I didn't manage to take a picture of the building myself but it is absolutely beautiful. It is incredibly tall and I was so overwhelmed by it. The inside is also very beautiful and modern, I was really impressed. The building has one of those see-through lifts and it was actually quite scary because I'm scared of falling from great heights so I tried not to look down.
The event took place on the 6th floor and all of us that attended were provided with refreshments before the day began. It was nice to be surrounded by other students who were interested in banking and weren't exactly looking to do the same degrees in university. There was also a mixture of males and females so this wasn't an insight day aimed specifically at females like some are.
Firstly, there was a brief introduction on HSBC's Balance Network who sponsored the insight day. The Balance Network aim to promote gender- balanced workforce. Additionally, there was sessions on an overview of HSBC, an overview of Markets and a Q&A session with four Analysts. These three sessions provided more of an understanding of what HSBC is about, what a section of investment banking is like and what it's like to be an Analyst at HSBC. This was followed by a networking lunch with members of all business areas. It gave us the chance to find more about the different types of sections in investment banking such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Sales and Trading.
After lunch there was a CV skills session where one of the recruiters at HSBC gave us advice on how improve our CV's. I learnt that desirably, CV's should be one page so I now have the problem of cutting down my two- page to one but I am seeking help with that. After that was an overview of Banking by a member of the banking area of HSBC. As the day was coming to an end we got more advice on what to expect at assessment centres. An assessment centre is one of the stages of application when applying for programmes such as internships and graduate schemes. This is a common stage in a lot of investment banks but Goldman Sachs actually doesn't include this. The last part was a session from another recruiter informing us on the opportunities HSBC provide such as the Spring Week, Summer Internship and Graduate Programme. At the end each of us were given the opportunity to say what we enjoyed most about the day.
I found the day really helpful. I really admire HSBC as they are really team- orientated and it seems like such a laid back yet hardworking place to work. The insight day did attract me to apply for the programmes HSBC offer in the future. It was good to know that it's okay to not know what area of banking you want to go into exactly and some banks including HSBC help young people to identify that during Spring Week programmes. To find out more about the programmes HSBC offer visit this website: http://www.hsbcnet.com/hr/graduate-careers
Finally, not long ago I managed to gain a place on the RBS career insight programme. This is a two- day programme which offers an insight into the bank, work shadowing opportunities and many more. I think applications are still open but spaces are very limited so if you are interested and in Year 13 visit this website: https://www.rbsgraduatecareers.com/EventManager/Search/CandSearchEventResults.asp
I received briefing on what the two days will consist of and I must say I am excited yet nervous. A blog post on this programme will be published at the end of August.
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