Team Manager in Foreign and Banking Review

I am responsible for a team of 12 people that do both foreign and banking tasks. I have each month one 121 with each member, 1 coaching session and a check in each week. Furthermore, I also review random calls for each rep to ensure the customers have the best experience.

Time management is definitely a key skill that I have developed because I have to plan well ahead all the coaching and 121 sessions for all my team members. Furthermore, I didn't manage any individual previously, let alone a team - therefore, currently I am learning how to manage people and how to empower them to be at their best.

I absolutely love this rotation - It's almost the end of week 5 already and I don't know where the time has gone. I was very well received by the bank and everyone is really friendly and opened. Additionally, I have a lot of support from my manager and my team, so I really enjoy coming in to work everyday.

The graduate scheme is very well structured - it's a 2 year scheme where you have 4 rotations. I have to change my role and location (very rarely it happens that you remain in the same location) every 6 months. Each rotation is designed to be very different from the previous ones, to ensure that we are exposed to the different parts of the business as much as possible.

Currently, I work in First Direct, which is part of HSBC. In my first rotation I worked for Marks& Spencer Bank in Chester. I do believe 6 months in each role is a decent amount of time to learn about the company culture and how it is to work there.

Because I have 2 rotations left, I still have not decided on my future career path. I want to finish all 4 rotations to experiment as much as possible, and only then I will make a decision regarding my future career. I strongly believe that the experience that I will acquire from these rotation will prove to be invaluable when I will make that decision.

Yes, I am paid monthly. For every event that requires me to travel, I usually can expense the costs as long as I have the Grad Team's approval. Furthermore, when we have to change our location every 6 months, HSBC also helps us with some money to make this happen.

We have throughout the 2 years several events designed by the Graduate Team where all the graduates from my cohort and the 2018 cohort meet and share their experiences. Usually these are 2 days events where we take part in loads of challenging and fun activities. Apart from these, all the graduates are also enrolled in a qualification - we usually have development days that we attend.

Yes

It's a great company with a great culture - I loved it from the moment I stepped into the building in 8CS in London. I had great experiences and I am very grateful for having the chance to being in this scheme. HSBC has invested a lot in this scheme and it's truly a great experience.

Be yourself. You don't really need to have a degree in banking or finance - for example I've studied IT with Business. I know they are looking for highly motivated individuals that want to be at their best - as long as this is your goal, you shouldn't have a problem making it into the grad scheme :).