Spring Intern Review

I really enjoyed the depth of knowledge that the insight week provided. There's only so much you can Google about a company or firm, but having the opportunity to really learn about the different business lines in a first-hand experience was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the people who were also on the programme, as they also made the experience fun and interactive, which I thought was great.

From the first day, the HR team let all of the candidates know that we weren't competing against each other for internship places, which I think was a fantastic idea to promote as it really provided a warm environment of collaboration rather than competition. Of course, we did not do any actual work whilst at the firm, but I think that the constant emphasis that we were here to learn reinforced HR's narrative that they wanted to do their best to provide support.

HR was always on hand to answer questions (and there were many), as were the other business professionals who volunteered their time to give informal talks and presentations about their various lines of business. I don't feel like I left feeling confused about anything or any step in the recruitment process either.

During the project work that we undertook during the week, I was really able to develop and make use of my research and presentation skills. The research was important because, during your career, you might be faced with a task that requires you to pore through documents which can be hundreds of pages long, and the skill of being able to go through those and pick out the necessary and useful information is invaluable. Similarly, presenting in front of the senior panel was also an extremely useful experience as it allows you to not only work on how you verbally communicate but also how you present yourself non-verbally.

The insight was extremely well structured. We received a break down of what each day would consist of in advance, along with the allocated timings. There was a very clear flow and structure to each of the days, and apart from getting stuck in the elevator, everything went together quite seamlessly!

We were fortunate to receive a fantastic Introduction to Investment Banking delivered by Fitch Learning. The session was great because it worked its way up from the basics to really explain the different structures observed within investment banking, which I thought was fantastic as I don't study a finance degree, so wasn't necessarily well-versed in those topics.

The insight week was a great insight into what the day to day routines of the different professionals across the range of positions was like. We were able to talk with analysts, associates, vice presidents and managing directors about what each of their roles included, along with the varying levels of responsibility.

The insight week was invaluable in providing me with more information about careers and roles that I might possibly want to pursue in the future. Similarly, it also allowed me to get a firmer grasp of what I would and wouldn't like out of my career/company that I work for.

The HR time organised several opportunities for us to meet, talk with and follow up with other employees at the firm. We had Afternoon Tea with senior members at the firm, along with networking lunches with analysts and associates. We were also able to do some work shadowing of some of the analysts, which provided further networking opportunities.

I definitely would recommend this insight to a friend. I feel that I gained a real depth of understanding of not just the bank, but also the different divisions, as well as investment banking as a whole. The programme was small-ish, so that provided a really good chance to get to know people properly and make good connections also.