Personal Banker Review

I have face to face meetings with customers to provide information on the complete range of products and services available at Santander and help them to complete applications for any of those products they decide are suitable for them. I am not able to give advice in this role, but must ensure I completely understand all of the products available so that I can give complete information and answer any questions about them.

My biggest weakness when I started this role was a difficulty building rapport with the people I meet. I was always very professional and able to give complete information accurately, concisely, and confidently but struggled with building relationships within the role. This has improved a great deal in the time I have been in the role.

The programme was very challenging at times as it was the first of its type done through Santander, but the support of the tutors and the other apprentices was a great help and the tutors did a great job in making the subjects as enjoyable as possible for all involved.

At the start of the course there was not a clear structure as it was the first course of its type attempted through Santander, but they did very well at listening to the feedback of the apprentices and making adjustments where possible, particularly with the frequency and length of the online classrooms.

Support for the programme was difficult to achieve at times throughout the programme. An amount of time was promised during normal working hours to be able to complete work for it, but this was not always possible due to the demands of my main role which meant more of it being completed in my own time than I initially thought would be required, the balance became much better towards the end of the course.

The tutors were a great help throughout the programme, they always made themselves available to answer any questions through online chat or email, and even through site visits where necessary. They did everything within their power to make sure everyone was as prepared as possible for the professional qualification exam.

The qualification I achieved has given me a more in depth understanding of the products I deal with on a day to day basis, as well and a solid grounding of a range of subjects across the financial industry which enables me to speak with my customers with much more confidence.

There are a range of activities that people can volunteer for through my work. These mainly revolve around charity and fund raising activities rather than strictly social events. Social events tend to be organised by any individuals in each team. The team I work in is always very friendly and tries to include as many people as possible when this happens.

No

I feel I have reached the limit of where I am able to develop to within Santander as progression internally is becoming increasingly difficult within high street face to face banking, therefore I would not recommend it to someone who is looking for a longer term career with progression opportunities.

For a face to face role, you will need to be confident and comfortable talking with people from a complete range of backgrounds and abilities, so the key skills to be able to demonstrate would be an ability to communicate well in different ways, and an ability to adapt your style to suit the situation you are faced with.