Summer Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement, I found it challenging which allowed me to learn and develop. My team in wealth and advice were incredibly warm and welcoming and approachable which made it far easier to integrate into the team. This internship was far better than I expected it to be, much more interesting and I learned so much about the business in such a short period of time.

My colleagues really made me feel like a part of the team. They were all so approachable and friendly and now at the end of the internship it feels as if I've been here for far longer than I actually have - and I'm sad to leave the wealth and advice team!

I was showered with support and guidance from my line manager, my colleagues, my internship manager and my grad coach. Whenever I needed support or guidance, any colleague I asked was more than happy to stop what they were doing and sit down with me and help me through whatever it was I was struggling with.

I always had something to do, whether it was working on a project or business as usual tasks, sorting through emails, organising meetings and coffee catch ups to get to know more people in the area or just catching up with my fellow interns. I was never sat bored or overflowing with work.

I think I was given enough responsibility as I could handle. The work I produced came through many waves of feedback, so the final outcome was always of good quality, so if it was required for a meeting or anything, I was not stressed about it not being good enough.

I have learned many useful skills that I will definitely use in my degree and future. I learned important time management skills as well as communication and people skills. Collaboration formed a big part of the internship and I think that those skills will definitely help me in university and when I hopefully return for the graduate scheme.

The atmosphere was amazing in my office. It was always positive and fun, whilst everyone knew they had work they had to get done, and so would get on with it. I think my team specifically helped make the atmosphere what it was - so I really thank them for that.

It was really well organised, with all the different talks and events that were set up for us. The emerging talent team really made this an incredible experience for us all. As for my team, they gave us the work we had to do, we had a good structure and got on with our work.

HSBC invested heavily in my personal training and development through the use of development days, the discovery global induction day where we learned all about the company, the mandatory learning modules on financial risk, crime, compliance and more, and the elearning modules through looop. The induction days were also incredibly helpful.

They are incredibly appealing. I thoroughly enjoyed working for HSBC UK this summer and would love to come back and work in the graduate scheme and then work as a permanent employee afterwards. I would be more than happy to start a full time job today if it was offered to me.

The social scene was good amongst colleagues. There was one intern social organised by the interns where we went bowling and for drinks. Once a month we also had a team social at the Canal House which was nice to get to know our team in a more informal setting.

Cost of living was good in Birmingham relative to a place like London.

The bars and pubs were nice, but I didn't go out to any clubs.

There were not many activities after work