Spring Intern Review

I had mixed feelings about the event day to day. The event started off well but soon began to drag as there weren't any challenging problems for me to really get into. The food was great though. Final day was amazing as we could network with some very interesting people and were giving some programming challenges.

Everyone was friendly throughout. I had no real complaints. There were definitely attempts to make us feel included and respected: we spoke to senior staff in an informal environment. We were also taken to the top floor where they show clients around. However, this all seemed a little staged to me.

I had the opportunity to pitch a hackathon I was very excited about. I am hoping to receive some guidance about this as I have been in contact with staff from JP Morgan about it since. However, while at the spring week very little formal advice was given imo. If you wanted it, you had to get it out of the people who you were shadowing.

I learned next to nothing new during this event. However, it was useful to confirm some assumptions I had had about banking, technology in banking, JP Morgan, work life and a multitude of other highly relevant and captivating topics. I don't regret going, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't go again.

There was a clear structure throughout. We were given a detailed plan on day one and it was followed closely throughout. I had no issues with knowing where I was supposed to be when and there was always something to do which was a very big bonus in my eyes.

There was a huge amount of positive energy in the room on day one. Towards the end of the day opinions became more polarised and on day 2 a lot of people were not enjoying themselves. However, on day three everyone grew more engaged. This was primarily to do with the choice of activities. I enjoyed myself throughout.

There were a few workshops on day one but I only found one of these beneficial. This was disappointing as I would have been open to further training. Throughout the coding challenges criteria for success were often unclear or misleading which meant that we missed out on a good few good learning experiences.

There was a good amount of work shadowing but it was very limited with regards to what teams we got to see. This was disappointing as JP Morgan is a huge company and it is difficult to gain a proper insight without also being exposed to its scale.

People's approach to us was generally uniform. This spoke a lot about the company culture. They also kept mentioning it during talks. However, I was only there for 3 days so it would be difficult for me to say that my opinions are accurate and that my impression would remain consistent.

I spoke with a lot of people during my time there and gathered a good deal of anecdotal evidence for what it's like to work in different areas of the bank. I found this information useful as I can now pick and choose modules which will put me in a good position to move into certain roles.

I had none of my expenses covered as I stayed with family throughout the spring week and each tube journey came to under £20. This was disappointing as I later realised that I did qualify for a hotel room as I stayed in bath. I would have liked this to have been communicated clearer.

Every day there was a good chunk of time dedicated to interacting with employees of all levels of seniority in different environments. There was a strong emphasis on networking throughout the spring week and this appeared to reflect the company culture. All the people I spoke to were very keen to speak with me.