An attendee/ intern Review

I got to learn a lot about both banking and the firm. It was very well organised and the employees there were very friendly, approachable and helpful. The sessions were appropriately timed and scheduled, and I never felt that any of them were running on for too long. Would reccomend this programme to any student wishing to gain an insight to the profession of banking pre-university.

The employees at Nomura were especially welcoming and friendly compared to my experience at other firms. All the employees listened carefully to all questions that were raised by the attendees and answered it honestly and thoroughly. I immediately felt valued and supported within the first hour of the programme’s start.

Because the programme was of an approriate size (not too big to be intimidating), every attendee had ample opportunities to approach an employee and ask about their profession. I especially enjoyed the networking lunch where we had the flexibility to walk around and ask the employees there questions about their work in a relaxed setting.

The information I got from the programme will definitely assist my career progression in the field. Especially now that I have an insight to what the different divisions within the bank are responsible for, I can start preparing accordingly for the division I am interested in. Moreover, I felt that the session on ‘applications’ were especially helpful on applying again to Nomura in the future.

The sessions were structured and timed in an excellent manner. The morning sessions kicked off with an employee introducing to us the different divisions within the bank. Then when the afternoon sessions began, we had a more hands-on session of participating in groupwork where we got a chance to practice our teamwork skills.

The general atmosphere was both friendly and relaxed, yet rigorous in terms of the work we had to get done and information we had to cover. The staff there were certainly approachable and open, and so the atmosphere felt very inclusive. My team was especially friendly and supportive, so my experience of the programme is generally an exceedingly great one.

For a one day programme, there were ample opportunities to develop personal skills. From communication skills we develop via the networking lunch, to the teamwork skills we developed at a groupwork we had in the evening, the staff there were very helpful and constructive as they gave us feedback and points of improvement after each session.

The insight programme was very useful and helpful in introducing to us what a full time role at the firm would look like. As the numerous staff repeatedly talked about a ‘day in their lives’ in great detail, we have had the opportunity to gain a holistic understanding of lives and daily routines of the employees in different roles within the firm.

From all the presentations and speeches the staff gave us, there were numerous references to the company culture. In addition, the environment and atmosphere of the company seemed to encompass this culture very well. They not only repeatedly mention their ethos and culture, but demonstrated a lot of it for us.

It was one of the most helpful programmes I’ve been to in terms of aiding my decision of choosing a future career path. My previous understanding of a rigid banking structure has been transformed. I am now more aware of ‘hybrid’ roles of different roles within the firm, and the flexibility the employees get. This has helped me a lot in terms of influencing my own decision in the future, as I am now interested in more ‘hybrid’ roles of ibd and global equity that I didn’t know existed before.

Non paid, reimbursed experience.

Yes there were.

There was a networking lunch. The ratio of staff to attendee was sufficiently high, and everyone got to approach an employee of their choice to ask about their profession. However, I felt that most of the staff that were attending were from global equity. I would have liked more staff to attend from other sectors such as ibd to gain a diverse set of viewpoints on the job.

Yes, during Q and A, the employees introduced to us the types of activities that are available to do at the bank. It was particularly surprising to find out that they have as niche things such as a piano lesson available for the employees. It was also nice to find out that they regularly have outings with people from their own divisions/teams.

I would definitely reccomend this insight to all my friends interested in banking. Though it was only one day, the amount of information and knowledge you gain is surprising. It also helps to gain the network early on in your career to have that self differentiating factor in a career field that is as competitive as this.