Spring Intern - Corporate Center Review

I enjoyed the insight week, as it was a great opportunity to meet like-minded young people, as well as network with current UBS employees. This allowed me to develop my interest in banking and in the industry as a whole. Opportunities to work-shadow provided an in-depth look into different business areas, which has motivated me to pursue my interest in banking. This week has certainly been beneficial and a good step towards my future.

I did feel valued during the week in terms of the effort put into the spring week and the access given to us during spring week. However I felt that the food provided lacked in both quality and variety, and I found it strange that spring interns were not trusted with security passes to access the building themselves. Despite this, as a whole I feel that spring interns were valued during this time by the HR team - perhaps it is company policy which prevented them from allowing interns to eat in the company canteen, or distributing passes?

I received a significant amount of guidance throughout the week from the UBS staff, which helped all of us through the week and taught us more about the company. This was a great aspect of the week as everyone felt welcomed into UBS and was made to feel comfortable straight away! Staff made sure that everyone was happy and enjoying the week, and were always willing to stop and talk about any question or issue that someone had. Certainly a positive of the week!

The skills I learned will help me beyond my degree studies in that I have learnt more about a potential future career path and what I might like to do after university. The skills I learned in the workshops throughout the week have taught me the importance of communication and the need to listen well, key skills to use in the workplace in the future. In addition, the information I learnt about different business areas will be useful in the future if I do pursue a career in the financial services industry.

The insight week was structured, although interns only found out the timetable on the first day of the spring week - for the future it would be nice to at least have an idea of the rough timetable for the week! There were too many 'breaks' during the week, and the time for lunch was far too long. There were also too many 'networking' events, which seemed to have been inserted as a time filler. It would have been nice to have networking events with senior staff in addition to the events with graduates, just to have some variety and have a chance to speak with people higher up in the company (although all the graduates were very nice!). The work shadowing was the highlight of the week and a great opportunity to learn more in depth about the workings of UBS. In terms of the actual activities, they were all very well done and very informative!

There was a great atmosphere during the week - everyone was driven and motivated to learn more about the business and how it worked. Everyone was friendly and personable, and it was a great group of people throughout the week. This contributed to the experience as a whole and gave a great impression of the company. UBS clearly looks for confident and approachable people to join its team, which was easy to see in both its graduates and speakers. Everyone being motivated to do well and succeed is certainly the ideal atmosphere for a week such as this.

They invested in terms of various workshops.

The insight week really helped me to understand what a full time role would be like, particularly thanks to the work shadowing which provided an insight into would work actually looks like! Talks from current graduates and some senior staff were helpful in explaining not only what UBS does, but also the key values it has which help it decide how it carries out its business. This was a good week which helped make the future clearer.

The insight week certainly helped me to understand company culture; it seems that this is crucial at UBS. Much focus is placed on the three keys to success, and the necessary behaviours to succeed at UBS. This was emphasised throughout the week and was made clear as a crucial part of UBS. This is certainly a positive, and shows the commitment made by the firm to adhere to its values; they are clearly applied practically as well as in theory!

Very valuable.

I was paid a hotel and travel.

Yes, but slightly too repetitive.

The networking opportunities were good and a good chance to meet fellow spring interns as well as current graduates. It was interesting to hear about how graduates had advanced through to the graduate scheme and what their backgrounds were. Having said this, I felt that there were too many networking events with graduates, and none with senior members of staff, which is what I would have preferred.

Yes, I found out about employee networks which are done outside of work. This is a great opportunity to relax in free time and spend time with colleagues. In addition there are sports teams which employees can get involved in. There is an onsite gym which provides an incredible chance to relax while at work, and distract oneself from work problems! In addition there are opportunities to volunteer outside of work and relax with colleagues from across the firm.

Yes, I would recommend this insight to a friend. I think it is a really good chance to learn more about UBS and help make decision on future careers. With slightly more structure this insight week could be one of the best on offer in the UK, with the majority of the content very helpful in its current state - with slightly less breaks and graduate networking the timetable would be excellent!