Relationship support officer Review

My role involves liaising and working with the relationship managers in my team to support them in fulfilling lending deals such as flexible business loans, trade lines, overdrafts, commercial mortgages and equipment finance for businesses. On a day to day basis, I work on anything from general customer queries e.g. tracking the status of a payment, to filling out forms, such as a risk advisory form which helps us assess affordability of a lending product to by analysing businesses' financial documents. Essentially, I help the relationship managers on the backend of deals, by building applications for lending, so they can focus on building long-term relationships with businesses. In addition, I regularly complete renewals for products that are on a rolling term such as overdraft facilities, resolve any complaints and instruct security for particular lending amounts and facilities in order to secure the lending. The overall purpose of my role is to work with the relationship managers to enable businesses to growth, which contributes to the state of the overall economy.

I have: 1) improved my communication skills 2) developed knowledge of the financial services industry which I previously did not have 3) improved my teamwork skills 4) improved my overall professionalism 5) improved my time management skills 6) improved my customer service 7) learned to use various systems and software's that were completely brand new 8) learned the process of a lending application from start to finish 9) learned how to develop a good relationship with a business from attending a meeting with a relationship manager 10) learned to spot business opportunities, e.g. such as lending from paying attention to detail and analysis of where there may be an opportunity

I am enjoying the program to a reasonable extent. In terms of doing a brand new role, and my degree and the way it has been delivered, this has been very interesting and engaging. Only thing I personally would say is that my role is quite process, and task orientated, whereas I learn best from a more creative task/role where there is room for individual analysis and thought. However, I am aware we will be able to undertake a relationship manager role in year 3 - which I believe will provide this.

The program is very structured and organised. We have a designed line manager, talent coach (from our training provider) and an academic lecturer who we can contact any time should be require support with our learning. There is clear progression over the 4 years, how we will move through different roles etc. Learning wise, our academic study is clearly structured, with a day designated to study every week and regular webinars and workshops. The only grey area is the specifics of which team we will work in as we progress, as this is based on demand / availability of roles - this area is not as well organised. But overall, everything is well thought out.

Lots of support, from both my colleagues and manager. My colleagues are literally always willing to sit down and help me, show me how to do a particular task and answer any question that I may have. In regards to my manager, we regularly have 1-1 meetings every week and she is super supportive again with any support I need personally or professionally.

I receive plenty of support in my studies. My lecturer is always available through our university website to answer any questions we have regarding a particular topic. In addition, the workshops and webinars are very helpful in consolidating my learning. We also have a library team that helps us with referencing, and finding good academic sources, they are also very supportive.

Personally, I think the qualification gives background knowledge which is theory based. But so far, I would say its only helpful in terms of having like a solid foundation of knowledge of the economy, finance and how banks operate. However, I don't this its relevant or helpful in contributing to my every day role. So far, there have been very few crossovers at all. I don't feel that its had an impact on my performance.

Yes, we have various activities such as a annual Christmas party, charity events throughout the year, networking events, "join me" days to see what its like to work in a different role or department. We have wellbeing events, where we focus on mental health, sleep, mindfulness etc. There are also days for celebrate various religions.

Yes

It's a great place to work in, my team is also very flexible and accommodating in terms of the hours we work. Everyone is really friendly, collaborative and you're always learning something new every day. There are hundreds of different roles you could do, opportunities are endless in a global organisation.

1) speak and articulate yourself with confidence 2) think about the experiences you've had, the skills you've learned and what was the outcome of that experience. literally use the star method: situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing in order to answer behavioural questions 3) research HSBC in great depth, try to think beyond answers that everyone else will give which are obvious like "well, I want to work for HSBC because it's a global company, and a well known bank". Differentiate yourself, research things others wont such as particular products, values etc of HSBC 4) practise questions that you're likely to be asked in a competency or strength based interview 5) ask questions!!! this is one of the most important things, too many people don't ask questions when it comes to the end of the interview. Asking questions shows you are interested and engaged. 6) think about skills you currently have, and how this could apply or make you suitable for the role.