Spring Insight Week Review

The spring insight was a highly enjoyable experience. The week kicked off with activities to break the ice and get to know everyone. There was many speeches from successful people in the industry, which were inspirational and had valuable tips on how to achieve a successful career in investment banking. There was a variety of group activities with interesting briefs; I really enjoyed the emphasis on collaboration and teamwork. The work shadowing days were a great opportunity to learn in detail about two of our preferred divisions. The assessment day was a great opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge we had gained over the week and our motivation for a career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Throughout the experience I was grateful to be treated as an 'equal' and potential employee. The Junior Talent Team made sure that we all felt valued and respected. All of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees that I met through networking and work shadowing were extremely generous with taking time out of their day to offer advice and insight. Moreover, listening to speeches with some of the most senior figures at the bank really made me feel valued by the company.

There was an abundance of advice given throughout the insight. The Junior Talent Team offered guidance on skills, interviews and networking. All of the employees who I networked with were helpful in offering guidance and support to ensure that I was equipped with the best understanding of the divisions, in which team my skills would be most beneficial and how to develop a long, successful career.

We were taught many skills and given a vast amount of information throughout the week. I was interested to learn about different communication types and by increasing my understanding of this I think my team work skills have developed further which will be useful for future group projects, sports and work. The Corporate Treasury work shadowing day provided technical information about the different areas within this division at BofAML. This has sparked my interest to learn more and grow my knowledge.

The insight was structured well. The first day was useful to get to know my peers. Then there was two days shadowing different divisions. It would perhaps have been useful to have one day shadowing our first preference and then the second day shadowing our second preference in the morning and then a third preference in the afternoon to allow us to gain an insight into more divisions as I felt work shadowing was the best way to do this. The assessment days were at the end of the week which was well structured as we could utilize the knowledge we had gained throughout the week.

There was a positive, inclusive and informative atmosphere during the insight. The Junior Talent Team were great in maintaining spirits throughout the program. It was also great to be in an environment surrounded by like minded, driven peers. Moreover, by networking and listening to speeches by successful Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees there was a highly inspirational atmosphere generated.

There was great training given throughout the insight. The Junior Talent Team offered guidance on skills, interviews and networking. We were taught many skills and given a vast amount of information throughout the week. I was interested to learn about different communication types and by increasing my understanding of this I think my team work skills have developed further which will be useful for future group projects, sports and work. The Corporate Treasury work shadowing day provided technical information about the different areas within this division at BofAML. This has sparked my interest to learn more and grow my knowledge. The company invested a lot of time and effort in us.

Prior to coming to the insight I had an idea of what role I wanted. But the Corporate Treasury work shadowing day confirmed and expanded my interest in pursuing a career in this division. The work shadowing days also gave an insight into the daily tasks and projects that are performed in different roles and what it would be like to work for this company in specific divisions.

The insight was a great way to get to know Bank of America Merrill Lynch's aims better and how they try to achieve these. Networking was a great way to find out whether Bank of America Merrill Lynch's targets are actually translated and experienced by employees. I was pleased to find out that they were. There was a strong sense of diversity, inclusion, realizing the power of people and benefits of their differences.

Prior to coming to the insight I had an idea of what role I wanted. But, in particularly, the Corporate Treasury work shadowing day confirmed and expanded my interest in pursuing a career in this division. The work shadowing days also gave an insight into the daily tasks and projects that are performed in different roles and what it would be like to work for this company in specific divisions.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch offered to reimburse up to £100 of travel expenses for UK students and up to £300 for the cost of flights and transport for international students. In addition, for those travelling from outside of London, Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided accommodation for the week at a hotel, in which the room was equipped with a bathroom, kitchen and TV. Breakfast and Lunch were provided free of charge and one evening meal at a restaurant was free but other evening meals were not reimbursed.

There was many speeches from successful people in the industry, which were inspirational and had valuable tips on how to achieve a successful career in investment banking. There were ample opportunities to network such as a careers fair, networking evening, a meal at a restaurant and two in line work shadowing days.

There were ample opportunities to network such as a careers fair, networking evening, a meal at a restaurant and two in line work shadowing days. The great thing about these opportunities was that there was many employees from different divisions with different career paths and advice to give to us. An improvement would be to arrange a social event for the insight students at the start to build greater connections coming into the week or at the end to celebrate a great week together.

I was pleased to learn more about the charitable opportunities to get involved with at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. However, the emphasis of the week was understandably on activities within work and the development of skills. To improve there could have been an hour slot on the activities that employees can get involved in outside of work.

I would definitely recommend this insight. The spring insight was a highly enjoyable experience. The week kicked off with activities to break the ice and get to know everyone. There was many speeches from successful people in the industry, which were inspirational and had valuable tips on how to achieve a successful career in investment banking. There was a variety of group activities with interesting briefs. The work shadowing days were a great opportunity to learn in detail about two of our preferred divisions. Overall, the insight was a highly valuable experience.