Employee shadower Review

Online work experience where we listened to different people whether it be apprentices or HSBC employees talk about their experiences at the company. There were a range of sectors shown including procurement, personal banking, and IT. Certain tasks were given to complete in groups e.g. advertisement presentations which had to be presented.

I was given a relatively simple but broad overview into the world of HSBC and also banking. I gained skills such as interacting with groups of strangers and presenting a presentation to a group of 100 people. There was also a mock interview where we were able to practise giving answers.

It was a good work experience but wasn't without its flaws. There was a lot of sectors that were described which was good as it told us about a range of different jobs. However, this often meant that explanations were brief and a lot of time was spent just listening to people.

It was pretty well organised as it should have been. We were given a clear timetable well in advance of the actual work experience. The meetings were always punctual and there weren't many massive hiccups when it came to the plan being unable to be followed except for break-out rooms.

HSBC's culture definitely surprised me as I expected them to be a big, corporate, distant firm. However, many of the seminars were about diversity and giving people fair rights and opportunities. As well as this, all the people presenting and talking about HSBC seemed nice and had that same values on diversity.

It was definitely useful in helping me become more aware of the different pathways within finance. It isn't all just about banking but there are other aspects such as procurement, data and public relations. The apprentices that spoke gave valid points about the benefits of taking one and that has interested me.

No. This was a free work experience so there were no costs as this was done online. Therefore everything was free. The only costs that I can see is the fact that some people had their experience week on a school week therefore most likely had to miss the entire week.

In a way yes. They was a really big emphasis on meeting actual workers from HSBC and hearing about their experiences. This allowed us to ask questions and and in cases we were given ways to contact them in order to follow up with any questions outside of the seminars.

Yes

It does seem like a good company to work in. They make an active effort to be diverse, sustainable and supportive. As well as this the whole culture and environment seems to be one that anyone or any body could jump into regardless of someone's race, gender or beliefs.

The biggest thing is to have a good CV as that is the first round so the first thing you want to make a good impression on. However, it is equally important to know the values of HSBC as it is a common theme in the follow up questions asked online and on the phone.