Human Resources Intern Review

Having hoped to be based in London and then being placed in Manchester, I was a little worried before I started my internship that I'd struggle to enjoy it as much, but the team I was placed with made an immediate difference. Everyone I met in the Hardman Boulevard office was really welcoming and the work I was set gave me a great opportunity to work with loads of people across the department and gain an amazing insight into everything that was going on.

The team I was working in and my other colleagues in the department really made my internship for me. I felt like a valued member of the team from the start and developed some great working relationships really quickly. The team were always there to help out when I needed it.

My line manager and I agreed at the start of my internship as to how closely he would support and guide me. I thought his flexible approach to this (finding out what would work best for me) was great and gave me the best possible opportunity to get the most out of my internship. He was happy to allow me to work independently but would check in every so often to make sure everything was going well; and he was always happy to give direction where it was needed.

Naturally there was variation between different time periods, and even between days, as to how busy I was. However looking at the internship as a whole I'd say a good balance was hit as to how much work I was set; I always had something to work on but never felt it was beyond me to get everything done.

I was given a really healthy amount of independence with my work. I was given direction where needed but was ultimately expected to carry out my work in my own style and in a way that worked for me and allowed for personal expression. I was also given plenty of exposure to departmental managers (giving updates and presentations on the work I'd been set) as well as attending meetings with divisional managers.

The skills that I have developed that will benefit me in later life were both soft skills (interpersonal etc) and technical skills, particularly with Microsoft Excel. I was amazed by how much Excel was used on a daily basis and my ability to use it has come on dramatically - I've been shown things on Excel that I didn't even know existed before I joined! The opportunity to learn a really key technical skill was absolutely fantastic.

The office was a great working environment and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. All the staff I have met were really welcoming, helpful and great to talk to. The senior managers were also brilliant when it came to taking the time to spend with me and the other interns.

I felt that my team and the department I was in had done a great job of preparing for me to come in. This was particularly evident in the work I was set; it was clear that the departmental managers, and my line manager, had given real thought as to the kind of work that would allow me to learn the most during my time with the bank. However, some of the cross-internship events (those run to bring together all the interns) could have been much better organised. Some of the internship inductions run for all the interns across the bank felt very irrelevant to me and would have been better placed in internship specific events. A sports day was also run for all the interns - a great idea but sadly not executed in the best possible way. For example, some of the interns in Manchester were sent to take part in the internship in London, whilst other Manchester based interns were expected to stay up North. The lack of consistency didn't really make sense.

There were plenty of opportunities for personal development. The bank provided online learning platforms and also laid on speakers for the interns to either attend in person or dial in to. However, this 'speaker series' could have been improved by having a common thread that ran through the series, linking one talk to the next or at least showing how that talk would fit into our overall development as an intern. Sadly, it sometimes seemed as though the speakers that presented were chosen on the basis of availability not for the content they would be giving.

I think RBS is a really exciting company to work for at the moment. All the changes that are happening in the bank present great opportunities both to learn and to show what you can bring to the company. In terms of career development, the fact that the bank has faced some tough times recently actually makes for a very interesting proposition.

I got on well with all of my fellow interns. We met up for lunch quite a bit throughout the internship though perhaps didn't go out in the evening as much as I would have liked. I also found the graduates placed in Manchester with me, and the others I met in London, to be really great. They were always happy to spend time with us and give advice!

Versus living and socialising in London, one of the big advantages of Manchester is that it is much cheaper.

There's plenty of great nightlife to be found in Manchester. Sadly though I'd say I didn't go out as many times as I would have liked during my internship. It's worth noting that this isn't a reflection on working life in Manchester as a whole though. I went home to visit my friends and family quite a few times during the internship and I think if I hadn't done so then I would have spent a lot more tme going out with my fellow interns and/or colleagues.

The opportunities to do this through the bank were few and far between.