Intern stories

Hear from some of our colleagues on their experiences of the Handelsbanken Internship Programme

Name: Osarumwense
Location: Kingsway London
Department: Information Technology

What attracted you to Handelsbanken for your internship?

I was attracted to Handelsbanken’s customer centric values, which resonated with me. Handelsbanken, also has a passion for climate change, gender equality, and they aim to be recognised as the most sustainable bank among peer competitors. Finally their work with the #1000 black interns, a program that provides under represented students an internship opportunity.

Name : Joshua
Location: Dartford
Department: Dartford branch

What did you get up to on your internship?

During my internship I was training as an Assistant Banking Manager, learning the day to day roles and responsibilities to service the customer needs and generally supporting the team at the branch. This included phoning customers to assist with various aspects of their day to day banking. As part of the Internship we had multiple training days on Building Relationships, Identifying Strengths and a Recruitment session, where I got to meet the interns and network with other colleagues. I even represented Handelsbanken at a 6 aside cricket tournament at a corporate event. This allowed me to network with colleagues from various branches. We also undertook a diversity project together, this included meeting up weekly, conducting research and creating a presentation which we presented to the head of HR at the end of our internship.

Name: Nana
Location: London
Department: Compliance

What have you enjoyed about your Internship at Handelsbanken?

Having never worked in the financial services industry before, I found working in Compliance for 10 weeks very insightful. I really enjoyed getting to know about the unique way that Handelsbanken operates, and being involved with work that was going to make an impact. The culture and people at the Bank have also been real highlights for me, as everyone I’ve met and worked with have been nothing but welcoming and friendly, and the different social events I got to attend were a great opportunity to get to know other colleagues.

Even though my time as an intern has come to an end, I’m looking forward to staying on with Handelsbanken as an Assistant Banking Manager at the Richmond Branch.

Name: Joy
Location: Finchley
Department: Finchley branch

What was the most rewarding thing about working in Handelsbanken?

Overall the fact that now I’ve seen a glimpse of what it means to work in a bank it has allowed me to narrow down my career aspirations. During my internship I was given the opportunity to work within the valuing differences employee resource group, which I am very passionate about. This resource group’s main focus at that time was Black History Month and to contribute to content which was being created. My main hope when joining this group was to educate other races on where they fit in during this month and how valuable their support is.

Name: Sophie
Location: London head office
Department: Compliance

Has anything about working in Handelsbanken surprised you?

Throughout my two summer internships, what I found most surprising was the culture that is built into the company. Due to the decentralised system it allows for a flat structure it enables you to be able to partake in activities that you would not be able to do within other companies. This empowers you as an intern to expand you network across the bank and build your own career. Everyone is more than happy to take time out of their day to help in your development and further understanding of the financial services. I found that after my internship the support from my colleagues was not limited to just the summer as they went on to aid me in securing a role within the Compliance Team.