RBC Capital Markets Summer Intern - UK Interest Rates Strategy at Royal Bank of Canada

The Role

Role Description

I was part of the strategy team. My task was to develop a model on Excel that is going to be useful(profitable) for traders inside the firm. I also helped my manager in simpler/quick tasks such as plotting charts/creating tables on Excel.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

9

It was a great experience, thanks both to RBCCM that organises brilliant internships and to the city of London which offers awesome nightlife and out of office activities

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

8

My manager was great and gave me a lot of support. The rest of the colleagues weren't as supportive but always happy to chat and teach things involved in their job.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

10

My manager followed me thoroughly during the course of the project he asked me to do for him. If sometimes markets kept him too busy, he might help less but he would still call me up to show me what was going on in the markets and discuss a bit.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

8

I had to complete an ongoing project, so the workload highly depended on how much I wanted to focus on it. There might be days in which I couldn't advance that much and the markets kept colleagues too busy to try and ask for help, but in general it was a good balance of workload as step by step I completed the project during the 8 weeks of internship.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

7

My task was to develop a model that is now a useful tool for the traders in the bank. However, due to my full commitment to this project, I wasn't very involved in the day to day work that my team did.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

9

This experience highly contributed to my personal growth in terms of establishing relationships with work colleagues, learning a lot more about the financial markets and life on a trading floor. After the experience, I was also sure that a career in the financial markets is really what I want to pursue.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

9

It was great. Obviously there were periods of stress, especially in these times of stress in the markets themselves, but colleagues were nearly always in a good mood and friendly.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

9

Great. Apart from the daily work on the trading floor, during which I was closely followed by my manager, HR organised many activities such as a weekly trading game involving all interns.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

8

I would say in a period of 8 weeks it is hard to really give a big amount of personal training. Nonetheless, I learned a lot from my manager and also just staying on a trading floor and following the work of other people. The internship program also included a day at the Bloomberg offices for training.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

6

• Company Parties/Events

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

9

I am awaiting response for taking part to the Graduate Program that follows the summer internship with a gap year in between. The banking industry is a tough industry to get into overall at these times, but RBC is well positioned and is one of the few banks that still recruits a lot.

Social

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

10

Great time with other interns, some of which will probably still be friends if distance permits it.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

6

Probably the only downside, expensive life...but the pay should make up for it.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

10

London's nightlife is awesome.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

7

Even though the long working hours don't allow for so much time to spend during the week outside work, if you get active there are a lot of activities one can join as London has so many people who have the same life balance. I used to play football and badmington weekly with colleagues/interns, and go out on weekends.