Spring insight Review

It was an enjoyable experience and a great opportunity to meet so many people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

I felt like I was treated as an equal and like an actual employee rather than just an intern.

There were always member of the team to talk to if had any questions or needed any assistance..

Coming from a non finance background i cant say the skill will help me with my degree. However I was able to develop so many useful skills, particularly people skills, which will help me in many walks of life.

Clearly a lot of work and effort had gone into organising the week.

Everybody was so friendly and it was fanscinating to meet such a diverse range of people coming from such different backgrounds.

We were given no formal training seen as we were only there for a week although we were told about many training opportunities which would come actually on the job. This included an initial 4 week training program for all graduate joiners (often in New York) as well as more on the job training opportunities.

It was an excellent opportunity to find out what it would actually be like to work in the firm, particularly during the shadowing and networking experiences. The experience was invaluable and i gained so much knowledge which cannot be gained no matter how much research you do online.

Two main factors which stood out for me were: 1) diversity 2) the teamwork culture seen as these were highlighted throughout the week by a number or employees. The fact that so many employees has been working at the firm for so long suggested that it was a place where they enjoyed working and many expressed how they got on really well with their team members.

As previously mentioned the shadowing and networking experience were invaluable and really helpful in determining whether or not certain roles were right for me. Making a decision about precisely what you want to do for a career, in just a few days is tough and its very difficult and probably unnecessary to plot out your whole career path before starting seen as iy can be very much dependent on which opportunities crop up when. However the spring week was a great first step and gave us a good base.

I was not paid but travel expenses were reimbursed. For those travelling from further away, both hotel and flight costs were reimbursed. Free lunch was provided daily as well as a networking dinner which was off site in a nice restaurant (on the Wednesday afternoon)

The best thing about the week was that there were plenty of networking opportunities throughout the week. We were fortune enough to receive numerous networking opportunities in both formal and informal settings. The major networking events were: 1) networking drinks on the first day 2) a network careers fair on the second day 3) networking dinner on the third day (Wednesday evening, off site)

They were the best way to find out what employees actually thought about the firm and their jobs. It was really nice that people were very open and honest and really willing to answer any questions we had. We were fortune enough to be able to network with a diverse range of people or all experience levels, from analysts to MDs, as well as from lots or different divisions and backgrounds.

I was pleasantly surprised by the vaste range of clubs and societies that employees participated in (e.g. chess and climbing club) as well as the numerous volunteering and mentoring initiatives both locally and nationally. For example Bank of America Merrill Lynch has partnered with a charity called 'Magic Breakfast' and have made a deal to provide 1 million frre breakfasts, over the next 2 years, to children in underprivileged societies who would often otherwise go to school hungry.

Definitely! The experience was invaluable and I think it's the best way to decide whether or not a career in banking is right for you. I definitely agree with the saying 'try before you buy and the spring week is a great opportunity to do exactly that. In particular, the week at Bank of America merrill lynch is very well organised and structured with a great range or shadowing and networking opportunities and the employees are really friendly and supportive.