Account Manager Support Intern Review

My internship was a lovely way to spend part of my summer. I learned even more about banking and Handelsbanken's unique processes and way of working. I found that it was really hard work (mainly just actually having to be somewhere for the majority of the day) but also very rewarding when given something useful to do.

My colleagues were very kind and really tried to teach me whatever they thought I might be interested in or might be useful to me in the future. They made me feel useful most of the time, and tried to keep me doing things throughout the weeks. A lot of projects I did however had little to no effect on my colleagues except maybe saving them a few minutes here and there, so it was difficult to feel fully part of the team.

My Branch Manager was quite supportive as he tried to push me towards anything that might be interesting to me. He allocated me supervisors to help keep me busy and got me invited to a client meeting and a networking lunch in my short time there. He also gave me support when I was deciding on my future and tried to be objective when discussing this with me.

There was little I could help with on some days. So I would be in charge of keeping myself busy. I would generally make coffee, read the blue messages and try to learn about the bank myself. Some days however I found I could be very useful and was given so much to do that it would take me a few days to do it. However, even this just meant that I would take my time to do it so that I wouldn't run out of things to do. As a typically efficient person, I felt this went against my nature and struggled when no one had anything to give me.

I didn't learn to answer phones and I had little contact with the customer. Some parts of Annual Reviews were left entirely to me which gave me some level of responsibility but the majority of jobs I had someone sitting with me or checking it after I was finished. This is probably because many jobs that were given to me were new and I was only left alone to do them if I had done something similar before. As there is so much variety in what Account Manager Supports are meant to do, there was not many times where I would be left by myself.

Workplace skills and some soft skills and computer skills will certainly assist me in my future as they are the type of skills that will be useful in any office role. The training I received in AML and CDD as well as some other basic banking training may also come in useful but it is hard to tell at this stage how useful.

The office was always friendly and interesting. It could be quiet for long periods as everyone got to work but when a conversation started, it would be fun and friendly. Everyone was kind and supportive and made tea for each other whenever it was asked. It was a real team atmosphere.

There was no real structure to my placement and although I enjoyed it and managed to make the most of my time, I think there could have been more organisation to it to make sure everyone gets the most out of there time at the bank. A learning plan or a few trips to Head Offices could improve the structure.

There was online personal training which was compulsory. This was interesting and useful but also very draining. Having more practical lessons may have been more valuable. On one of my first days, my branch manager did organise to have an AMS trainer down for the day to show me a bit of the basics. This mainly saved the branch some time by them not having to show me but also gave me a bit more confidence when using the systems. Soft skills development also occurred although it is difficult to say to what extent this was the company's investment.

Very appealing. The company is great and seems to really take care of it's employees. They are in desperate need of young people to keep the company going. This opens up a lot of doors and I was actually offered a job before the end of my placement. I, however, found that banking wasn't quite what I am looking for at the moment but it is definitely a role I may come back to in the future.

Little to no social scene as there was only me in the office as an intern. There were no socials outside of work hours but during them there were very enjoyable conversations and a little bit of socialising. If I had been at the Induction day, I may have met a few more interns from different branches but none of these would have been very local. The social scene was not very important to me as I was living at home and had my own friends around.

I was living at home with my parents so there was not much cost to me at all.

I was not interested in nightlife but I believe there was some good pubs and clubs that a few colleagues went to around the time of the world cup.

There were no activities outside of work during the time that I was at the office. There are sometimes opportunities and lunchtime networking events but the summers generally have less going on. The summers at Handelsbanken are normally busier than normal due to some of the team being on holiday and a lot of work still to be done. Less activities outside of work may be a result of this.