Insight Day Review

A pleasant day in general; but at times a bit dull, especially when going through the specifics of graduate applications.

As there were many people participating everybody was sort of 'lumped together' and treated as a group. However there were many opportunities to seek specific personal advice.

Information was very general. Being told specifics for making graduate applications may have been useful but a lot of it was either common sense or could be found on their website.

The day was well planned and structured with a good mix of activities, presentations and networking breaks. The only criticisms are that sometimes the presentations seemed to be very long and yet did not cover much ground, and there was some confusion with how long the breaks were meant to last.

Aside from presentations about the Bank and its recruitment process the day was quite involving. Everybody who attended was friendly and various staff who dropped in offered some uplifting insights into the organisation.

As the day was mainly aimed on giving information for graduate/placement applications there was little in terms of personal development. Although an assessment centre-style activity let me practice presenting my strengths. The information regarding applications, although quite general, was useful. However, I suspect that it could also be found on their website.

Given the range of activities that the Bank of England engages in it is impossible to understand what each role is like. However, many people from various departments turned up to offer their personal experiences which were very enlightening. The general impression was that there are so many different roles available that there is somewhere suitable for anyone.

Given the short nature of the Insight Day there is only so much you can gather from the insight. However being able to converse openly with different people from various parts of the Bank gave the impression that the Bank was a very open and friendly organisation. As more often than not it is the people that make the place this seemed a reasonable insight into the culture- nonetheless, more insight into working practices would be more helpful.

The general impression was that there was somewhere in the Bank for everyone (of high enough calibre..) As there are many roles available in the bank it did not particularly help me in deciding my future career path, but instead confirmed the general direction in which I wish to pursue.

Travel expenses up to £35 are reimbursed.

Each break was an opportunity to meet employees of the Bank. People from various departments dropped in to offer their experiences (in return for some of the food and drink provided). Everybody who turned up was willing to engage in conversation and were open to providing an insight into their work as well as some advice and suggestions.

Although there were many opportunites to meet other employees, the environment was not particularly condusive for networking. The reason for this is unclear, though I suspect as it was indeed an 'Insight Day' the aim of most people was to find out more about working in the Bank instead of networking.

As the staff who turned up were all friendly and open there was huge scope in finding out about what they did outside of work. However, it was the panel discussion that offered a greater insight into the range of activities (and benefits) that employees have.

There is nothing to lose.