Internal Audit Review

I really enjoyed my year at Nationwide Building Society. The organisational culture is truly unique: despite the big size of the organisation, the atmosphere is friendly and it feels like a safe place to learn, ask questions and be curious. The work is challenging and interns don't get treated any differently to permanent employees.

I worked within the Internal Audit community, and I always felt valued for my contribution in the team. I felt appreciated not only for my task-performance, but also because of the energy and the 'fresh pair of eyes' I brought into the team. The wider Emerging Talent team was also very good at recognising members of the cohort for their wider contributions.

My line manager was outstanding at understanding exactly what I wanted to get out of this placement year, and helping me achieve my goals. He supported and guided me with everything I went to him with, without spoon-feeding me, and always pushed me to aim higher and pursue more, while at the same time being very realistic and pragmatic. While my line manager was a consistent source of support and guidance, all of my task managers were fantastic at mentoring me.

The nature of my job was such that some weeks I would be very busy and would perhaps have to work a few extra hours, but some days I could leave early if I didn't have much to do. I was never in a situation where I was bored or felt like I had nothing to do, I always had something to work on and learn from, such that I was always busy but in the majority of cases not overwhelmed.

There was a clear progressive path in the amount of responsibility I was given: the more I learned, the better I got at it, the more responsibility I got. Once I proved that my work was of good quality, my managers didn't hesitate to give me as much work as they would to an Audit Senior. By the end of my placement, I was having meetings alone with quite senior people from different departments.

I am confident that the skills I developed during this placement (both soft skills and technical skills) will not only assist me during my last year of university, but also in the pursuit of a career as a graduate. For example, I gained invaluable teamwork and leadership skills which will be great assets not only during my last year of university, but also as a grad.

Internal Audit is not as loud and "fun" as other departments at Nationwide, however the atmosphere was always friendly, and it inspired trust. I always viewed it as a safe environment, where my colleagues strived to get the best out of me, while allowing me to make 'mistakes', ask 'stupid' questions and learn things for myself.

The placement was very well organised: Emerging Talent arranged for us to have multiple development opportunities throughout the year in the form of workshops (e.g. Mind-set and Attitude, Leadership workshops, etc.) and project opportunities. Something that could have been done better is provide a platform between Emerging Talent and line managers, to ensure that expectations are aligned.

We got some amazing development opportunities through training sessions, presentations and workshops. The content of these was very targeted and I feel like I've learned a lot through them. There were some outstanding presenters, and the workshops were very well run. In some cases we were sent offsite for 2-3 days for a workshop.

Nationwide recently started helping Industrial Placements return to the organisation as graduates. Did I wish to return to Nationwide as a graduate, I would only have to pass an online assessment, and be supported by my current line manager. Currently, the Industrial Placement scheme and Grad scheme are quite similar, which discourages a lot of IPs from coming back, but this is changing as of 2018-19.

There was definitely a good social scene within the emerging talent cohort, which is made up of Industrial Placement students and Grads. We all went out together this year, grads and IPs in the same friendship groups. As for colleagues, there definitely is a good social scene, a lot of social events are arranged throughout the year.

Swindon is an industrial town, making the social scene very different to what university students are used to. Nonetheless, Swindon has a big range of really good restaurants, pubs and bars (not so much clubs) so socialising in Swindon is very easy as well as cheap. Renting a house and going out in Swindon was very affordable.

Nightlife is not Swindon's strong suit. There are loads of good bars and pubs, but the range of clubs is limited. There still is a nightlife, but it's no London or Bristol. Having said that, Swindon is so accessible and so central that within an hour you can be in London, Bath, Bristol, Reading, Cardiff, etc.

Yes, there were loads of opportunities to do activities after work like going out, playing football, tennis, getting involved in volunteering events, etc. Nationwide also has a good range of societies (e.g. wine society) to get involved in. Swindon is one of those places that can accommodate any hobby, all you have to do is look.