First Year Undergraduate Summer Internship Review

Enjoyed the opportunity I was given but didnt feel that the programme was so structured

The branch team welcomed me however it is difficult to spend time in a branch and not be trained to do cashier or quick counselling as that brings the most to the branch and therefore assists colleagues

Manager was very supportive particularly with fundraising challenge however I felt at times he was also unsure what to do with me

Day to day there was no a lot for me to do in the branch - mainly did meet and greet which I had done previously and therefore did not feel that I gained a huge amount from

I was given responsibility with the project that I was set - that allowed me to have some independence and analyse bank procedures however I was not convinced that my feedback was going to show anything new or encourage any changes (however small)

I was given a slightly broader perception of the retail markets and trends and further experience of the professional world

Positive, everyone got along very well and made the effort to help each other particularly when we were under staffed - was difficult to get to know people on a less professional basis

The scheme has huge potential but I feel that there is a misconception as to how much an intern is capable of in the branch, shadowing is not an efficient use of the intern's time and more could be done to make sure that they have the training and the access to do the majority of quick counselling at a much earlier stage in the programme. Although doing floor walking and meet and greet was important, I would have felt that I had played a more useful role if I had been able to contribute more diversely to the running and targets of the branch in order to help colleagues. It is has also been difficult as customer’s needs are very immediate and as an intern it was frustrating for everyone involved that there was essentially an extra pair of hands not being utilised to full capability. I feel that head office are not totally aware of how the branch are able to accommodate for interns.

Felt that the extent of development was limited in the branch however the bank do focus on development and therefore I feel that there is still huge potential to progress and grow with the bank

There are still lots of other areas of the bank to explore and therefore although I do not feel that I have been challenged at this time I do think that there are many future opportunities

Difficult to organise more successful events because interns were located all over the country

Socialised more with friends from home rather than other interns

Great

Could have been more events and activities organised while the scheme was running