Spring Week Review

I highly enjoyed my time at Bank of America Merrill Lynch - It was a truly great experience to get an insight into what life was like in an investment bank. It also really helps to find out whether this is a career that you want to pursue or not

I think we all felt highly valued and appreciated during the spring week. All employees really wanted to help us get a feel for the job and the culture and they made us feel very comfortable in asking any types of questions. Employees also took the time to meet up with some of us for a coffee if we wanted to learn more about what they do

As I said above, it depended on how much you wanted to learn. We had the chance to meet hundreds of employees at various networking events (breakfasts, dinners, diversity events) in addition to case studies where we learnt about the different divisions of an investment bank. if you wanted to talk to the employees, there were numerous opportunities

What really helped was delivering the stock pitch – for most of us, it was our first time that we had to deliver an investment idea to various members of the bank. We all felt that this enhanced our communicational skills and the networking sessions also allowed us to hone these skills

Program was incredibly structured. We knew everyday and at every hour where we were supposed to be and what we were going to do on that day whether it was a networking event or work shadowing. Within the structured program, you were given the freedom to meet whoever you wanted.

There was a very nice atmosphere. Everyone wanted to learn as much as possible and the other participants were all very warm and welcoming. The Graduate Recruitment team also made the week as pleasant as possible – if we ever had any problems during the week, they were around to help us out

They invested a lot of time into us. They want us to learn as much as possible but the week was not purely designed for us. It was a chance for them to see who was truly interested in the industry and who they would like to see working with them in the future.

The only way to discover what it is truly like to have a full time role with the company is to be exposed to the company. It is very different reading about the culture and the values online in comparison to actually spending time there. As I mentioned before, it really gave me a true insight into what it would be like to have a full time role

As a Linguist, I did not really know what career path to chose. However, after attending the spring week and learning about the industry, I realised that this is an ideal industry for me. The bank is so diverse and there is a role for nearly everyone - it is not purely an industry for those that study economics or maths.

We had numerous opportunities to meet different members of the firm. They were more than happy to answer any questions or doubts that we had. As I mentioned earlier, some of the interns met up with some of the employees for a coffee to find out more about what they do.

Yes – on our penultimate day, the whole morning was dedicated to what the bank offers with regard to various support groups and activities which employees are involved in. this morning also included an interactive quiz with members of the bank, giving us yet another opportunity to speak directly with other members of the bank