get stuck into.

Being in a Branch Director site, I was not expecting to be as recognised or responsible as I was made. I was treated very much like part of the team, leading some team meetings even.

Although my line manager was a very busy man, I never felt like I was left outside to hang. There was always someone, regardless of their rank, there to help me.

The first two weeks were rather quiet, but that was because I was still organising my structure, and most of the things I could get stuck into I had not been taught yet. In the remaining weeks I was constantly busy, with a huge variety in what I was doing.

I was responsible for getting through my checklist, doing all my training and organising my day to day activities. I was also given the opportunity to lead team meetings and send out minutes of the number of meetings held in the branch. There is a great deal of responsibility that can be had on this internship if looked for.

I have improved my summary writing which will help in my law degree. Also, having presented to our area director and regional directors respectively, I am far more comfortable presenting to not only my peers, but also my superiors.

I was in a very busy branch so there was not always the time to sit back and joke around. Staff did keep positive attitudes, however!

HSBC definitely made a clear effort in making this internship more structured. I had read other reviews on this website of how emails and privileges took 3 weeks to be set up. Both interns in my branch had theirs set up by the second day. There were clear guidelines to follow, without which, one can easily get lost within the branch. We had weekly targets to meet, such as work in premier by week two, or lead a team time by week 5 etc, to help you know what was expected of you.

HSBC invested quite a bit in me. From the induction weekend to all the senior members of the bank who took the time to mentor me or offer advice, there was support offered at every level.

I have been asked to come back next year for the penultimate internship. This was within a week of finishing the first year scheme!

We were so scattered it was very difficult to meet up with other interns, however smaller groups in the same regions did have good social outings etc. My midlands region team became quite good friends by the end of the internship.

I was living in my uni house for next year, very close to the branch. I did not spend much more than I would usually have spent.

I did not go out during the placement. Mind you, this was a personal choice!

In smaller groups, yes, but as the majority of the branch, no.