Spring Insight Programme Review

The Spring Week was extremely enjoyable, and struck a good balance between work and fun. We were given a series of presentations by senior employees in different divisions (M&A Advisory, Debt Advisory, Equity Advisory, Private Wealth etc.), as well as workshops on general business skills (presentation, body language etc.). What is probably the most unique part of the Spring Week was the half-day volunteering session with Body & Soul, where the interns worked together with HR representatives to set up a 'fantasy forest' for children.

I felt that the company spared no effort in making the spring interns feel valued, especially when directors, associates and analysts took time out from their busy schedules to come down and talk to the interns. There were also numerous well-organised events for the interns to get to know employees at Rothschild, from a lunch networking session to an afternoon tea with Directors and Assistant Directors.

The friendly HR team was always on hand to answer any questions we might have or help with the occasional malfunctioning computer in the training room. The analysts I met during the various networking sessions were also extremely helpful, often offering to help us with the final project that was due at the end of the week and tell us more about what they do at Rothschild.

I study economics at university, so the spring week was a first-hand look into some of the more practical applications of what I learn in school. I gained a much better understanding of a possible career path, and the numerous networking sessions also helped me to improve my networking skills.

The spring week programme was extremely well-structured. There was a timetable given to us in an information booklet on the first day, so we always had an idea of what we would be doing for the week. The events were planned well and each day always had a variety of activites, from educational workshops to work shadowing sessions. The timings were also strictly followed and everything went along smoothly.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and collegiate. There was a genuine sense that you could just talk to anybody regardless of his/her seniority in the company. The interns all got along with each other and were very collaborative, and there was never a sense of being scrutinised by HR.

There was a personal branding workshop on the first day with Mandy Lehto on video. Throughout the week there were also numerous personal development workshops, ranging from things like presentation skills to 'How to Read the FT'. On the last day, HR also conducted an assessment centre workshop which was immensely helpful.

The networking sessions enable you to talk to a wide range of different employees across divisions and with varying levels of seniority. This gave me a great understanding of what it would be like to work at Rothschild in different roles and responsibilities. During my work shadowing sessions, I shadowed an analyst in debt advisory and an analyst doing healthcare M&A. They showed me some of the things they did in their day-to-day work from pitchbooks to valuation models, and were also open to all sorts of questions about the culture of the firm.

Throughout the week, there was a consistent emphasis on the company's history and its focus on long-term strategy. The work shadowing sessions were really helpful because you get quality time with actual employees, and you can ask them all sorts of questions about the company culture in a slightly more informal/conversational setting.

£5/day for lunch. Travel expenses are also reimbursed. Interns from outside London get reimbursement for their accommodation up to £100/day.

On the first day, there was a networking lunch with analysts from various divisions. On the 2nd day there was a afternoon tea with Directors and Assistant Directors. There were 2 separate work shadowing sessions on the 3rd and 4th day, and the contacts we've made during these events were always happy to meet up in the office when they're free.

The lunch networking event was pretty good. There were quite a lot of analysts so the analyst:intern ratio was conducive to having actual conversations. Many of the analysts were also recent graduates and had lots of advice on internship applications and university life in general. The afternoon tea with directors was amazing, and was held in a private dining room in the building with a panoramic view over the city. There were 2 directors/assistant directors to 6 interns per table, and the directors switched tables every 20 minutes so we got to meet as many people as possible.

There was a presentation on community investment at Rothschild. Employees are actively encouraged to volunteer and give back to the community, and the half-day volunteering at Body & Soul was part of Rothschild's long term partnership with the charity. There are also frequent music events held on the top floor.

Definitely.