Summer Internship Review

by NatWest Group

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

2.1/5
  • The Role
    0.6
  • The Company
    3.6
  • The Culture
    2.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I did not enjoy my placement/internship. I was sat looking for emails and scrolling through our version of workplace daily. When asking for tasks to do, I was not given heavy tasks as nobody had time to explain anything to me due to restructuring. When joining the organisation, what I wanted to do was not taken into consideration at all, I was plonked into a team (this was confirmed), therefore, I feel there was no value for my 10 weeks. I would have been better suited in Ops risk. I was also placed under 3 different line managers during my internship, therefore, I had no consistency.

    1/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • None, my colleagues did not include me in their phone calls or conversations. I was not invited to any of their meetings, therefore was not kept in the loop. I organised meetings across the team to find out what they did but I was not given any work to do in order to broaden my knowledge. When asking for more work, I was continually told that they were 'too busy' and everything was 'too hectic' due to system updates and system change overs.

    1/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • None. I received minimal feedback on my project and at one point waited two weeks for feedback. This delayed my whole project as I was waiting around for feedback. During my first week here, I was also told to just 'read' around the area, which I did. During follow up conversations, nothing was cemented in my brain and I was constantly having to chase up feedback from my manager.

    1/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • I had to keep myself pre-occupied by organising different meetings with different teams. I did nothing to contribute to my teams tasks or add value, other than generate one report. This was very de-motivating. I then spent a lot of my time actively searching for things to do, such as, reading on different areas, organising my own networking meetings. This was not fun as I was not motivated to come to work.

    1/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • None. I was given no responsibility from my team during my placement. After waiting to start on the Business Continuity report, this was then put to a halt due to unforeseeable circumstances, however, this was not followed up by my new line manager and I was not given any more tasks to do due to not having enough authority or not being granted access to certain systems. I worked oon a report in reputational risk and this excited me, however, the level of responsibility was not fulfilling.

    1/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I developed skills within work such as office etiquette, however, this will not aid me in my degree what so ever. I had to push myself to network and branch out to people. I was left feeling demotivated therefore this is not a skill I wish to take with my to my future career. I felt that the skills I developed was a poor attitude to the professional world and everybody is 'too busy' to explain a piece of work to you. The only team that did this were reputational risk and Legal Counsel.

    1/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The atmosphere and work life balance at work was one of a good one and you were encouraged to take your lunch and not work past 5pm. It was relaxed and people just got on with their own work without distracting one and other. There was always time to catch up with your colleagues.

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • Early Careers had organised the internship well. It was structured and we knew the dates of each task we had to do and when to be completed by. The assessment centre tasks were not stressful, however, were challenging and made you think. The guides on the internet and the communication from your buddy throughout the lead-up was reassuring and comforting.

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • Paying £21,500 in an individual who is on a summer internship shows their eagerness to keep you. I was also made aware of any qualifications that you wanted to do, the company would pay (within reason) and they'd give you the time. There is also 90 day development plans which each of my team do, this ensures they are continuing growing. In terms of me, the company invested a salary into me, but nothing more.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • 3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • 3/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • 5/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • I was based in Edinburgh. This is not expensive, however, if I didn't have a friend, I can see it would be expensive during the fringe. Everything goes up in price during the month of August in Edinburgh and it becomes busier, however, the social life becomes better in August due to the free shows that are on offer.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • No night life in the area I work. There is a nightlife into the city centre, however, there is nothing around the office. Buses are 20 minutes into the city centre from where I work, therefore, it is accessible and you can have a nightlife a bus ride away, however, socialising after work can be a problem if people live further out of the city.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • Kind of. There was nothing internally advertised for activities outside of work. There was no healthy active life style promotion or nothing external. The only thing that I was aware of, even after spending time actively searching was the teams corporate social responsibility day. This is when they go and spend a day out of the office and help in the local community.

    1/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Scotland

August 2019


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