Royal Bank of Scotland Career Insight Programme (22nd August- 23rd August)

Last month, I attended a two-day career insight programme at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This event was aimed final year A Level students who were interested in pursuing career in banking and to allow them to learn more about the Royal Bank of Scotland and what they do.

This event was held numerous times during August and there are a few more in September. The one I attended consisted of 24 students. The application process for this was held online were I had to fill in my personal details, qualifications and answer two motivational questions. A couple of weeks after I did that I received a phone call from a member of the Early Career team at RBS informing me that I have gained a place.

Day One:

The first day was held at the Bankside office. The day began with a mini networking session but this was with the students. We were all served breakfast and we had around 45 minutes to go around and get to know each other. It was a bit awkward at first because we were thrown into it straight away but I tried my best to move around and get to know others. We then had an introductory session into RBS. The person in charge of the event gave us an overview of what RBS is about and what opportunities they offer for undergraduates and graduates. Secondly, we heard from Jennifer Holloway, a personal brand specialist, who spoke to us about how to build on our personal brand. I found this really helpful as she really made us think about how you may be seen by others and how this could affect your impression on people. One thing that stuck with me was when she asked "What do people say about you when you're not in the room?", with the answer being, "Whatever it is, that's your personal brand." This really made me think about how I act when I first meet people and what could I possibly change to avoid giving the wrong first impression. After that there was lunch and then another guest speaker gave us more of an insight into RBS and the roles and responsibilities of the different areas of the bank which are :

• Retail/ Commercial bank
• Investment bank
• Private bank (Coutts)

Furthermore, there were two other guest speakers. The first speaker was from Enactus which is a non- profit organisation which enables progress through entrepreneurial action and the second speaker was from The Prince's Trust. This section of the day was to inform us on how to make the most of university. I was quite attracted to Enactus and luckily they do work with the University of Surrey so I will be looking into that once I start. To end the day we got split up into groups of two and shadowed current summer interns at RBS. I got to shadow two interns who worked at Coutts which is the private bank owned by RBS. The students I was with and I got to visit the Coutts building in Strand, London which is really beautiful. It was different to see how quiet Coutts really is unlike the other RBS buildings and find out what the interns do there. The interns I met were so kind and gave a lot of good advice.

Deutsche Bank 'I Have a Dream' Program interviews

I was a bit hesitant when I was making the decision whether or not to publish this post. When I started this blog I knew that I wanted to give the best advice and share my journey into finance even if it included some downfalls so I guess it's the best decision to post this even though I'm a little disappointed.

I recently applied to Deutsche Bank's I Have a Dream Program which gives final year A- Level students an opportunity to take part in a paid placement in one of the banks divisions. I was attracted to this program because I am interested in a career in investment banking so I thought this program would provide me with an excellent first step into the career. The application consisted of the usual personal details, education, work experience details and a few questions such as, "Why do what to work in an investment bank?"

I really wanted to take my time with this application. There was a word limit on each of the competency sort of questions so it was really important that I answered the question to the best of my ability in order to display my interest. To do this I made sure that I also got advice from my college's careers adviser. When I was ready I sent off my application. I actually expected it to take a couple of weeks before I got a reply but less than a week later I received a call from Rare Recruitment. Rare Recruitment are involved in the program as they'll provide ongoing support and personal development for the students that have made it onto the program. They told me that I was successful and had made it into the first round on interviews. Afterwards, I received a follow up email providing me with details of the interview.

HSBC Work Experience Placement Offer & Telephone Interview Tips

Hello :) So it's been a while I guess since I last did a post and I did mention that I would do one on telephone interviews. Before I begin I have some good news. I have been offered a place on the HSBC work experience placement.

This unpaid placement lasts for one week during July where I'll get:

• An insight into HSBC's strategy, its history and its values
• Experience of actual jobs that I'd be doing if I came to work for HSBC full time
• An opportunity to work on an actual project and share my ideas with management
• Tips on interview technique and presentation skills
• Feedback and ideas on how I can develop myself
• An opportunity to network with other employees in the amazing world of work

I'll also gain:

• An invaluable insight into what it's like to work in financial services
• An opportunity to come back for more work experience
• An opportunity to keep in contact with HSBC

Goldman Sachs- A Level Girls Inspire Programme- Friday 22nd February 2013

On Friday the 22nd of February, I attended what I would describe as an insight day at Goldman Sachs. This event gave girls who are currently doing their A levels an opportunity to find out what Goldman Sachs is all about. The event was held on two separate days with the first one on the 15th of February. I would say there was possibly more than 50 girls that attended the one I went to and we were all placed in one huge room on tables so we got to interact with each other. I was immediately impressed when I got there because it was the first time in ages where I have been somewhere and my name has been spelled right :)

Goldman Sachs building

Credit Suisse: Steps to Success Open Day- An Opportunity to See and Learn About the Bank

Today (4th December 2012) I attended an open day at Credit Suisse that I was invited to through my college. It was more or less a networking event but I got to learn more about Credit Suisse and their Steps to Success programme. The event took place at Credit Suisse in Canary Wharf and ran through from the afternoon into the evening. There were other students there from other colleges and I even happened to meet a friend from my secondary school which was nice.