Summer Analyst - Securities Services Review

I really enjoyed my placement with HSBC Securities Services. I was trusted to complete my own task that I felt had an impact with the teams I was working with, and that my work will be used as a point of reference carrying forward. Everyone was very welcoming and willing to give up their time to explain the technicalities of the business to me.

My work was trusted, and as my internship progressed it felt as though my colleagues were willing to rely on me to assist on a number of projects. Colleagues were forthcoming with both feedback and advice, and I felt this allowed me to grow as an individual and develop my professional skills.

My manager was excellent at "championing" me upwards, and to credit me to both other departments and her superiors. Many people from my department and others were willing to take time out of their day to provide me with advice and point me in the right direction to be able to complete my work.

I was kept busy when they were able to find projects that my managers felt would engage me while still having an appropriate level of responsibility for an intern. There were occasions when I felt like a loose end while I was waiting for something I misunderstood to be explained, or for the next piece of work, but these were the exceptions and not the rule.

I was given responsibility on two separate projects and was allowed to present my findings to the regional and country heads of my department, and then sit in on the meeting of the decision process that my work had been used to support. I was also allowed to be very hands on with a live sale opportunity.

I had a huge increase in my level of comfort with a number of "soft" skills. These include the ability to network, organisational capabilities, being able to prioritise my workload, skills which up until now I have not had many opportunities to work on. My team encouraged me to push myself when it came to these skills.

The office atmosphere was great and people were more than willing to take time out of their day to speak to me as an intern. Everyone was more than friendly, and I spoke to people in the different business areas to get a sense of how they fit into the overall business

The internship was very well structured and had a number of social and professional opportunities to network. My managers and team in particular were very good at providing feedback and advice on what to be doing next and to ensure I was constantly improving. Overall it was a very well run experience.

My managers and team were very good at providing me advice going forward, and helping me develop the skills I was less comfortable with. There were also a number of more formal training sessions to work on some general skills to bring us all up to speed and ensure consistent improvement.

I'm hoping that I receive the offer from HSBC Securities Services and to become a member of their graduate programme. Their graduate programme is structured into 4 separate rotations through different areas of the business, of which one is an international rotation. There are also further opportunities abroad after the grad scheme.