Markets Spring Week Review

On the whole it was really fun and useful and incredibly insightful. But, the long hours and long periods of time sitting down were sometimes tough. That, however, is only a taste of what is to come doing the job so maybe not the fault of the Spring Week which was organised really well!

By the employers - yes. By certain other students - no.

Networking and knowing more about finance is definitely useful.

It was friendly and relaxed and even when we were talking to important people the atmosphere was nice.

I was genuinely, and pleasantly, surprised at how much time was invested into us. During my half day rotations, everyone, no matter how busy they were - or regardless of whether they were an analyst, associate or executive - took the time to explain things to me and even take me into their office to have a chat. The Spring Week itself was very much geared at developing our personal skills - with activities and sessions in place to practice the skills we had just learnt in practice.

I thought that given the short period of time we had the week gave me a really good understanding of what it would be like to work there. The rotations were the best way of learning this, as we spent time at the desk. But, the networking lunches also provided us with a valuable insight into the different stages of our potential careers at JPM, i.e. from analyst level to executive. The fact that the week was itself a learning experience meant that we got a good understanding of what it would be like to work at JPM - it was not only a social week full of meeting people, but doing so within the context of work.

Very much so. From the start we were told about JPM's culture from Scott Hamilton, and then throughout the week this was confirmed and re-iterated by many of the employees. Also, working at the desks and seeing how people worked confirmed that JPM is a company that prides itself on its reputation and integrity.

I think it's really difficult to decide in a week what area, whether sales, trading or research, and asset class you would like to go in, especially when you're deciding this from theory - i.e. a description of the job. However, the interactive exercises were useful in exemplifying the kind of work we could be doing. Moreover, the half-day rotations were also useful in that respect, as they allowed us to see what each area was. But, I think during the week a lot of us were focused on the interviews and constant assessment that people were showing off as opposed to absorbing information throughout. Maybe it would be useful to reiterate more, or somehow make it more obvious, that the week is a learning experience and not a constant assessment

Yes, and these were really great. They were extremely useful in getting to meet people, but also to better understand the company as a whole.

At first a bit daunting. But, gradually they became more accessible. The fact that they were organised by division / asset class made it really easy and less scary. Also, the fact that the executive networking event was kept for last was very good as it mean that we had all practiced our 'networking skills' on associates and analysts before hand.

Not really. I learnt about the facilities within the building such as the gym and the coffee shops, but apart from that it seems like everyone was quite focused on their work.

Definitely.