Fidelity Women in Investment Insight Week Review

I felt entirely welcome the whole week, a lot of effort had gone in to ensuring that as well as learning a lot, we had a fun time too (a city tour, cocktail night and the London Eye were all part of our week). There was plenty of time to get to know others on the Insight Week which was great, and all the sessions at Fidelity were varied and enjoyable.

It was clear that a lot of time had gone into planning the Insight Week and we were made to feel very welcome. The HR team running the week were active about gaining our feedback on all of the activities and clearly valued our opinions. We had a session at the end of the week where we asked for honest feedback and suggestions and the HR team took everything we said into account. Even things such as the beautiful accommodation we were given, the folders full of information that were provided etc contributed to making us feel valued.

We were made to feel very comfortable asking questions throughout the week if we were unsure about anything, and I'm confident that if any problems had arisen we would have been fully supported by the team.

The information received during the Insight Week has been extremely valuable in terms of determining whether Asset Management is an area of work I would like to pursue. While the information is not necessarily directly applicable to my degree, it has been a huge help in terms of career guidance.

We were given a timetable for the week on the first day. There were multiple planned sessions for each day and we were always aware of what we would be doing. Every session was informative and well structured.

I had expected the Insight Week to be stressful and not necessarily enjoyable but I was totally wrong. The HR team were so welcoming and made it apparent that they wanted us to enjoy our time at Fidelity more than anything. Even during activities like practising interview skills and presenting to the group, which can sometimes be daunting, I was entirely at ease. The city tour, cocktail night and London Eye trip were all great fun too and go to show further how much the team wanted us all to enjoy our week.

The Insight was only a week long so we weren't trained as such, however, we were given exposure to what working at Fidelity would be like- we had a morning of work shadowing in an area of our choice and spoke to a large number of employees.

We had sessions with a huge number of employees, from new graduates to managers. We heard from employees from Equities, Fixed Income and Solutions, all of whom told us about their day-to-day role, responsibilities and how they felt about Fidelity as a place to work. We were also given the chance to speak to graduates more informally over lunch as well as having an evening buffet one night where we could again chat more informally to employees from all over the firm.

We were formally introduces to Fidelity's ethos/culture on our first day. More importantly, we were constantly in contact with employees who demonstrated the supporting and friendly nature of Fidelity as a place to work. All the employees spoke about how much they enjoyed working for Fidelity because everyone was so approachable.

I had little knowledge of the Asset Management sector prior to the Insight Week. The Insight Week highlighted the key areas of AM, what you could expect to be involved in a career in the industry and whether you were suitable. It was invaluable having the opportunity to speak to those in the industry.

My travel expenses to/from London were paid for, as was the beautiful accommodation I was provided with whilst in London.

We had many sessions with employees from the company, after which we were invited to ask questions or have a chat. We had a lunch with the graduates as well as the chance to network with a range of employees over a buffet dinner one night.

Networking opportunities were always very relaxed and we were made to feel comfortable asking any questions we had. We had social events planned for us, including a cocktail evening for all the students on the Insight Week and a trip to the London Eye with the HR team.

We were introduced to Fidelity's Women's network who spoke to us about what they do. Employees also generally included activities that they do outside of work in their introductions.

I will definitely be recommending the Insight Week to any potential applicants next year. The week was both extremely enjoyable and informative, which could have been a difficult balance to strike. I genuinely had so much fun during the week, which I hadn't been expecting at all! I would not hesitate to recommend.