RBS doubles annual loss in 2011, fourth since bailout

A few weeks ago RBS announced their losses for the year 2011. I thought it would be quite an interesting read for anyone preparing for an interview/assessment centre. Whilst many of the facts, figures and statistics given in the article are reasonably negative, there are however some potential positives you could bring up in your interview/assessment centre. For example, you could mention how RBS has been selling off it's non core assets to revive it's profitability, and that the balance sheet has been reduced by more than £700bn from the peak of the crises.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17128477

I hope you find the article useful!

Assessment Centre

The Assessment Centre for the RBS Summer Internship in CIB is quite a straight forward task. I will try and provide you with as much information as possible and advise where possible.

The Assessment Aentre consists of three parts; a group exercise, a competency based interview and finally an individual presentation.

You are advised to be at the offices at about 9.30. We ended up sitting around for about 45 minutes which didn't particularly settle the nerves, but was quite good meeting everyone before we started the group exercise together.

Group exercise: At the Assessment Centre I attended, there were 10 of us, and we were split into one group of six and one group of four. My group was focused on dealing with a telecommunications company; we were each individually given a potential cost cutting solution to improve performance at the firm. The task was focused on primarily discussing the potential benefits and disadvantage of each proposal, and to try and persuade the rest of the group to take up your initiative. It's not the be all and end all if your proposal isn't chosen, as long as you show that you can work well in a team and can propose a reasoned argument you should do well. I got in contact with someone else from the same assessment centre, his proposal wasn't chosen but still got the job.

We were then given a little coffee break to settle the nerves and relax a little bit. Half the group was then taken for the competency interviews and the other half go off to do their individual presentation.

Competency Interview: The competency interview lasts approximately one hour and is with one of the employers in the CIB department. My interviewer was honestly one of the most friendly people I've ever met; she was a manager in the corporate coverage division and had been with the firm for several years. The interview itself inevitably started with the standard questions; why RBS, why CIB etc. We had a general chat about my experiences and my background. The interview was honestly more of a conversation more than anything. The competency questions are slightly more challenging than the phone interview; the most challenging part is maintaining focus on the questions. The interviewer outlines a situation, and then asks you three to four questions after each one. If you would like the interviewer to repeat the question, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to. An example of one of the questions related to a conflict between two of your senior managers, and how you would approach the issue. If you attack each questions individually and answer each one in detail you'll be fine.

After this, we were treated to an informal lunch for about 30 minutes with small sandwiches and croissants and what not. Following on from this was the individual presentation.

Individual Presentation: There is pretty much nothing you can do in terms of preparation for this part of the assessment centre. You are given 75 minutes to read through between 16-20 pages of information about a DIY gardening company. The fictional firm were acquired by the RBS Group, and your task is to conduct a 10 minute presentation to your manager informing them of the successes of the firm, the risks it poses to the RBS Group and finally any further questions you would ask the management of the fictional firm. You're provided with a flip chart which you are STRONGLY advised to use. You are left alone in the room without any of the HR staff, which means you have to organise your time as efficiently as possible. This is the same for the presentation itself, you have to try and stick to your 10 minute slot as much as possible. This is then followed by about 20 minutes of questions by your manager. The main aim of the exercise is to place you in a similar environment to one you would experience on a daily basis; so you have to keep in mind that you're an RBS employer and you're informing your senior on a personal level. Relate everything you say back to the RBS group and you'll be fine; try and absorb as much information as possible and use statistics where possible.

This is meant to obviously be the most challenging part of the application process, but if you show that you're confident and a team player in the group exercise, know your stuff for the competency interview and finally highlight strong presentational and organisational skills for the presentation will put you in a very good position. You will be informed in three days of the outcome of your assessment centre.

Telephone Interview

If you successfully reach this stage of the application process, the email you will receive will contain the following information:

"There are two sections of the interview.  Please read the hints and tips below to help you prepare for this stage in the selection process:

The first section will involve you talking about the programme that you have applied to and how it fits with your career aspirations and experience.  You will need to demonstrate the required level of understanding expected from a graduate to be able to progress with your application.

The second section will involve two questions designed to give us a better understanding of you as an individual. These questions will relate to:

- A topic that you feel passionate about (this can be any topic and does not have to be business related).

- A personal achievement that you feel proud of

You will need to think about these in advance of the telephone interview as you will be expected to talk about them in some detail."

The advice provided in the email is pretty much spot on and about what to expect. 

The first section was essentially an expanded version of the following questions:

Why RBS?

For this question you can certainly use many of the points that were utilised on your application form. The individual interviewing you is highly unlikely to have read through your application form, so you are by no means disadvantaged by using the same examples.

I mentioned how the firm is dominant in terms of assets and tier-1 capital, the firms ability to minimise it's losses and beginning to make profits. I also mentioned and went into some detail about CEO Stephen Hester's five year plan and how the firm is now taking a longer term view. I would try and use some specific statistics and facts where possible.

Why CIB?

As above, feel free to use as much of your application as you feel comfortable with. My advice again would be to use the CIB information page:

https://www.makeitrbs.com/uk/rbs-leadership-and-professional-home/programmes/corporate-and-institutional-banking

I mentioned the specific areas that appealed to me; I think this would be quite a good idea as you'll be able to show genuine interest. 

Why You?

Once again, this question is very personal. My advice would be to mention as many things as you possibly can that will impress the interviewer. I gave a list of qualities, and then gave specific examples of where I showed them. If you can mention and highlight examples of showing the following, it will certainly put you in good stead:

Client Skills + people skills.

Team Player

Enthusiastic

Self Motivators

Challenge of real responsibility

Fast passed environment.

Leader.

Communication

Language.

Building relationships.

Confident and credible communicator.

What I would like to make clear is the importance of preparation for a phone interview, and the necessity of confidence in this situation. My personal preparation began with answering each of the individual questions, and then noting each question down on flash cards and laying them all out on your desk in front of you so you can answer with the information fresh in front of you.

The second part is an opportunity to inadvertently convey many of the key competencies that RBS look for. The passion should highlight how you go the extra mile to enhance your interest in that specific area. The achievement you are particularly proud of should be something you are genuinely proud of; definitely try your best to impress and try and leave a lasting memory!

Numerical Test

These days, more or less every company uses Online Psychometric Tests. RBS only test you on a numerical basis.

In complete honesty, the RBS Numerical Test was probably one of the hardest numerical tests I've taken in all of my applications. RBS use their own form on numerical tests, not the standard SHL or PSL tests. My main piece of advice would be to practice as many tests as you possibly can; SHL have an online numerical test, however they unfortunately do not inform you of what questions you get wrong, only your final grade. There are several other online numerical test sites that are available, many of which are for free.

What greatly helped me out when I was attempting numerical tests was the following book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847945465/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

The title is Perfect Numerical and Logical Test Results; the book starts off with very simple aspects of Mathematics such as percentages, ratios etc. It's extremely useful if you're a little bit rusty with the basics, and also provides you with a helping hand into logical tests as well!

Good luck to you all!

Situational Judgement Test

The Situational Judgement Test, or more commonly known as STJ, is a standard form of personality testing used by a lot of firms in their application processes.

The advice the introduction, and every firm gives you is 'answer every questions honestly, with how you feel you would act in each situation'. In my own personal experiences, it's certainly worth going on the RBS website and seeing what their core values are; inevitably the STJ questions will be looking for you to highlight your views on teamwork, creative ideas amongst others.

This is a relatively straight forward exercise, and presumably most people get through this stage.

The Application Process

The application form for the RBS Summer Internship in CIB is reasonably straight forward. As well as the obvious personal information question, as well as work experience there are three long answered questions:

1.Why do you believe it is the Right Time for you to join the Corporate & Institutional Banking Programme?

Please use this section to talk about what you know about the Corporate & Institutional Banking Programme and how this fits with your career aspirations.

2. Why do you believe RBS is the Right Place for you?

Please use this section to outline what you know about RBS and what makes it an attractive workplace for you.

3. What strengths and experience do you have that make you the Right Person for the Corporate & Institutional Banking Programme?

Please use this section to describe your strengths and any experience that you have that makes you the Right Person for the Corporate & Institutional Banking Programme.

The word limit for each of the above questions is 250 words.

My advice for the first question is to look up CIB on the RBS website. I'm partially writing this blog to hopefully give a greater insight into what a summer intern at RBS will actually do; the RBS website unfortunately does not provide any information as to what this entails. However, I would advise mentioning something along the lines of taking up the opportunity of being fast tracked onto the 18 month graduate programme.

As many of you will know, RBS have unfortunately not experienced the most glowing few years. So this question is the one I personally struggled with a little bit. However, the advice I was given at an employment presentation was to mention how you would like to embrace the opportunity to be a part of the 'new' RBS. Also, I'd advise mentioning how the RBS Group are making serious efforts into streamlining their businesses and focusing on their core sectors.

The third and final question is obviously a very personalised question that you will have to spend potentially the most time on. Mention where your interest in Banking and Finance sprouted from, any relevant work experience, activities and sports; anything you feel is valuable and will add to your application form. My main form of advice here is to spend as much time as possible on your application form; the questions and information you provide is only really viewed at the end of the application process so make sure what you say counts and makes you stand out!

If you have any questions, let me know!

Introduction

I have recently been accepted onto the RBS Summer Internship programme in Corporate and Institutional Banking at the London office for the Summer of 2012. I intend to post as often as I can my experiences in the day to day life of working in a firm like RBS. In the meantime, I will try and give you my own personal advice on each of the individual stages of the application process and try and help those out as much as possible. I will begin with the application process first, then onto the STJ questions, swiftly on to the numerical tests, followed by the telephone interview and finally the assessment centre.

If anyone has any questions feel free to comment on any post, and I'll try my best to reply as soon as possible!