Joel Hall

7.00 AM

After waking up to the sound of a helicopter landing at the nearby hospital (I don't use alarms!), I quickly run through my morning routine. I live in Grafton, so I have a twenty-minute walk ahead to go to the office. I typically skip breakfast, so I grab my work bag and jump out the door. Once I get to the office, I always think about taking the stairs and being healthy. But the ten stories to my floor always encourages me into the elevator. On my floor, I sit in amongst the HR team. I usually try to grab a spot on a desk by the Talent & Acquisition team as they are always good for a cheeky laugh at the beginning of the day. 

8.00 AM

I start my day by pouring myself a hot chocolate and grabbing a drink of water if I get thirsty later. Every day, I drink my hot chocolate while walking from the machine to the desk, so most days, I turn around and get another so that I can have one to sip on while I work. 

8.10 AM

My first task every morning is to check my email and Microsoft Teams. As a BNZ intern, I work across two different projects. First, I support the HR teams processes project; I use Tahi (our ServiceNow) to understand what the team is getting up to and how the different tasks flow across various team members. Additionally, as a member of the 2020 cohort, I am also responsible with my fellow interns Alice and Luke to design new strategies to reduce the impact that our customer's vulnerabilities have on the banking experience. 

In 80 Queen Street, many of the other interns are spread across the country, so I don't get to spend a lot of time with them in person. Instead, as a project group, most mornings Luke, Alice and I get on a call to discuss any developments in our project and our overall experiences at BNZ. Because I sit with the Talent and Acquisition team, they have to step away a lot to make phone calls, so I often put my headphones in and work, but we enjoy chatting among ourselves at our desks when we have a few moments. 

8.30 AM

For the first hour every day, I focus on my project work. Often this hour is the quietest of the day if I don't have to have a division meeting or face to face with my People Leader. I use this hour to tackle any challenging tasks identified in the previous days that I needed to sleep on. 

10.30 AM

I try to put as many meetings as possible between 10.30 AM and 2.30 PM as I find these are my best hours for learning about all the exciting things at BNZ. Because both of my projects require me to communicate with a large variety of stakeholders, I spend my time in meetings taking notes and asking questions about the way our bank operates. These calls are excellent, I don't have a background in banking, so I get to learn a lot and discuss the challenges related to the projects. I appreciate that BNZ gives us meaningful projects. I love working with my passionate stakeholders from across the business to create as much value as possible for the managers involved. 

12.00 PM

I usually eat lunch with the other intern Rina; we enjoy going to various food places downstairs. Today was her day to select what we ate, so we went to a very nice sushi place. We take turns deciding the location every day. But I love Taco Bell, so every second day, we eat that! Eating lunch has been a fun time for bonding and getting to know each other. 

2.30 PM

Once I return from lunch, I finish my meetings at about 2.30 PM. Shortly after, I use the next hour and a half to record my notes and fill in my project spreadsheet. My projects involve bringing data together and reporting on various objectives, so using the information I learn is a significant factor in success. BNZ is paperless now; although I found this challenging, I so much time not having to transcribe anything handwritten. Additionally, because everything is digital and BNZ is fantastic. I am allowed to work from home, which I often do on a Wednesday just for a change in scenery. 

4.30 PM

After work, I go home, have a quick snack, and am off for a run while listening to a podcast. 

6.00 PM

I live in the Halls of Residence at a nearby university, so most nights, I have dinner with my roommates who are interns at other companies. We usually spend an hour or two discussing our lives and current issues in the news. When I return to my room, I jump into my other work. I am part-time studying at the university, and I volunteer at a couple of charities, so I usually spend an hour or two on that. Although I sit a lot, I try to take regular walks and eat healthily!  

9.30 PM

After all my work is done for the day, I usually hop into bed; I like to watch a bit of Youtube to have a mental break which I usually fall to the white noise from. 

Of course, every BNZ intern goes about their day differently. But if you can see yourself working here, I highly recommended applying!