Claudine Fox

Name: Claudine Fox
Club 21 Employer: Clydesdale Bank Plc
Degree Subject: Law
Year of Graduation: 2008

For a period of nine weeks this summer, I was on placement with Clydesdale Bank within the Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS) Centee in Glasgow. My first four weeks were centred around project work whereby I was set a number of challenges aiming to improve the overall efficiency of the processes within the bank. I concentrated specifically on two areas: the process of communication with customers and the system of processing mortgage applications. The second part of the placement was spent working within a team focused upon personal and business banking.

The whole nine weeks were extremely rewarding. I was able to transfer many skills gained throuhg my studies at university into real life situations. Furthermore, it was reassuring to find that my ideas were not only welcomed but acted upon- a great confidence booster! I also gained a better understanding of the expectations of all employers- not least the ability to rise before 8am!

I can honestly state that there is no substitute for practical experience. Learnign to adapt to working with different personalities, the importance of exchanging ideas and gaining in-depth understanding of how the financial sector works were all achieved through actual responsibility within a fully functioning finance team.

I would highly recommend Club 21 to all students. I feel I gained a lot of personal satisfaction and my confidence has greatly increased. I aslo learned a lot about myself, including strengths and weaknesses. It can be quite daunting going into a working environment for the first time, but I felt the support received from Club 21 was extremely beneficial and reassuring. I would have no hesitation in advising all students to grasp the opportunity of work experience sooner rather than later.