Research Assistant Review

I quite enjoyed my work placement here. Most of the colleagues are nice and helpful with an engaging and inclusive culture. The working environment are equipped but could be enhanced further. Flexible working applies to most of the areas and levels. Topics which are not work-focusing are aware of, such as well-being and work-life balance. Responsibilities given are challenging enough and perfect for development on both transferrable skills and technical knowledge. Workload is sometimes heavy but it is okay to speak up and seek for help.

Regardless the nature of tasks given, colleagues always appreciate my work and give constructive feedback in a comfortable way. Despite the fact that more instructions were given on how can I finish my work at the beginning stage, I've been empowered to decide my approach to different tasks at the later stage when I'm more familiarised with my job.

Regular catch-ups are scheduled with different levels of management. Line manager is always aware of workload given and provide constructive feedback on every task. Managers always make me feel free to ask questions, seek help, or suggest any new ideas. Career planning is also discussed with helpful suggestions. Clear guidance is always given with flexibility.

I am never bored and workload is usually just balanced, which means I seldom need to work overtime. Busy time are always anticipated and planned in advance so resources are enough to not making anyone too busy. There was just one to two weeks that I was unexpectedly busy but help was given when I spoke up for it.

The responsibility I was given is just right. I was given various types of tasks and I owned some of them while I supported for the rest. As a research assistant, I was given responsibility to lead on some analytical tasks and research projects. For the rest of my time, I supported different colleagues' work which gave me an opportunity to gain more different knowledge and expose to other areas of the Bank.

I have enhanced a lot on a range of skills, such as writing papers, doing presentations, and communicating with stakeholders. This is a result of my given various responsibilities and the flexibility on allowing staff to attend a wide range of trainings. Despite some central bank specific knowledge may not be perfectly fit into my accounting and finance degree, most of the skills and economic knowledge are transferrable in career perspective.

The general atmosphere is great, which I feel engaged and appreciated for my work. The atmosphere makes me feel comfortable to speak up and think out of the box for new ideas. Colleagues are communicating in an open way that I am not too stressful on my work. People are willing to help and nice to work with.

The overall work placement is well-organised with a planned schedule for the overall placement induction. Timeline with key dates are clearly given, such as when to finish the interim and final performance reviews, and the process for conversion from placement to graduate programme. The HR is also helpful and supportive to both the placement students and their managers.

There is a wide range of trainings available for all staff across the Bank, or specifically for some areas. These training courses are with different purposes as well, such as drafting papers, presentations, communications, and even personal confidence. Although these are not directly and specifically investment on me, they are open for all staff and I can still get a lot of opportunities as long as I am active to register for those I am interested in. Line manager always encourages and is supportive for me to attend more trainings.

There was a good social scene amongst placement students and colleagues. Placement students can socialise through getting invited to a Facebook group or just simply sending email around to the placement email group within the Bank. Colleagues would also organise events like Christmas lunch. Some events are also organised by areas at different levels, such as division, department or directorate, those events include Christmas party and volunteering.