Spring week Review

The Human Resources team was very friendly through the whole interview process and the week, which made me feel very welcomed and accommodated. It was enjoyable meeting other spring week participants in social events during the week, where we also had the chance to meet citi employees and make good connections.

In IB, we were assigned to an industry area within the business where we had a mentor and a manager as a first point of contact. Additionally, the rest of the team was very friendly and welcoming and made a lot of time for you. Even memebers from other divisions and industrys were happy to spend time with me.

This was possibly the best part of the week. Being assigned to a sector allowed me to ask very specific questions about the job and the sector, and where someone had moved from a different area the comparison was so valuable. Everyone was so willing to pass on guidance and recommendations.

In terms of information received, it would be difficult to find an experience where you could ask so many questions and be given so many honest answers. You can still improve valuation skills, for example, on individual projects you pursue, however the focus is on gaining understand and knowledge about the sector.

The week had events on every day at lunch and there were two social events in the evening. Work shadowing was a big part of the day which is down to the individual to structure, but that flexibility was extremely important to help you discover whichever area you were most interested in.

Very positive and fun atmosphere. I can thank the Human Resources team and the rest of the participants for making it a really enjoyable week as I spent no time on my own! In the evenings we would socialise together and everyone was very happy and exited to be here!

As I said before, the week was less about personal training and development and more about gaining knowledge and understanding. That said, there was a skills session on how to read the financial news and how to perform well in and interview and an assessment centre which was very useful.

We had the chance to ask so many questions on a one to one basis with the employees at Citi during work shadowing and social events. We could also ask these questions so analysts, associates and MDs to get a full picture of what a career is like at Citi.

Spending a lot of time work shadowing really helped me understand the company culture. Sitting on the desk being surrounded by teams working in projects really gave me a feel of what it would be like to work there and what the culture was like. Everyone was honest and open about their working lives.

With how much I was able to learn about the working life and the style of work when I was doing my work shadowing, I have a very good impression of what working life will be if I pursue a career in investement banking. People were happy to answer any questions too.

My flights and accommodation were paid for. Additionally, every meal we had during the week, weather it was inside or outside of working hours, was covered by Citi. This is especially good for International students who need to travel a long way and don’t have friends to stay with in London.

There was two social events during the week. One was with senior employees and the other was with junior employees. The senior one was a little more formal but it was great to be speaking to so many people who had had a long career. The junior one was more relaxed and helped us see what life is like as an analyst.

During the networking events the employees were open and honest about any question we asked. Additionally, they were very fourthcoming with advice about careers and how to manage a life in investment banking. Senior employees gave more wholistic advice while junior analysts were more specific with their advice and recommendations.

We were given a presentation about the opportunity for Citi employees to get involved in clubs outside of work. There were various volunteering activities and initiatives which were explained to us, where employees could give their time into the local community to help in any way the local community saw fit.

I most definitely would. A lot of spring insight weeks, while very informative, do not give you the chance to learn about the business and the day to day lives of an analyst. Whilst the week had less structure and fewer informative sessions, I learnt a lot more as I was free to ask the questions I wanted in a personal one to one environment.