Spring Week Participant Review

I really enjoyed the Spring Week programme put together by J.P. Morgan. It allowed me to explore the world of banking through the eyes and employees of the firm whilst learning about the culture, the wider industry, and various financial concepts typically used in day-to-day work. The insight was very valuable and has definitely driven my interest for a future career in the banking industry and has encouraged me to consider the plethora of internship opportunities available at the bank.

Being selected for the Spring Week programme was a surprise to me, coming from a 'non-traditional' background with a previous fear of not being good enough to work in a bank. However, being selected by J.P. Morgan was a sign that you don't have to be a specific individual to work in a bank - it very much appreciates diversity and wider backgrounds which made me feel incredibly valued. This has piqued my interest for the industry and the bank tenfold.

The Campus Recruiting Team and various staff were always on hand to help and support participants where possible during sessions and via email post-sessions. Also, the instructors for the financial training sessions were very enthusiastic and full of energy - always willing to stop to answer questions about activities and wider banking areas. They also left contact details at the end of each session to enable participants to contact them offline if they needed and help and support.

Many of the skills I learned and developed throughout the Spring Week programme are useful both inside and outside of university and further studies. Some of the financial concepts I explored were applied in some of my previous and ongoing studies through various different university modules which helped me solidify my understanding of these greatly. The use and navigation of Excel by instructors was a skill in itself and I will definitely be using Excel in a different way from now on.

The Campus Recruiting Team and staff were very clear on the structure of the programme, communication this to participants well in advance of the start date. They also sent out daily emails to remind us of the agenda going forward during the week, our allocated activities and any other useful information about sessions. Where there was any uncertainty around the content in sessions, the team was able to clarify this to ensure everyone understood what was going on.

I was constantly surrounded by very bright, intelligent and open-minded students from a non-finance background which allowed me to connect with participants, engaging in zoom calls post session and building relationships this way. Everyone was very supportive and proud to be on the programme which made the atmosphere exciting and insightful. Everyone had their own unique ideas which opened my mind to different ways of thinking. The Campus Recruiting Team did a great job of showing their energy and positivity across the programme.

Honestly, I've never had another firm invest in development over a week, and post-programme, to the extent that J.P. Morgan has. The Team scheduled professional, high quality training sessions during the programme to enable participants to understand financial concepts and apply these to real life situations - everything was practical. They also extended the training post-programme to participants to cover a range of wider financial topics, key to understanding the workings of the bank further.

Overall, across the programme through engaging with employees and panel members, I feel that the Spring Week was a brilliant way of helping participants understand he practical requirements, expectations and responsibilities of a full time role in the firm. Hearing from employees directly is a great way to trust this and we were fortunate enough to have this opportunity. It's a shame we couldn't shadow employees directly but this was due to COVID-19 and was in the best interests for safety.

Across the programme, participants had exposure to a range of high profile employees who were able to articulate their career journeys and their experiences with J.P. Morgan - culture was always a topic that we wanted to learn more about and employees were able to clearly show their passion when touching on parts of this. We also received useful links to sites and stories to highlight what the culture at the bank is all about.

All of the content in the Spring Week programme clearly showed what working at J.P. Morgan would be like on a day-to-day basis, as well as other opportunities available to employees beyond the day job. The training was delivered by a trusted provider who specialises in training interns and employees in the field so we could be sure the information and content reflected life and work in the industry. The content therefore was extremely valuable.

Originally, the plan was for participants to be, where applicable, reimbursed for any travel-related expenses incurred during the programme given that this was due to be based in the office in London. However, due to COVID-19, the programme was held virtually which meant that there was no need/requirement for reimbursement as no commuting was required. The experience was fully virtual and we were expected to use our personal devices to attend and engage with sessions.

From the very start, participants had the opportunity to engage with employees, speakers, etc through the encouragement of the use of the chat box function. This allowed us to ask members questions during sessions. Although not every question could be answered, the Campus Recruiting Team followed up post-session where possible to ensure questions were answered. The Team also put together a post-programme offering giving us access to attend panel sessions from various divisions in the firm to hear from and ask questions to employees.

These were limited due to the nature of the programme being virtual. However, participants took initiative and created their own virtual social sessions at the end of each day where people could attend and reflect on the day and get to know each other. Since employees were working, networking opportunities were limited and thus speaking to employees in groups or face-to-face wasn't an option which would have been beneficial. However, the Team tried to engage participants throughout.

There wasn't much focus on the activities that employees could get involved with outside of work, other than hearing from some employees and their experiences post-programme. I was surprised there wasn't much emphasis on the various employee networks in the bank as this was something I was very enthusiastic about learning more. Despite this, I was able to find a lot of the information on the website but I wish there was more discussion about this during the programme.

If you have a passion or interest that you want to pursue further, don't hesitate to apply!