Spring intern Review

It was exactly what I was expecting, if not even better. It was an amazing opportunity to approach people from a very prestigious bank, share moments with them and listen to what they were advising. I also enjoyed meeting so many international students, and having to work in team. I would definitely recommand it.

We were informed so well by the HR who had been sending us e-mails to make us feel welcomed. My buddy sent my group an e-mail to tell us about it, and not to worry about the week, that it would be a great opportunity to learn many things. The accommodation was arranged, and was truly amazing. I felt more valued than I deserve to.

As I said earlier, everything was well prepared. I have not needed anything (except a name tag that I lost.... again sorry about that), but I felt that if I had been in need of anything it would have been supported for whatever. There is absolutely nothing to say about that.

I am studying in finance, and obviously there were things that I already knew. However, I never had the opportunity of speaking so much with people from a bank, and having cases to complete with bankers was truly a teaching moment. Being able to interact with people from another background (I am not English) was also very valuable, especially in a formal circumstance.

The week was truly intense. Everyday was very well structured, and the timing was as respected as it could be. I know that the spring used to last a complete week, and maybe it would have been better to spend a day more, but I guess that there are factors to take into account that I do not have.

Well, the assessment day was stressful. But apart from that, people were all very friendly : HR, Bankers and students. I have not felt any problem with talking to anyone (maybe sometimes the tongue barrier, but I made progress with the week). If there were negative things, at least I did not notice them.

I think the very intent of a spring week is a firm investing in potential future employees. We were paid for being there and learning things, our accomodation was arranged, my transporation from Paris was fully reimbursed. All the sessions were a way of learning both hard and soft skills.

I only rate it a 8 out of 10 for the very reason that I think you can never completely understand what it would be to have a full time role in a company before actually working for this company. However, it helped me understand it as much as it could be done in 4 days, which is already a lot of time invested in it.

According to me, understanding the company culture relies in the fact of talking to people, meeting people from an organization. It was all we did during the 4 days of the programme. Learning the values of the company by googling it is a thing, but hearing people testifying about their own experience means a lot more.

I am not that sure of what I will be doing in the long term. But this is exactly the point. Listening to people and talking with them made me realize that things are not stuck, and that a career may be done in various fields. It made me realize that starting in banking would be useful for whatever comes after.

I was paid for being there (I would have come even if it were not the case) and fully reimbursed for the transportation. My accomodation was perfect, and everything had been arranged for me. I did not have to advance the fees and it was a very good point because I could have been short on cash.

We litteraly have had the opportunity of networking everyday during the lunch : on the first day with our buddy, on the first day at night, on the two lunches of the days after. More, we were networking with other students coming from various prestigious universities, and so at every hour of the day.

The networking opportunities were very good. The only thing that I would say was a little bit "strange" was eating at our table with all our stuff, and it was not that comfortable having a dirty table for the rest of the day because of someone's food. But it is really not a big deal.

We had the opportunity of listening to a conference about the various networks that do exist in the company. I was really interested by this conference as I would totally see myself in a WiN network as gender issues matter a lot to me (already engaged in my university with such issues).

I would completely recommend it to a friend as you have nothing to lose. You learn many things, meet more people that you could even imagine. You are given your chance for a fast-tracked interview for a potential summer internship which is such an opportunity. If you are considering a carreer in finance, it is definitely for anyone.