Account Manager Support - Intern Review

It was good fun, getting on very well with the whole branch with no issues going on within the branch. I enjoyed learning more about all the systems in place within the branch day-to-day and banks in general. There was also a good vibe within the branch and a clear knowledge of when to joke and be serious.

From the first week I was invited to and involved in Branch social activities which helped ease me in and get to know the Branch. Despite being on a 3 month internship the members of the branch expressed long-term interest in keeping me on and making me feel welcome as a person regardless of employment.

They told me to get into the habit of checking Instructions Britain to further my knowledge, if I couldn't find it they would help me find it. I appreciated this as it helped me adapt and get used to the systems quickly without spoon-feeding me everything, it also helped me feel valued as they looked at me as a peer rather than beneath them. If I had any issues or couldn't understand Instructions Britain they were happy to help me and happy to go through a process with them before doing it myself so I saw how to do it then used the instructions when by myself to reassure I was doing it correctly. Furthermore they always saved new work to go through with me if it wasn't something I had done before.

As the branch was very busy in my first few weeks there was quite a bit of down time where I did all my training and reading the Employee Handbook. But after that period the whole team immediately focused on giving me things to do to understand everything while not overloading me

From early on they gave me responsibilities such as reports, cheques, BACS etc. while cross checking with me to ensure it was all correct and helping me where needed. I wasn't running the show as there is still things to learn but they always look to me whenever something new comes up to teach me so I understand all the processes that come through the branch. They have since given me full responsibility of Cheque verification BACS etc.

Ideally I would like to stay on at Handelsbanken after this internship ends and it is looking likely. It is because of this that all the processes and systems I have been shown will definitely help me if I get the opportunity to continue here as I will continue to use them. However, if I don't get the opportunity to continue it has definitely given me a lot of insight into the banking industry and the different systems and processes within which will help in my future career regardless of where I end up

Fun to be in with everyone getting on and joking with work but everyone knew when to put their head down and work. No tense relationships in the office as everyone got on. Not just with me but everyone was happy and willing to help anyone else with any queries they may have which added to the nice atmosphere.

Perfect - they organised several events for all of the interns at the Head Office to find out more about the bank as a whole rather than just the branch. On top of this there was a group project to help integrate the interns in different branches to help have contacts throughout the bank. Finally the HR contact was easy to get a hold of and always happy to help with any questions in order to help with anything

I have been set up on all of the company systems with laptops and phones being assigned to me which took a lot of processes to get into place. With regards to training and development, they had set up a course for us to do on the development portal just as any other employees would do and the branch would invest time away from their work to focus on helping me go through new processes, even if they could do it quicker to ensure I knew how to do it for the next time

I believe I've done well so far in the internship and all of the employees in the branch including the branch manager have expressed interest in keeping me on after the Internship finishes which is a good sign. Ideally I would like to stay on as the branch is nice and want to help me where they can so I think it would be a nice place for my career.

As I said before I was invited to staff socials and events from my first week at the branch which was good. On top of this there were also the socials for the interns organised by the Company both outside of work to meet the rest of them and within work to find out more about Handelsbanken as a whole/

Chiswick is in London so its slightly pricey but for London its not excessively expensive so it was possible to do multiple socials if we wanted. It depends where you go as there are many smaller places around Chiswick but its also very easy to go into central London but prices will be more than other cities.

There were a few bars around Chiswick and Hammersmith which are nice to go through and socialise with the Branch. On top of this it has very easy access to central London where there is a big nightlife if wanted and with the other interns throughout London it was a good central meeting point.

It depends where you live as a lot of places in London have local sports clubs and gyms etc. Being in London there is also quick access to all parts of London so there is a large variety of opportunities regardless of where you stay/work as you can commute to work or the opportunities