Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Normura; the course organisers kept the course content interesting by giving us a variety of exercises and training throughout. We were given the opportunity to network with interesting people, and at the end of the week we spent a morning on the trading floor.

We were constantly reminded how Nomura were looking for employees from a non-finance background to improve their diversity, which made us feel like they were willing to invest in us. This message was portrayed most clearly when a co-head of a department at the bank told it to us. The effort put into the week showed us we were valued too.

Guidance and support came from all areas during the week, including senior management in talks or through networking events, junior employees on the trading floor, and the HR team organising the event and looking after us. There were also a speakers that came and gave us advice and guidance - Nomura clearly wanted us to feel supported as many of us were new to banking.

During the spring week I developed skills such as teamwork, analytical skills and understanding the need for preparation when going into a task. These will be used very frequently at university and afterwards when applying for a job. These are important skills for banking and other industries too, so they will undoubtedly be used.

The week had a very fluent structure and was organised so that one talk or training exercise could be expanded on by the next. The networking events were timed well as we had a far better idea of what we wanted to achieve by the time we spoke to the employees than we did at the beginning.

The week was never dull, and we were kept entertained from start to finish. There were also times when we were pushed a bit and perhaps taken out of our comfort zones. The content of the training was interesting and well taught, so it didn't get repetitive. I liked having the morning on the trading floor at the end as it was a climactic finish to the week.

Nomura invested a lot into our understanding of banking by providing us with a trainer to cover almost all aspects of the industry. We were also given talks by employees from many areas around the bank. They have left us with the opportunity of watching webinars to further our education, and a free subscription to the economist.

We were provided insight into what it would be like working at the firm by employees either in their talks, or just in conversation. Most employees seemed very honest in what it was like working there - even mentioning the negatives (although it seemed like there were much positive aspects to the job).

Nomura were very clear about their organisational culture. All employees from senior managers to new recruits seemed like they knew what the culture was like and were more than happy to share with us. It quickly became apparent to us that for Nomura organisational culture is a point of pride.

The insight week filled me with confidence in the finance industry. This was achieved through current employees explaining what they did and then telling us what they enjoyed / didn't enjoy. Furthermore, gaining exposure to the industry by spending time on the trading floor and talking to employees of the bank helped me decide on my future career path.

Nomura don't offer payment for the Spring Insight Week, which is understandable because it is purely an investment in us from them. I could have had some of my expenses (from travel) reimbursed, but decided not to because the cost was very low. We were provided with breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks throughout the day, so there were no food expenses.

Yes, there were plenty of opportunities throughout the week. These ranged from talks by employees, where we could ask questions; networking events in the evening with junior employees; networking events over lunch with senior employees; spending time on the trading floor and meeting and talking to all the employees in the team I was with.

Very good. Many of the employees gave us a good and detailed explanation of what they did, giving us the ability to understand as many different areas of the bank as possible. Some employees gave us advice and offered their email addresses so we could reach out to them in the future.

Not exactly; for me, this wasn't the main topic of conversation as I was much more curious about the employee's job, progression in the bank and work-life balance. Most of the employees seemed like people with interests outside of the workplace, so I would be surprised if there were no activities that an employee could get involved in.

Yes. The Spring Insight Week by Nomura was an excellent opportunity to learn about banking, get exposure to a successful, large and growing bank and meet new people (both fellow Spring Week Interns and current employees at the bank) that have similar interest, yet come from a diverse background. It is also a fantastic opportunity if you don't do a finance based degree and are worried about going into finance.