Spring Insight Programme Review

Over the 4 days, we got involved in a range of different sessions and activities. The programme took place at the Morgan Stanley office in Canary Wharf. On the first day, we had welcome sessions, a career and culture panel, icebreaker activities and a professional skills workshop. On the second day, we received an overview of the wider Morgan Stanley firm, alongside taking part in a fun charity competitive activity. The final two days were specific to the division that you apply for, so mine was the IBD & GCM stream, and we took part in activities specific to that.

Through the sales & trading simulation, I especially learnt how to consider market trends and how they influence the buying and selling of shares in the stock market. I also learnt skills pertaining to personal branding, i.e. how to make a good impression, start meaningful conversations and carry myself in the workplace. I also developed the existing skill of teamwork through the various group activities we did, such as the charity competition where there was a prize for the winning team.

The business at Morgan Stanley has various roles and divisions. I believe that the spring programme gave me a good understanding of what is involved in the specific division that I applied for (so IBD and GCM), but not much information about other divisions and roles available, such as Risk. However, I enjoyed my time in the IBD and GCM stream as it was useful to consider what was involved in a typical day-to-day for an investment banker. We had various networking sessions over the course of the programme that were extremely useful to gain an in-depth insight.

The company culture was extremely nice and welcoming. There is a firm-wide emphasis on exceptionalism and collaboration. I could see these two values through the conversations with every person that I spoke to. Not only is everyone friendly and nice, but there's also a collective value that everyone is helpful too. When I asked questions, no matter how small or silly, the people at Morgan Stanley would try to answer the question and help you understand a concept to the best of their ability. The culture is amazing.

I enjoyed the spring insight programme thoroughly. As mentioned above, we took part in a range of different sessions and activities. I built a rapport with my cohort, as well as making connections with employees within the bank. I learnt a lot and also enjoyed myself. I think that also making friends with the other spring interns made the experience much more enjoyable. I look forward to applying to Morgan Stanley again in the future, and having a similar, if not better, experience.

Yes

Be yourself. It sounds cliche but they truly are looking for someone who can let their personality shine through, especially in interviews. They want to see what you can offer. Be confident in your previous experiences - no experience is a bad experience and the skills you learnt can help you to draw on things to say in an interview. Morgan Stanley want to see that you share the firmwide values, e.g. to lead with exceptional ideas. Show that you are hard-working and be yourself.