Spring Week Review

I found it extremely productive as I got to speak to a number of different people from the industry and really got a feel as to what it is like working for J.P.Morgan. I found the activities stimulating and enjoyable and they really helped to not only give me a greater insight into J.P.Morgan but also into the financial services sector as a whole. I found it a tiring week as there was so much going on but overall an extremely enjoyable one.

Everyone was very friendly and approachable which really enhanced the experience. I felt as if J.P.Morgan valued what I had to offer and were keen to invest in me and for me to do well. Everyone took time to listen to my questions and answer them fully which was extremely beneficial.

We were given lots of written resources and a full timetable which detailed all the practicalities of the week. It was fantastically organised ad this really made the whole week run very smoothly. We received support from employees of J.P.Morgan on our project which was crucial for its success and I was extremely grateful for this support especially in this area.

In terms of my humanities degree, information about the financial services will not be particularly useful but in terms of understanding the industry better and my hopes for a future career, the guidance was invaluable. I also really value the team-working exercises as this is a crucial skill and I really found this helped me with team-working skills.

It was very well organised and everything seemed to run very smoothly. Our time was always well spent due to this. One criticism was that I think we could have done with a few more short breaks as often we missed out on breaks as things ran over. Additionally, the commuting time between offices did take out considerable chunks of our days so perhaps sometimes this could have been minimised.

Everybody was very friendly and the socials really helped to make it a pleasant atmosphere. We benefitted from free food and drink which made for a welcoming atmosphere. I found some people quite competitive but I realise this is what is to be expected and there were talks of whether we were being continually assessed or not. This could have perhaps been made more transparent at the beginning.

They were keen to help us out at every opportunity possible. They invested in us through skills sessions from external companies which I think have really helped me prepare myself better for the world of work. Additionally, we got exposure to lots of different people from the company and the fact that they gave up time to talk to us and answer our questions showed true investment in their future employees.

I felt I got a strong understanding of what it would be like to work for the firm due to the work shadowing mornings which enabled me to see what employers really do on a day-to-day basis. I got all my questions answered, and found out about work-life balance, pay, structures and all the other things that related to the job outside of the actual work as well.

I could understand the company culture well in that no one hid the fact that this area requires substantial hours- everyone I spoke to worked 12 hour days. However I could also see other aspects such as how motivated people were and also what they felt the company offered them through asking them questions.

It helped by giving me a greater understanding of the industry and what I could expect from this area. I was really taken with the firm and the work so this was very useful. However, I am still considering other areas as well and obviously the week did not help me think about those. I would have enjoyed a broader overview at the start of different careers in J.P.Morgan ranging from HR to IT to more specific banking roles.

I thought J.P.Morgan were very generous in the expenses they offered. I was not expecting to gain as much as I did. A few days the lunch and breakfasts were a bit bare when I was one of the last to pick what I wanted so a greater selection and quantity would have been good food-wise.

There were lots of opportunities to meet employees and network. I spoke to lots of people and got email addresses and business cards from plenty of them. The only thing I would say is that perhaps some of the networking opportunities could have been a bit more structured so that we could meet a wider range of people as sometimes there wasn't much fluidity between the different groups of people networking.

The social events were good fun and the spread of food and drink was excellent. I thought the quiz was a little bit too long but a nice addition to the programme. The networking opportunities were varied and took place in different situations and with different people which was nice as it provided change and stopped it from becoming too repetitive.

I found out about the onsite gym and a little bit about charity things that employees can get involved in but there was very little focus on this. Perhaps we could have had a presentation which detailed some of these as I would have liked to have known more. I would have also liked a tour around the buildings to get a feel for the workspace as a whole.

I would definitely recommend this insight as although it was tiring I found it incredibly beneficial, both for my general knowledge of the financial services and the firm specifically. Additionally, I made use of the opportunities to network and to ask questions about the firm and the different jobs. It was a good use of time as it was so well structured and organised.