M&IB Operations Review

The insight was invaluable to me as it showed me the investment banking was not an industry I intend to pursue a future career in.

I felt we were well looked after and treated well throughout.

We got a lot of training to being everyone up to the same level in terms of knowledge on investment banking and the graduates we shadowed were extremely helpful.

Despite not taking the insight further to the summer internship and beyond I felt I gained a lot in terms of networking and social skills which will be of great use regardless of my future career.

We received a handbook with all of the information we could possibly need in terms of the structure of the week and I felt everything we did was useful and well organised.

It felt quite serious at times but no more than I expected. I found the other interns to be very nice and the week overall was enjoyable.

We were provided with a lot of resources as well as being looked after during our stay in London. After speaking to the graduates it also appears that a lot of time, money and effort is put into the grad programme which looks to be very well structured.

Shadowing the graduates gave us an insight into a full time role however it was sometimes hard to relate as I did not always fully understand what they were doing but they were always open to questions.

The graduates were very honest in their opinions of the company and it seems RBS have a very good company culture.

The content in the day was very helpful to me as it showed me that investment banking overall probably isn't the right career path for me. However I know that for some others it confirmed their interest in the industry and company so was even more helpful to them.

We had accommodation in central London as well as travel provided for us and we were given breakfast and lunch most days throughout the week. I felt I was reimbursed adequately for this experience.

We had many opportunities to meet other employees of the company throughout training and work shadowing. There was also a Young Bankers Association talk one evening in which I got an opportunity to speak to the deputy CEO of RBS which I felt was very worthwhile.

There were a number of times in which we could meet others on the programme; during breaks and lunches and there was a quiz event one evening which was highly enjoyable. A closing event was also organised in which we could say goodbye to one another.

We actually participated in a CSR activity on the final day where I was in a school working with some teenagers having just completes their work experience and completing activities to help them reflect on their experience. I found it to be highly gratifying.

For anyone looking to investment banking for a future career I would strongly recommend this insight.