Technology Review

I really enjoyed my experience at JPM. Both my time spent in the office (which was a very reasonable 9-5) and with my fellow interns after hours. During the week we had a number of talks about interesting technical subjects, and the people doing them were very enthusiastic. I think the smooth atmosphere and people involved meant the week satisfying and meaningful each day. I struggle to think of any points I could say towards not enjoying the week. Maybe a bit less being talked too and more interaction. On the Wednesday we did a task with the operation people to learn about agile, it was great fun and a good way to talk with the other side. Thursday was similar with the coding challenge, but being the sole coder in a group of 4 on a purely coding challenge made me think that they should have told people what was going on and how to prepare in a bit more depth, ahead of time.

I think this question is not the most applicable to such a short placement. It was more of an insight as opposed to doing “work”, so there wasn’t any work done by myself to feel valued about. However, the professionalism of the week, and the number of high level staff who got involved made me feel like they really wanted me as a potential employee.

During the insight I would say we were expected to be quite independent (which you would expect from such a company) but plenty of prior planning and explanation was given. I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on, or what I would be doing. The campus recruitment teem were crazily friendly and enthusiastic and made me feel very welcome from the get go.

On the technical side I would say the insight was a bit lacking. We had lots of talks about the tech at a high level, but nothing in-depth that would count as a skill learned. On the other side of the coin I feel the social environment was fantastic. Taking a group of people with a common interest and level, they did a great job of mixing us up and allowing lots of “networking” practice. Also we had to do two presentations, and I find all experience in doing this helps your presenting skills greatly.

The insight was really well structured, especially considering the fact that the main building was having works done and so we had to work in different offsite locations, but it was clear where we were supposed to be from the book we were given at the beginning. The book had a great overview of the company, a detailed schedule, jargon buster and an index of the other people to help in case you forgot someone’s name for example. This could have been communicated a bit better prior to the week, but once we started it was very well laid out.

It was a very social, friendly atmosphere. ALL the other participants and members of staff were more than happy to discuss anything. It was professional to a good level, but at the same time you didn’t feel like you would be kicked out for making a joke, for example. I think everyone else was having a good time and so that contributed to the environment as well.

Not really relevant for a 1 week (well really 4 days of work, one day of interview) because it would be difficult to get any amount of training in that time. However, the company definitely seems to place a lot of value in that if you work there for longer, and we were certainly shown to be valued with how well we were treated during the week.

We had a short opportunity to shadow a recent graduate at the firm. Unfortunately, ours didn’t seem to be that passionate about the work, but he did show us a few things, and directed us to his manager (VP) who answered many of our questions and gave great advice, so we still got a good idea of the typical working day.

I think being in the company’s space is really invaluable for finding out the kind of culture they have. And I can say with confidence that I am certainly a big fan of JPM culture at Bournemouth. They seem professional, smart, enthusiastic and just laid back enough. There is definitely a culture of doing your best and going above and beyond, but while still have a good work-life balance.

Coming into the I was about 50/50 on whether I would want to take the internship place if it was offered at the end. After the first few days my mind had been set, I really wanted to work here. Perhaps I was cleverly tricked by the organisers only booking people who also were trying to recruit, but I’m a pretty sceptical and I’m certain that was not the case. The number of people that had not only worked at the company for a long time (indicating that they did not want to switch to a different company) and the enthusiasm they gave really convinced me. I also learn more about the size, variety and mobility in the company and I was really set that I wanted to work at JPM by the end of the week.

Being only a week, we were not paid for actually coming in. However, there was no financial limitation to coming in because the paid for both transport to Bournemouth, a very nice hotel room the whole week, transport to and from the hotel, and breakfast, lunch and a few dinners it would not be limited to only wealthy applicants.

Personally I would say if anything it was a bit heavy networking wise. Having only a week it would be almost impossible to form a working relationship with the staff, because we had limited exposure. However, having said that I have got contact details of a few interesting people within the firm so I won’t say it didn’t go to waste.

The social side of the week was well planned and more than I was anticipating. Speaking on purely socialising/networking between fellow participants, I felt I made a number friends over the week. The first day we had a dinner provided where we got time to talk over dinner, and also meet the people we would be shadowing for a chat. On the Wednesday we out for food and drinks private event at a local bar, and both were provided free of charge. This meant a great atmosphere to socialise in. We even participated in a quiz with the agile software speaker we had that day and it was great fun. On top of that they encouraged us to meet up outside of work and we did every day, visiting a number of places in Bournemouth and chatting.

We were told about (and a few were included in our booklet) the number of working groups that covered a number of issues from workplace minorities, career progression, and a walk from the “green team” who help keep the campus green and environmentally friendly. We also had a mention of various learning events the people could take part in, and some of the sport available.

I would definitely recommend this to a friend. Obviously the time to get such a positon is limited (only first years or second on a 4 year course like myself) but if my friend was definitely a technology orientated person, with good social skills I would tell them going to this was a fantastic idea. If the person actively didn’t want to work in a bank (or similar high pressure environment) I would obviously tell them that the week was quite extensive, and while tech is very casual compared to the financial side of the company, it was still quite demanding compared to some more casual environments (like at a smaller, less tech focused company e.g. tech at a small company).