Industrial Placement Business Support Officer Review

It was an incredible experience. It’s hard for me to choose a highlight from the many milestones over the past year, but what comes to mind are some of the things I worked on either as a team member or individually which will make a difference in the lives of my customers– Graduates, Interns, IP’s and Senior managers. I look back to some of the Graduate policy documents I created focused on improving graduate’s wellbeing. I look back to some of the creative project’s I created, directly viewed by senior stakeholders in the Bank – Including HSBC’s Global Chief of HR. I look back to some huge learning milestones, for example, my first public speaking engagement in the Bank which was a catalyst for my other public speaking successes. Taking part and initiating some of these activities were my highlights and made my experience.

When I joined the Bank, I was assigned a Graduate Buddy, two managers, a mentor, and I had the support of the IP Community to lean on so I definitely wasn’t lacking support. My Industrial Placement journey was filled with lots of high/ low moments celebrated and supported by those I had around me and I couldn’t thank them enough. You don’t know the value of what you have until its gone, and now the journey is over, I really miss the constant interactions with those different groups.

I had two incredible managers, hugely focused on support and development. They would always ask me what sort of management style I liked and mould their approaches to fit my personality. I highlighted areas of development early on into my journey and I was pleased with the support I had from my team and managers to develop these area's and more. They didn't just support me by highlighting where to accelerate the development areas, they also backed be financially by sponsoring some of the developments I requested - I couldn't be more thankful for their guidance.

I hugely focused on growth and development and I preferred being busy. Because of the autonomy I had in selecting projects to focus on and how to allocate my capacity, I felt I was the perfect amount of busy from about 6 weeks in.

The level of responsibility was great. I had the opportunity to manage my teams relationship with suppliers processing large transactions. I also had the opportunity to lead ,multiple initiatives, and plan and run events for incoming joiners including a 3 day long event. The most amazing thing is the autonomy I get in controlling my capacity. I had the opportunity to decide how much time to allocate to my University work, how much to be assigned to my personal development in the bank and how much time should be assigned to my deliverables.

My placement year has provided a great platform to develop transferable skills which will support my final year in university and deliver a polished candidate for a future profession in finance. Amongst other learnings, my year in industry has provided me with a renewed self-confidence and belief in myself to complete any task regardless of the adversity I face. This skill underpins all the other strengths I have developed and will certainly support my future career.

In terms of company culture - for me two things stood out. The importance of wellbeing and feedback. HSBC’s values are to be open, dependable and connected and I would say I witnessed all three values practiced throughout my time in the bank. I joined HSBC when the Group CEO at the time implemented an ideology called the healthiest human system, a philosophy of work-life balance for staff “where everybody can be themselves” with a particular emphasis on wellbeing. And this wasn't something that was just stated to be the culture in the bank – it was actively practiced and the day I fully realised this was after spending a few days working in the evenings when my manager made it a point in one of our 1/1 session to tell me to try and work no longer than 5pm. For me this was a huge surprise, in my last two jobs I would always get commended as a hard worker for doing lots of overtime, staying longer than my allocated shift to support but my manager was outrightly against this. I think this was essentially when I realised the importance and culture of wellbeing in the bank to ensure you are always at your best. Also, employees have a growth mindset, they are always open to feedback and were willing to offer feedback when I requested which was pleasing to see.

Working in the Bank, there was a constant spotlight on taking steps to develop yourself and as a result, I was provided with plenty of resources to develop personally and professionally. I had a free subscription to LinkedIn Learning, Fit for Banking, HSBC University and two development days dedicated to Public Speaking and Personal Branding. These tools proved to be extremely useful throughout the year. Amongst others, I was able to develop empathy, public speaking, organisational, and communication skills.

Pre-Covid I had the opportunity to live with two other placement students and this was amazing because I leaned on them for support throughout, and it also meant we went to work and other socials together so I never felt alone.

Depends on the area you purchase goods and services from. Overall I felt the prices in Birmingham were relatively good - coming from a student originally from Nottingham.

Incredible nightlife! There is so much to do, so many places to go. You will never run out of ideas.