Graduate Consultant Review

I am a graduate consultant and I have rotations of varying length in projects across the bank. I am currently working in the Open Banking project in which I run reports detailing customer activity and try and predict future trends also. We work in an agile way so I have meetings with teams across the project in order to collate the necessary data.

I have developed lots of soft skills, and gained in confidence when it comes to introducing myself to senior staff. I also use SQL and Excel on a daily basis and had no prior knowledge of these before. During the induction period, we had a 2-day excel training course which was incredibly helpful. I also went on a 3 day big data training course which has helped in writing and running queries on SQL, as well as understanding big data on a larger scale.

I think there's a lot of variety in my programme which helps. I am quite analytical so I enjoy that aspect more than making power point presentations. I have been able to develop skills which is important, and the people are so lovely which makes the whole process more enjoyable too.

There is room for progression, and we are on a course every 6 weeks which is well organised. However, overall the organisation is the only downside of the programme - we don't know how long we will be on a project for. Other graduate schemes at the same place are in structured 6 month rotations, however each on of us are on different projects for different amounts of time. E.g a 6 month rotation, 2 month rotation, 9 month rotation. We also don't know how long we will be on during our rotation, as sometimes we are no longer needed which requires a lot of flexibility.

There is plenty of support available. From direct constant support from my line manager, to both formal and informal support from the management of my scheme, as well as monthly performance reviews from another manager, I would say overall there is more than enough support. There are opportunities specifically for graduates also.

We have reviews every 6 weeks with our skills coach provided by our training provider who is really helpful in ensuring we are on track with our apprenticeship. We are also able to speak with them whenever we need additional guidance or support. They also make our line managers aware of our apprenticeship and what is required of us from them to facilitate this.

The qualification definitely helps in my role. There is terminology which is not explained in the workplace, and there are diagrams used which we are expected to know. If you didn't come from an economics/business background then the qualification can help a lot with thinking in that way.

Yes. There are football sports teams as well as netball teams. There are people networks such as the women's network, ethnicity at work, and embrace for LGBTQ+ issues who run tailored events. In our scheme, we have a quarterly town hall event in which we are able to liaise with more senior staff and network across with out peers too.

Yes

A really good work-life balance with plenty of development opportunities. Everyone is so lovely too and the culture is open. Graduates are not belittled when making mistakes which is important and the transition from university into the workplace is made really easy. Progression is also clear as it's an international company.

Show how flexible and eager to learn you are. Do your research - If you don't know much about banking, listen to the financial times weekly banking podcast (on Spotify for sure) and try and connect with people on LinkedIn who may be able to help you already working there to better understand the risks and challenges of the company. Smile at the interview! Find out what makes Santander different like that - otherwise it's very difficult.