Insight Week Review

The insight week was amazing in helping me to understand the different areas of the bank in a lot more detail; knowledge which I lacked before the programme. Being able to network with a range of different people was really valuable too. The packed schedule meant we got the most out of the programme as possible.

The level of support given by all of the HR team was invaluable. They really set a culture to make us feel comfortable. In addition to this, each person we were able to network with was so willing to give up their time, make us all feel that we were valued.

A lot of support was provided in the sense that the programme was targeted to give us as much knowledge as possible to make an informed decision in the area of banking that interested us the most. An environment where we could talk to anyone was set from the start too.

The information throughout the programme was so thorough in helping to explain the different areas of the bank. The difference between Markets and Banking were clearly highlighted to help us understand which of our skills were suited to each. In this sense, we were able to make an informed decision about our preference.

Arguably, the insight into Banking could have been earlier in the week. With our preference sheet needing to be handed in early Thursday, during the Banking Insight day, it was difficult to see all of Banking before making the decision. In addition to this, a schedule beforehand would have been useful in preparing for the programme.

The general environment was slightly cut-throat. Whilst the sessions were aimed at informing us with the most basic Banking knowledge, within the programme there was a high level of provisional understanding. As such, it sometimtes felt difficult to settle and ask questions on what seemed like the most basic knowledge.

It felt like a lot of time was invested into us, with a lot of senior members of the bank taking out there time to give us talks or network us. It was clear that they wanted us to be part of the internship and graduate schemes in the future.

It was quite clear what the environment would be like only a daily working basis. The talks and panels with other analysts made it obvious the level of work and the number of hours work you had carry out on a daily basis, helping us really decide whether we wanted to go into Banking.

Every single person that we talked to said that the company culture was its biggest strength and it was one of the main reasons why they love their job. It was evidently clear that the culture was based on helping and team cohesion, something that was quite reassuring to hear.

On each day, the insight talks and case study tasks really outlined the level of work that was carried out. Whilst it was sometimes difficult to understand with limited prior knowledge, it encouraged me to read outside the job. The content of the days was what led me to choose my preference.