If I had to give any advice to new graduates I think the first bit of advice I would give would be to try and get some customer-facing experience because at RBS we really do look at everything from a customer's perspective - any new ideas, see them through the customer's eyes. On a second note it would be to get some practical skills. So, look at your core skills such as presentation skills and then if you do get through to the assessment centre, overall, just be yourself.
I'm in my second placement at the moment so experienced two very different cultures from my first and my second. My first placement was spent in branch, very customer-focused and my second one is currently in a head office role. Lots of my colleagues at the moment have gone through the graduate scheme themselves so they're all very supportive of graduates and really try and push you and progress your own development. In terms of the culture they very much encourage you to use your own initiative and bring your own ideas to the table and challenge what's out there.
In terms of what I'm looking forward to in my career within the grad scheme itself I still have another two placements so it's great to be able to work in potentially another two new different departments. In the longer term I really want to get some line manager experience and then progress on upwards on the career ladder from there.
I think one of the first things that attracted me to RBS was just the sheer size of the company and the wealth of opportunities it offers. Looking forward in my career I've always wanted to work abroad so with RBS being present in 50 different countries hopefully this is something that I can capitalise on.