Insight week participant Review

Learning so much new information in one week was really interesting. The range of speakers was great and I particularly enjoyed the more interactive aspects of the week such as the case studies and presentation tasks. My only comment for improvement would be that the talks on the fourth day, once we had decided our divisions, perhaps were less enjoyable than if they had been earlier in the week.

It was made clear to us throughout the program that the bank were delighted by our interest in their business. Due to the helpfulness of the employees in general, it was easy to feel comfortable in an unfamiliar environment. Whenever networking events occurred, staff were willing to answer any and all questions and I was never made to feel that a question I asked wasn't valid.

Support was excellent: we had maps, clears timetables and were able to ask any questions we needed to enable us to engage with the program. Throughout the program we were educated in areas that would help us with any application we then did make. The only improvement that could be made was potentially being less secretive about the assessment day - purely in terms of timing, as Friday evening commitments remained uncertain until we finished on Thursday.

The most useful skills we were taught were the more general ones, such as presentation and interview techniques. There were excellent talks given on both of these. Obviously all other information given was also highly useful, but less so in other industries than finance. This was to be expected though and even if finance isn't pursued it is still useful general knowledge to have.

The days were very clearly structured and this was made clear from the first day onwards. I felt that perhaps too much time was allocated for breakfast each morning (around 45 minutes). Also the numerical/logical/Bergbloom tests carried out on the fourth day did run quite late but this was fairly understandable given the fact that 105 people needed to undergo testing.

It was a very pleasant environment to be in. Everyone, participants and staff, were friendly and open to conversation. At no point was there any feel of pressure or stress. We had good food and plenty of water provided throughout the day, which helped to maintain the chilled feel of the week. We were given breaks in between talks etc as well and plenty of other times to get to know our peers.

We were taught a lot of new information in the week, which was obviously helpful for personal learning. We were allowed to shadow a member of staff for an hour and a half at one point, which clearly meant they spent a significant time away from their normal levels of work. We took part in lots of interactive activities run by members of staff, who again had to take time out of their day, which allowed us to really understand the tasks that an investment banker carries out on a daily basis, which really helped the development of my knowledge and skills.

As a lot of areas are private, we couldn't actually shadow in many of the sectors. However we got a very good overview of the jobs entailed and we had numerous opportunities (a lunch, a dinner, a breakfast and a welcome reception) to talk to members of staff at varying levels within the bank and in many different lines of business, so it was easy to ask any questions and gain the information required to understand what working full time at the firm would be like.

It was made clear from day one what the culture of the company was. In the first presentation we were told about their values, and these were then reinforced by all of the contact with members of staff. In addition, as everyone as friendly and willing to help, it was pretty apparent what the culture of the company was like just from talking to people.

The information we received convinced me that I had made the correct choice in showing interest in this industry, and especially with this particular company. Everything was outlined very clearly so you could understand what a full time job would actually consist of. I found everything very interesting and it has made me want to continue in this career direction.

I was lucky enough to have accommodation in London already that meant I could walk into the office every day so I personally didn't need reimbursement, however I am aware that for others not so lucky they were reimbursed for travel and given accommodation in which to stay.

There were multiple opportunities: a welcome reception drinks, a lunch and breakfast that employees attended, and then also a meal at Brasserie Blanc. The meal in particular was useful as it was 3 hours and the employees moved around at each course so you got to talk to different members of staff. There were also enough members of staff there that it was about 3 participants per member of staff.

The dinner was particularly good. The other events were not as good as they weren't as structured but their informality was quite a nice change.

We heard about several networks within the bank as well as the volunteering opportunities that members of staff have in great depth, as a presentation was given on the fourth day by members of staff. There was also a talk given about the environmental work that the bank is involved in.

Definitely, it was both fun and interesting as well as extremely useful in terms of learning about the industry.