HR Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my Summer internship at RBS from the very start of induction till the end of my last day and was genuinely sad to be leaving. I liked working at the bank and also the feeling that I had done something worthwhile with my summer holiday from university.

I felt really valued by all of my colleagues. They made me feel especially welcome at the start of my internship but they remained helpful throughout the whole 10 weeks. I also felt really valued because they would give positive and encouraging feedback on my performance to both me and my line manager.

I was given plenty of support from my line manager during the whole programme and the effort she put in was the main reason I felt so welcome at the bank during my first weeks. She oversaw my development and helped with my workload. My project managers were also great and were understanding when I needed more time/ to extend a deadline etc.

My core working hours were 9 to 5 but most days I would be in work by around half 8. Although I would often take a full hour for lunch I would be busy until at least 5 every day, with most of my time on some days made up of meetings or calls. As my internship progressed and I had volunteered for extra projects etc. I sometimes worked later to help meet deadlines. However, I didn't feel unduly rushed or overworked during my 10 weeks.

I was given a large amount of responsibility during my internship. I was given the responsibility to source locations for large events and was involved in the delivery up of a leaders event. I was also given the responsibility of presenting some of my work to the senior leadership team in my business area.

The soft skills development and training I received will really help with future networking events and opportunities and being introduced to time management techniques will really help me to be more organised in my final year of study. On top of this the upskilling I received in using unfamiliar telephony and computer software has helped me prepare for working in the future.

The general atmosphere in my office was so friendly. Although everybody was busy they were always really positive and were chatty enough to make you feel welcome. It was really nice that when people were busier or struggling with something, their colleagues would always help them or offer advice no matter how senior they were.

The internship was well organised overall. the most important aspects of learning spotlights, assessment and training were always well organised and this helped us to feel more relaxed about them.

I received lots of personal training on the banks general systems and several that were especially key to my business area and several members of staff invested a lot of time in doing this. I was also allowed to take part in several development opportunities like permission to attend out of office conferences and development events, or senior leaders giving up time to help with my development.

Future employment prospects are very appealing with them, they pay employees on their grad scheme well and it sounds well structured. I would also like to return to the bank because I know they would treat me well as an employee as they have done for the 10 weeks so far.

Yes there was a good social scene amongst the other intern. Most interns weren't from Edinburgh here we were based so they were very keen on exploring the city and making the most of the Fringe. it was nice that people were interested in doing more than just going out for drinks too.

I got to stay in my normal university accommodation during the internship and didn't have to pay to stay in Edinburgh. the canteen at my office was great and subsidised so great value and Edinburgh was not too expensive to go out for food or shopping.

Edinburgh has less clubs than where I am from or go to university but there are lots of bars that are nice for a drink and we still went out-out in Edinburgh most weeks. Going out for food in Edinburgh was probably better value than going out for drinks through.