Insight Day Review

I extremely enjoyed the insight event. It was very well organised and there were various presentations throughout the day. The best part of the day was the interactive 'trading game' which both enables us to be more engaged, but also learn more about trading and gain tips on how to trade.

I felt quite valued during my time at the company - the staff were very happy with our initiative to apply for such opportunities and many employees during the networking lunch treated us with value and respect. However, the nature of the insight day prevented me from being more valued during my time at the company.

There was quite a lot of guidance throughout the day. The staff were very understanding and helpful from briefing us clearly on the overall day's structure to catering for special requirements like dietary requirements. I felt like I knew what was going on throughout the day and whenever anyone had a doubt, they always addressed it immediately.

I developed my networking skills over lunch and this will help me in my degree studies and beyond as they will enable me to become more confident when entering a work environment. I also got better at working with a group of people I had never spoken to before and this will enable me to strive when I work with new people in both university projects but also at work with various colleagues.

The insight was perfectly structured! Not only was the schedule emailed to us beforehand of the day, but they also were great in sticking to the tight schedule whilst also giving us a long enough lunch and enough breaks in between to ensure we stayed focused throughout the day. There was also a great variety of sections within the day - comprising of a good mixture between presentations and interactive exercises.

I loved it! The employees - from the senior staff to the junior associates - were very nice and easy to talk with during the networking lunch. The company's atmosphere seemed much more friendly and inviting than other companies that I have visited. The company also seemed very inclusive and one which respects every employee's strengths and needs.

There was not much personal training and development in the insight event. There were however tips throughout the trading exercise for each group playing on how to improving our trading and where we were making our mistakes. There were also some general tips on how to excel in the interview process for the summer internship/graduate scheme.

The insight did help me somewhat to understand what it would be like to have a full-time role with the company - many of the recent graduates had mentioned that the graduate scheme would be very rotational. They also stressed on the various differences from coming from university to a full-time role at the firm - like attending at required hours and etc.

Although it was only a one-day insight event, it was evidently clear what kind of company M&G Prudential was and what kind of attributes they value. The various presentation speakers were always giving us tips on what to focus on and to be open minded and most importantly, be ourselves! These tips alongside the friendly staff made me realise the company is very strong in valuing the relationships they build and growing together.

I managed to learn more about what 'fund management' was and am now more open to pursuing a career path in this sector in finance. However, the event was only an overview into the industry and I wasn't really exposed to the day-to-day life, and therefore it has only opened up another choice as opposed to helping narrow down my future career path.

I was not paid or reimbursed for this one-day insight event.

Yes, we had the opportunity to network during the 90-minute lunch provided. This opportunity was good as there was plenty of time to talk to people at various points in their career.

It was a good opportunity as it was quite informal to network over lunch and therefore was easier to hold a conversation. There was a good mix of employees from various levels in the company from junior associates to directors. However, they could have been more staff as the ratio and staff to undergraduates was quite high.

I found out the firm has some clubs running within the company - the employee who I was talking to said that she is part of the running club. However, not many of the employees mentioned these extracurricular activities.

Yes, definitely! It has opened up another career option for me even thought it was a one-day event. The firm and its staff are also very friendly and are eager to help undergraduates. The day was very structured and the graduate panel was also useful in learning about their experiences through the recruitment process.