Summer Analyst Review

I enjoyed my placement because the work was challenging but there were always people that were happy to help me so I ended up learning a lot. I felt I was treated as a member of the team rather than a temporary intern because my colleagues always made sure they explained the context behind the work that was delegated to me. I felt the people in my office were both mature and approachable. I think it will be an enjoyable and rewarding place to work full time.

The people at RBC never forget to thank you for doing a piece of work for them-- even if it was the smallest thing like changing the colours on a slide. Furthermore, senior employees have a great habit of feeding back to interns about the results from the presentation, or the outcome of xyz project that they worked on. Generally, people are always talking to each other about work and listening to each others advice. It is a place that made me feel valued and involved in things as much as possible.

RBC was perfect for the way I like to work because on one hand, the interns were not micro-managed which meant we had a great deal of freedom and independence. On the other hand, whoever delegated work to us would make sure to check regularly to ensure we were going about the right way and would always be free for us to ask questions. It was never intimidating to ask questions and it was always easy to find the answer as the office has an unbroken chain of expertise from the Analysts upwards. Since we are a small team, everybody talks to everyone.

Depends on the day. It can fluctuate wildly from normal working hours (9am- 5pm) to insane working hours (9am - 5am).

My office worked on a project basis so every project had a team including one Director, one VP, one Associate, one Analyst and one Intern. So, I was never 'running the show' but I was given full responsibility over the work that I have been delegated. Once I've finished the work it would be checked by the Analyst or the Associate. The quality of the work passed up to be checked was always expected to be good enough to present to a client.

The most valuable skill I learnt was ATTENTION TO DETAIL which constantly comes back to help me in my course work at university and day to day activities such as typing up society emails, writing my CV and writing my blog. I think it is definitely a skill for life because now I feel compelled to check everything. More specifically, I have learnt useful skills in Excel, Bloomberg and other financial tools. These will come in handy when I do my Finance coursework this winter and at work in the future.

It is quite quiet to the outsider but when you've been around long enough you realise that the fun never stops. Email pranks, boys' banter and cakes for everybody all the time.

I think RBC's investment banking internship in particular is better than even the other bulge bracket banks because it sits you down on a desk and gives you opportunity to get properly involved in the work. In 12 weeks, I only began to understand the department and my sector thoroughly. I don't know how an intern on an 8-10 week rotation programme around a handful of sectors is meant to learn anything useful. Personally I like to prove myself through action rather than shameless self-promotion. I feel had I gone on one of these other programmes I may not have had the opportunity to show my skills whilst RBC really gave me an opportunity to prove myself.

The HR department was very good at asking interns what training we wanted and booking courses at places like Bloomberg and Thomson during our internship. My department was also very diligent with asking me throughout my internship whether I felt I was learning as much as I should. They tried to get me to work with every manager in the department so I could get involved with as many projects and therefore learn as much as possible.

I am going back to work for them!

Excellent. Most Fridays at the pub and lots of office parties.

The cost of living in London is expensive but I think with this job it's not the biggest worry in the world.

Good choice of pubs, bars and clubs.

We got emails about lots of RBC sports challenges and family weekends. We get a special employee discount at the local gym and also weekly offers to London entertainments like shows at the O2.