Women's Immersion Programme Review

The insight programme was better than I had expected. I enjoyed the variety of tasks that were given to me as this meant the two weeks went by very quickly and I was able to learn a lot. I felt it was a very immersive experience as I had the opportunity to sit at a desk and work alongside my team, giving me a good image of what the job is like.

I recognise that it is very difficult to give interns meaningful work during such a short time period and to ensure that they do it correctly. My buddy gave me good tasks that allowed me to learn new things about private equity but were not beyond my capabilities. I think my work will be used by the rest of my team which I feel proud of.

There were lots of people we were able to go to for support. The HR department were very caring and I felt comfortable to go to them with any question or concern. My buddy provided a lot of guidance and scheduled time for a proper catch-up at the end of each week. I was very surprised but pleased to find that we could email employees who were more than happy to meet for a coffee and share their experiences.

The skills I developed such as making portfolios and writing reports will not help in my degree studies but have given me a lot of insight into the work done by an analyst. The understanding I have gained of investment banking, private equity and the markets is extremely valuable and will no doubt make me feel more confident when I apply for future internships. It is knowledge I feel I would not have been able to learn through books or the internet but has come from talking to other analysts and learning from their expertise.

Extremely well structured. I enjoyed the balance of having training sessions and then completing work at the desk. All the training sessions were valuable and I particularly enjoyed the sessions run by external organisations - iBank and Debate Mate - I think these exemplified the well-rounded nature of the programme.

The atmosphere amongst the interns was lovely. I have made some wonderful friends and we all helped each other out as much as we could - I am glad there was no competitiveness. Given the nature of investment banking lots of the employees were understandably extremely busy so this sometimes made me nervous to ask them questions - but overall the atmosphere was welcoming.

The firm really seemed to invest a lot in my personal training and development. On the first day we had a training session by iBank about an introduction to investment banking which greatly improved my general understanding. We also had a workshop on soft skills and public speaking in the workplace which has given me extremely valuable personal skills. The review at the end of the programme also provided constructive feedback so that we can continue to develop.

I think I have a good understanding of what a full time role would be like. Some of my tasks we equivalent to what an analyst do and although I did not get to complete any modelling, the process was explained to me. I was also able to meet with employees from different teams within the firm who gave their insight into what a summer internship and then analyst role is like. We also met with directors who could provide the long-term perspective on the career.

I feel I really understand the Nomura culture. The internship itself demonstrated how friendly the firm is and its emphasis on diversity because all the interns had such a variety of backgrounds. Sitting at a desk in the office also allowed me to be involved in office chats and to ask questions about how the employees found their jobs and the firm.

I think the insight has given me a better understanding of investment banking although I am still uncertain on my future career path.

We were paid a daily rate for the two weeks.

Absolutely! I met most of the people within my team for coffees from the analyst to the vice president. I also met employees from different teams. The HR department organised a networking lunch where we could meet executive and managing directors and their perspective on the industry was fascinating.

They were very enjoyable, helpful and well organised.

A few of the younger employees spoke about the collegiate atmosphere as some of them go on ski trips or have sports tournaments. There were also some posters around the office for public speaking competitions, music lessons etc.

I would recommend this insight to any friend vaguely interested in investment banking or finance in general. I think it's important to stay connected to the world of work whilst you're at university and this insight allowed me to get a better understanding of my objectives.