Spring Intern Review

It was a fantastic program that gave us a huge amount of 'hands on' experience and exposure to what it could be like working here. Everyone was extremely friendly and I learnt so much in a very short period of time. I am very happy to have participated in the program.

There was so much guidance and support given to us from all sides of the business. We had talks from all different divisions, our desks were very supportive in explaining their work to us, and the HR team was always there to chat and answer questions if this was desired. Especially the most recent grad class was very happy to talk to us for longer periods of time, as they knew first had what it was like to be an intern.

The knowledge I gained was very specific to the industry, and therefore not necessarily beneficial to my degree, regarding theory. However, everything I gained, from theoretical knowledge to interpersonal skills, will be extremely valuable in future internships and jobs. The public speaking/debating workshop will also be useful in the long run in many areas within my degree and outside.

All sessions included in the programme were well structured and laid out in a way to allow us commit to our own work at our desks at the same time. I would have appreciated a short session to get to know the rest of the group at the very start of day 1, but over the two weeks we still got to know everyone else nevertheless.

The atmosphere was very good. Again, everyone working at Nomura was extremely friendly and willing to chat with you and help you with any questions. The other girls on the programme were all lovely and despite having lunch at the desk, we would at least go and get the food together.

Nomura clearly values their interns and show that it is necessary to invest in interns, as they are more than likely to be in the future grad class if they perform well. Therefore, even the most senior employees were often more than happy to sit down with us and explain concepts and ideas starting with the most basic steps.

I would say that the insight definitely gave a good feel of what it would be like to work here. Having been on the Global Markets programme sitting at a desk on the trading floor for the entire two weeks allowed us to have great exposure to what working life would really be like.

Having spent two weeks surrounded by extremely busy and yet extremely friendly and helpful people definitely allowed us to understand the company culture. The exposure to the trading floor allowed us to see the interaction between other employees and not only with us, and showed a fun and friendly and yet hard-working environment.

Within the programme I learnt a lot about myself, about activities I enjoy and other things I don't enjoy that much. Having been on the trading floor gave us exposure to all aspects of the Global markets division and made it much easier to see which role we might be suited to as individuals.

There were so many opportunities to meet other employees within the firm. For one, there were plenty of sessions and networking panels we were able to participate in, but it was very easy to just walk up to anyone and have a chat with them. Our buddies were very helpful in introducing us to other people as well.

There were networking drinks and lunches which enabled us to chat more to each other and other employees within the business, which were very enjoyable. Our desks were also great at including us in any activities such as group lunches or drinks on Friday evening. This made us feel very much part of the team, despite our only being there for two weeks.

From what we heard about, there are definitely activities going on outside of work, such as charity sports events, music classes, language classes etc. There is also a gym in the building which employees can use whenever they feel like it (and have the time) either after work or during the day.

I would most definitely recommend this insight to anyone thinking of working in banking who wants to get a first hand experience of what it could be like. It was a great experience, and I feel that it has prepared me very well for a prospective summer internship in the future.