Finance for Non-Finance Spring Insight Week Review

The Spring Insight Programme was very enjoyable as it contained a great mix of networking, technical training, shadowing and division pitching. There were times when the technical training albeit interesting, would lag on for too long and it became a little difficult to follow coming from a non-finance background. My recommendation would be to keep the technical training as it was very insightful but perhaps break up the sessions more so we can refresh and move around (more short breaks, etc.).

I felt valued for the most part. I could really see how hard the recruitment team had worked in organising this Spring Week for us. The intricate details from the personalised handbooks that had the programme details to the fun networking events. My only quaint would be that as there were 50 of us, sometimes it was easy to feel lost in the crowd. Perhaps more group activities or a more organised networking session may help to combat this.

I felt well-supported. We had a variety of high-quality sessions which included everything from technical training to personal presentation. I particularly enjoyed the session by [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] who spent some time teaching us about our posture and speaking skills. I would encourage J.P. Morgan to include more sessions such as this for future insight weeks as I felt that our session was too short, even though the knowledge received was invaluable. This will particularly help us with upcoming Assessment Centres and Final Round Interviews and it is usually a very neglected skill.

The speaking skills and posture session is a skill that will undoubtedly assist me in my career and beyond. Students tend to get caught up in preparing for the technicalities of assessment centres and interviews, usually forgoing the little details such as the words we use, our tone, the way we speak - all of which are pertinent to how we are perceived by recruiters. The technical session taught me many invaluable things which will definitely help me in my IBD interviews and applications in the future.

The Insight was well-structured for the most part. It was a good combination of training and opportunities to get to know the J.P. employees during lunch and evening drinks. However, the shadowing was very brief and we were only exposed to one team throughout the 4 days for 1.5 hours. I would recommend the opportunity for 2 shadowing opportunities so we can at least have something to compare.

The atmosphere was very positive. As the vast majority of us came from a non-finance background, there was an air of openness to learn and engage with each other and the programme. Although we were not fast-tracked for a summer internship - which did seem a little unfair, we could all recognise the amount of effort and investment the company put in us.

A huge amount of investment. Travel and accommodation were paid for which ensured that we did not have to undergo any financial constraints. Breakfast and lunch were provided on all 4 days with canapes on 2 of the 4 nights where the programme ended late. The majority of the programme involved some form of training and development.

We didn't receive much exposure to what it would be like to work full time. Although I have an understanding of the training provided, it would have been interesting to know more about the day to day as well as the first few years there in greater detail. The answers provided were usually generic.

I had a lot of misconceptions about the company due to news and the recent history which did not portray the company in the best light. These were all shredded during my Insight week as I was able to see how hard the company was working to become more modern and in line with the 2018 generation. One which is more inclusive, diverse and relaxed. This was certainly reflected in the very purpose of this programme - finance for non-finance Insight.

Good. We had the opportunity to speak with MDs, VPs, Analysts etc during lunch networking and the evening networking events. Many of the analysts and associates did not turn up (more than half) to the Wednesday networking event which was disappointing as there were far fewer employees there than anticipated. This made it quite difficult to speak to them properly as there were far more interns than staff.

I found out a little bit about what the employees did outside of work. However, these were all personal activities and not with the company. The general rhetoric was to have a hobby or an active interest outside of the company that you engage in, whether it is a sport or cooking, writing etc, any skill continued outside of the company was highy recommended.

Yes, especially those who are uncertain or unsure about finance as this programme will certainly teach you all the basics. Although, it did become quite suffocating to be in one room all day - 8am to 5/6pmish on days without the networking event, with the networking event 8am-8pm still in that same room and as we were on the top floor (which was very beautiful), we did not have much space to move around or refresh before sessions.