UK Banking Intern Review

Overall, my internship was thoroughly enjoyable. The teams that I was working with and surrounding colleagues were all very friendly and helpful. I definitely felt valued which furthered my enjoyment. If other interns were based in Belfast this would have been better.

The work that I was given allowed me to feel that I was a valued part of the teams in which I worked. The work was important and helped to improve how each team worked and helped to provide support to heavy workloads. A heavier work load would have been more useful as sometimes I found myself having to ask for work.

Both of my managers were very supportive and give a lot of relevant and useful guidance. This allowed me to progress with my career as an intern and if I found myself unsure, all I had to do was simply ask. Other colleagues from various teams sitting in my vacinity were also very supportive and assisted me were appropiate.

I was fairly busy on a daily basis, I had a number of projects which required ongoing work in order to work towards their completion. As mentioned in an above question, I feel that I could have handled a heavier workload as I found myself asking for work on occasions as I felt asking all the time would come across badly.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility. By being given the task of working on and maintaining key tasks/projects showed the importance of these pieces of work. The completion of these pieces of work allowed a more effective working of the team.

I feel that the skills I have developed upon will benefit me highly in my studies and beyond. The ability to communicate whether it may be via phone, email or in person is an asset which will leave me in a good position for my career going forward. I was able to build upon my existing Microsoft Office skills and my new knowledge of PowerPoint and Excel will benefit in university for coursework and will also leave me in a strong position for my career in the future. Overall, the internship allowed me to higher my confidence levels and build on my communication skills. This will allow me to progress further in my career due to the ability to communicate effectively, build relations and feel confident in doing so.

The general atmosphere in my office was great. Every employee had a great, friendly relationship which allowed for a very friendly, easy-working atmosphere.

The work placement was very well organised. Each member of the various teams I worked in knew when I would arrive, where I should be on certain dates and their responsibilities as part of my internship.

During my first week I was required to complete Learning At Santander, this ensured that I had a knowledge of various aspects relevant to my roles. By being involved in a working environment on a daily basis I was able to develop my skills immensely. I was able to gain knowledge and skills by simply asking a lot of questions to each team member, this helped to develop my knowledge. I sat in on some training classes and this further enhanced my training and development and allowed a greater understanding of the business. The intern-specific days were a good tool for development. I was able to develop presentation skills, project working skills, team working skills and even a CPR training session! Overall, my knowledge of Santander and banking greatly increased.

The prospects are very appealing. The graduate scheme is a very appealing scheme with one of the highest faid salaries for a graduate role within the UK. The ability to vary roles, move locations and progress with your career are all factors which make Santander very appealing for future prospects. The fact that they are keen to recruit and promote colleagues internally is very encouraging.

There were no fellow colleagues in a similar position.

N/A - lived at home.

As the office is in the city centre the nightlife is very good. There are various clubs and pubs within a ten minute walking distance. The student area of the city is also within walking distance which would be useful for anyone having to re-locate.

Not really. I was the only intern so I had no other colleagues of a similar age or situation to socialise with, most other team members have families of their own.