Summer Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my summer internship at JP Morgan and felt that it gave me a good insight into the banking industry. The culture in the firm is welcoming, and heavily encourages networking and further education / training. I would definitely encourage others to apply as it is a great firm to start your career

The tasks entailed are dependent on the team that you are placed in. Some teams find it harder to pass on meaningful tasks to summer interns as they might be long-term projects or have a crucial deadline. However, I know other interns who have been given the opportunity to take on incredibly important tasks (e.g. attend business trips and lead meetings)

I had a graduate intern in my team who was my main source of guidance. Because I was allocated in a smaller team of 4 people (including myself), I felt more comfortable with being able to consult anyone in the team for help. Further support and guidance were given by HR (including training and introduction to other roles) and we were always welcome to heed guidance from other employees within the firm

Because of the nature of the role I was in, it included a lot of ad hoc work which meant that sometimes I ended up staying later than the usual office hours. However, there were other days where I would have no work to do. Despite this, we were encouraged to fill up our spare time with networking opportunities

I was given one project to carry out throughout my time in the firm, which was continued after I left. Besides that, I carried out smaller tasks that contributed to a bigger purpose. Once again, because of the team that I was placed in, it was harder for them to delegate larger projects for me

We received excel training specific to your role within the first 2 weeks of the internship. There were also (compulsory + non-compulary) talks given which gave us insights into other roles within our division and also unconventional roles that exist within the banking industry. We were also given further training by our managers, dependent on the work we were given

My team was placed on the trading floor so the atmosphere around the floor was dynamic. The culture promoted in the firm is one which is welcoming and tried to enforce a relatively flat hierarchy. Although it did not happen during my experience there, I am aware that some teams (typically larger ones) organise biweekly team events/outings

It seems that the team an intern was placed into was dependent on the skills emphasised in their resume. Trainings and compulsory insight talks were well spread out throughout the internship. However, the system in which interns in my division received (or did not receive) the graduate offer could be improved. Also, there was no strict and generalised guidelines or targets to ensure good performance throughout the internship which meant obtaining a return offer is subjective

We were provided with excel training, online (compulsory and non-compulsory) courses, talks regarding the overview of the firm and different roles within the division we were placed in. Networking and guidance from our managers / team was also a great source of personal training. should we receive a return offer, the firm also sponsors a CIMA qualification

A return offer is determined by the HR team and your manager / team's feedback. Internal mobility is possible but realistically quite rare (if you are trying to move to front office). The graduate offer for my division is 3 years and comes with a CIMA certificate sponsorship, which makes employment prospects more appealing

Yes there was. We had 3 intern-wide socials throughout the internship, with smaller socials for individual divisions. However, I felt that there could have been more intern-wide socials, especially at the start of the internship so as to prevent division segregation further along the 10 weeks and to allow interns to have a better understanding of other roles within the bank

Being in canary wharf, cost of food, drinks and socialising was high. Although discounts could be found around the area

Plenty of bars and drinks discounts

Yes, there are (at least during summer), activities available around Canary Wharf