Spring Intern Review

I enjoyed the insight immensely; there was a huge effort to include different parts of the bank, as well as make the experience as focused on your particular division (mine was Structured Finance) as possible.

I did feel really valued as multiple people from each division came to speak to us, and we were given the opportunity to ask questions at every session. Whilst it was a virtual event, there was still a really good opportunity to network with people for your own specific division.

I think I received a lot of support and guidance as every person said they were willing to follow up and reply to questions either through LinkedIn/emails after the sessions ended. There was also a lot of information about what the graduate programmes were like, which was helpful for planning in advance.

I think they assisted to a large degree, as it helped me narrow down which modules I wanted to do at university in order to get into the finance industry. Also, it helped me understand whether I am interested in Structured Finance as a potential career path.

It was well structured, and more long form compared to other spring insight events which were a day long. This was nice because we got an insight not only to our own division, but also the culture at the bank as a whole.

Good atmosphere, clearly very open to answering questions, which meant you could find out more about a relatively obscure industry.

I thought one of the best parts of the entire experience was meeting people who worked in the division. As someone who had only read about Structured Finance online, it was beneficial for me to learn about how the job actually works in real life, as well as clarifying some technical concepts I hadn't fully understood yet. Although the event was virtual, there was still an attempt to teach us some more technical concepts, for instance going through case studies.

It helped me a lot, not only because I was introduced to what the division I want to join is like, but also because there was so much opportunity to interact with people working in the team, as well as graduate recruitment. There was also a lot of effort made to demonstrate the culture at the firm - eg. lots of people with long tenures, which shows that many who are hired at NatWest stay on for a long time.

It helped me a lot, not only because I was introduced to what the division I want to join is like, but also because there was so much opportunity to interact with people working in the team, as well as graduate recruitment. There was also a lot of effort made to demonstrate the culture at the firm - eg. lots of people with long tenures, which shows that many who are hired at NatWest stay on for a long time.

The content was really valuable, with a good breadth of insight across various elements of culture, as well as divisional sessions. It helped me decide where I wanted to be in the finance space, and encouraged me to consider the difference between Structured Finance and other divisions, which was helpful in helping me determine my future career path. A lot of effort was made to provide a good ratio between professionals and spring interns, which was appreciated.

Although I was not paid or reimbursed due to this being a virtual event, they would have reimbursed me for travel and food expenses had the event been in-person. I did find out more about different activities, for instance a lot of the employees spoke about clubs and hobbies that they enjoyed outside of work. There seemed to be really good relationships between people and there was a good sense of teamwork at the firm, which is shown by a lot of people participating in NatWest related clubs outside of work. A lot of people from different teams also seemed able to socialise with each other.

The content was really valuable, with a good breadth of insight across various elements of culture, as well as divisional sessions. It helped me decide where I wanted to be in the finance space, and encouraged me to consider the difference between Structured Finance and other divisions, which was helpful in helping me determine my future career path. A lot of effort was made to provide a good ratio between professionals and spring interns, which was appreciated.

Networking was good in the sense that if you knew which division you wanted to apply for (for me, I already knew beforehand that I wanted to be in Structured Finance) there was a good ratio between professionals and students, which meant you could freely ask any questions you wanted. This was helpful for me because I could clarify some technical concepts that I had read about by people actually working in the industry, which was a nice touch.

I did find out more about different activities, for instance a lot of the employees spoke about clubs and hobbies that they enjoyed outside of work. There seemed to be really good relationships between people and there was a good sense of teamwork at the firm, which is shown by a lot of people participating in NatWest related clubs outside of work. A lot of people from different teams also seemed able to socialise with each other.

I would recommend this insight because it's a good sense of the culture at the firm, and also there was a good attempt at exposing us to business professionals. I also found out more about external activities that people at the firm were involved in. The insight programme is also a fast track to a summer internship in November, which I think is useful because it allows you to join the firm more easily if you're interested in the work and culture.