Summer Analyst Review

The particular structure of the internship is very good - an intern does 2 rotations within the bank, and there are regular intern lunches where talks are given about different areas. Finally, networking and moving around within the bank is heavily emphasized, which all creates an excellent way to get a holistic view of financial services.

This varied by rotation, but naturally it was more difficult to feel valued in a division where there wasn't much work going. I felt much more highly valued where I was doing work ordinarily done by analysts, such as in Corporate Advisory. That said, all areas of the bank were welcoming and friendly.

The managers varied from division to division, but mostly they were helpful and willing to answer all of my questions.

This varied across divisions. In my rotations in GRG and TSO, I wasn't busy at all. I left the office at 7pm and felt quite bored at times, and there was never any deadlines. In contrast, during my time in CA, there pace was much faster and more exciting, working weekends and until the early hours of the morning, which was far better.

Usually, the work I did was internal, but at times, particularly in CA, I worked on presentations and models that would go to clients, which was fantastic exposure. Further, in GRG, my line manager allowed me to go to client and advisor meetings, which again was a great experience as an intern.

There is one area where I have improved enormously thanks to this internship: networking. It's stressed heavily as something interns should get involved with, and one begins to realise how important this skill is in life. Formatting and analytical skills will also be useful in any discipline, which is also greatly useful.

This varied by division; in some, there was more fun, and others less. For me, this is quite ideal, as different personalities will feel more comfortable in different environments, and you begin to get a feel as to where you would be most suited.

In contrast to a previous internship I have done, this was far better organised, with regular intern networking, educational, and social events, as well as clearly defined goals and schedules. One small area of criticism was the administration in terms of requesting access to shared drives and the systems access needed to do work.

This comes in two streams; firstly, HR organised a variety of educational events and other talks, not to mention the initial week of training. This was all useful. But perhaps more useful was how generous the analysts and more senior people at the bank were with their time - on more than a dozen instances I sat down with senior people to chat about specific financial areas of interest or more broadly about the industry in general.

My home desk was GRG, an area which will naturally be shrinking following the financial crisis. Although this desk is hiring, it is questionable as a long-term prospect. In the longer term, I'm unsure where the bank is going, following the new CEO appointment and government ownership.

Absolutely; aside from the official events organised by HR, there were plenty of other intern-organised events. The great thing about such a large intern pool is that it's easy to find a bunch of people you click with.

London.

As above.

RBS runs a CSR program, which provided opportunities to do social and charity work. Outside of this, it's London, so there's basically always something to do.