Analysis and Business Solutions - Summer Internship Review

I would say that I enjoyed my internship quite a lot and learnt some valuable lessons about the finance industry and in particular the services area. I think however that RBS could make several vast improvements to the internship, especially as I found that quite a lot of the socials and events we were invited to were focused around Edinburgh and London as opposed to Manchester.

The team that I was working within made me feel valued the second that I joined the bank for the start of my ten week internship. I was given real responsibility by the team and was coached and given guidance on all tasks before completion. In addition to this, members of my team were appreciative of the work I had done and always thanked me, allowing me to feel especially valued. furthermore, they supported me immensely during the charity challenge and I couldn't have asked for a better team.

I had weekly one to one meetings with my manager in which we discussed anything that I was unhappy with as well as my managers feedback on my performance. If I had completed a task then I was quite often given valuable advice on how to improve the final product. Also, every intern has both a mid-internship review and a end of internship review that offer opportunities to gain feedback.

I would say that the majority of the time during the internship I found myself to be busy, however there were some points were the day would go by slowly. This is because I often did not help the team that I joined out with their day to day jobs much as it was too complex for me to understand and I hadn't received the correct training as it would take longer than my 10 weeks here. Consequently, some days I found that I did not have exact 'tasks' as such, but there was always something I could be doing to be proactive.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility during my placement. One of my main internship objectives was to create a working document for the customers, that streamlined the current process and ensured that my teams job was made easier. This was regarded as a very important task by my manager - as it was something that would be made use of going forward and so this was of big responsibility. Furthermore, there are various opportunities available for interns to take responsibility, you just have to go and take hold of it. For example in our charity challenge, I put myself in charge of contacting business for prizes - hence taking responsibility.

The skills I developed during my ten weeks here will be valuable not only professionally, but also for my personal development. I have learnt how to work effectively in a team within a stressful environment, as well as developing key organisational skills. Something that will be particularly important going forward is that I now understand how to conduct an effective meeting, ensuring little time is wasted. Working from 9-5 for ten weeks has allowed me to develop a strong work ethic - something I have struggled with all my life.

The general atmosphere in my office was great and something that I wasn't expecting at all. Everybody on my floor was really energetic and friendly, welcoming me well when I joined the team. I have had some great conversations with fellow employees and everyone is really proactive and keen to get involved. The only real negative I have about this point is that occasionally some employees didn't have time for interns - for example not replying to emails etc.

The internship setup wasn't the greatest to be honest. I really enjoyed the 2 day induction up in Edinburgh as I got to meet all of the other interns across locations, however the majority of the social events and workshops were focused around London and Edinburgh and as I was based in Manchester I didn't get a chance to partake in these. In addition to this, all of the interns were opted automatically into a pension scheme and were not told how we could opt out of this until later on. Consequently, 10% of my first pay check was placed into a pension fund - I wont be able to access this until later life. Also RBS put strict rules in place about the fundraising for the charity challenge, but we then found out that these rules were not being followed by other teams and no action was took which was frustrating.

In terms of training I did not really receive any specifically, it was more just a learn on the job scenario. There were opportunities to get involved with development, for example the Young Bankers Association ran a insight week, allowing me to attend workshops on developing interview skills and CV as well as learning how to present yourself professionally.

Future employment prospects look appealing with RBS. They have a great graduate scheme which enables employees to complete three 8 month rotations in different business areas. The structure of the 'employment chain' is good, with the spring insight week looking to follow on to the internship, and then the internship following on to the graduate scheme. After completing the graduate scheme and gaining experience you then apply to a job within the bank, so future employment options look promising.

As previously mentioned, a lot of the events and workshops were focused in the two bigger regions - Edinburgh and London. Therefore I felt that by choosing Manchester as my location I was missing out on a lot of things that would have enhanced my internship experience. Having said that, early careers did organise 2 location specific events for the interns including a welcoming event and a post CSR social. As we were all working 9-5 we found that we were often very tired after the day had finished - so the interns didn't see each other much after work hours, however we often took lunch as a group and caught up during our CSR meetings.

The cost of living in Manchester I found to be quite high - as I wanted to be within walking distance to work. I live approximately 15 minutes walk from work and I am paying roughly £150 a week for rent. However, if I were to commute in everyday from Liverpool where I live then it would be costing around £80/week and therefore I believe it was worth me renting a flat. Socially, the area the RBS office is located in (Spinningfields) is quite high end and so the prices tend to reflect this, however a quick walk into Manchester city centre and you can find some great deals.

Manchester nightlife is always very good. It is a really vibrant city with things to do for everyone no matter what your tastes are. If you shop around then you can also find some great deals for example 50% off food at Slug & Lettuce on Mondays and numerous drinks offers.

Aside from the socials we had, there wasn't really much opportunity to get involved in activities out of work. There were a few times when everybody was invited to payday/leaving drinks, however I did not see many extra curricular activities being promoted around the business.