Updating Results

Commonwealth Bank

4.4
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Laura Polin

This graduate year has provided me with a great opportunity, whereby everyone is willing to talk to you and help you.

How did I get the job?

Towards the end of the final year of my degree a friend, who is a CommBank employee, suggested I apply for the Graduate Program. I applied online and went through an interview process starting with the initial application, going through a few online tests, a phone interview and finally I attended an assessment centre and one on one interview process. I found the key through this entire process was to be myself, particularly in the final assessment centre and interview process.

Why CommBank?

Through numerous conversations with current employees of CommBank, it became apparent that not only was it a great company to work for with regards to work life balance and morale – a job with CommBank opens up so many doors to enable a productive and exciting career.

What does my role involve?

As I am a part of the Regional & Agribusiness Team, and I am based regionally in a small office of 13 people. I spend most of my time working on a Relationship Executives portfolio, and I head out on the road with him as often as possible to meet clients in a bid to better understand their business and how we can help them to grow and meet their full potential. I also spend time in the office, working with loan applications and clients day to day banking needs.

What training have I received?

I will have spent a total of 5 weeks in Sydney throughout the course of my graduate year receiving intensive training in detailed processes and policy as well as being exposed to a number of different employees across the bank. I have also attended in-house training focusing on credit quality, policy and gaining a greater understanding of other business units.

What have been the highlights of my year?

This graduate year has provided me with a great opportunity, whereby everyone is willing to talk to you and help you. The bank can be an intimidating place from the outside looking in, but once you step in the door, it is phenomenal how accommodating people are around you and how willing they are to help you to forge your path and shape your career. The exposure to higher levels of management through this program has also been an incredible experience, especially being given the chance to listen to and meet our CEO Ian Narev.

What challenges have I faced?

This year has been an incredibly steep learning curve for me, especially as I have not come from a finance background and I have moved from Sydney to a regional area to start work with CommBank. This whole process has been made a lot smoother purely by the help of those around me. This year, we were also provided with a mentor from a different business unit which has provided me with an opportunity to gain a different perspective on any speed bumps I have encountered. My mentor has also been incredibly valuable with the advice he has provided with regards to how I would like to build my own career.

Working for the Commonwealth Bank has opened my eyes to the opportunities available in such an organisation and has provided me with a solid foundation to launch my career.