Women in Fund Management insight Review

I definitely enjoyed the insight as I had been unaware of what Fund Managment is or what M&G even do before attending. It helped to realise that there are other career options available to me for summer internships and graduate role and from what I heard I am now interested in this area.

I had been slightly apprehensive about attending beforehand as the application process included one question and no telephone interview/further assessment so I assumed many people would be attending so there would be little opportunities to network but this was not the case, felt valued by the firm because I noticed that I had been surrounded by bright likeminded individuals and had been given the opportunity to network and ask the questions I wanted.

There was no support needed during the insight as it was information intensive alongside a trading exercise which ran through the day. Networks created were, however, supportive in answering questions and sharing their experiences which had been very helpful to take into consideration for myself and my future goals within finance.

I did not feel as though the advice or skills given were beyond anything I did not already know but this may have been because I have been seeking application advice for a while so would be useful for a student that is new to the process, nevertheless it was useful to develop my team working and interpersonal skills during the trading exercises as I will be able to transfer these skills into any roles I take.

The insight appeared well structured on paper however there had been some changes and it was not always clear how much time we had during our trading exercises as sometimes our data would be collected from us as we were told it had been finished yet some teams were given the chance to carry on preparing for longer which was frustrating. Overall, it was structured well and there were enough chances to engage with staff.

The general atmosphere was welcoming. The trading exercises were meant to be interactive but being set in a lecture hall made it difficult to engage with my team as it is difficult to turn around in those seats nevertheless the people I met and connected with were helpful and kind.

I would say that the insight was more informative as most insights are whereas internships/grad roles have the time to invest in your own personal training and development so I think there was very little personal training and development opportunities but this was not an issue as that is not something I would expect from one day.

It was a one day event so there was little opportunity to experience what a full time role would be like but it had been an excellent platform to network with graduates and seniors in full time roles that were happy to share their experience, so very useful given the context.

Other than the fact that the company presented itself in a calm and welcoming environment and that staff were helpful I did not feel as though they attempted to differentiate themselves in terms of culture instead by use of their market share and clients so the insight was not very helpful in this aspect.

I found the information given particularly useful in recognising that there are many different career options within finance and I appreciate this as prior to this I had been unsure of what role would fit my personality but fund management stood out to me and I am now more motivated to learn more about the markets and this field.

As I previously mentioned one of the highlights of this insight was networking. I initially found this daunting as I had never done this before and knew little about the company but grads and seniors were happy to help during the networking lunch ( I personally was not sure this had been the best time to do networking as it was difficult to eat when trying to look professional)

As mentioned in the previous question one of the highlights of this insight was networking. I initially found this daunting as I had never done this before and knew little about the company but grads and seniors were happy to help during the networking lunch ( I personally was not sure this had been the best time to do networking as it was difficult to eat when trying to look professional) but still very useful. There was no mention of social event opportunities.