This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
About You
-
The Company
-
Everything Else
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?
- 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?
- 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 5. How well structured was the insight?
- 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?
- 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 8. To what extent did the insight help you to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm?
- 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?
- 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?
- 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?
- 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?
- 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?
- 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?
- 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?
About You
The event was well organised with hundreds of participants. We had to go through a round of trading exercise which lasted throughout the day in smaller group exercises in between the program highlights. The program included keynote speakers and panellists from the different teams in the organisation, even that of technology.
The insight day was very catered to everyone's specific needs and interests. As students coming from all sorts of different backgrounds, there was something for everyone. Students who did physics, geography, etc. all felt valued and could find a place in the M&G organisation. I was given the chance to speak to many department representatives of different seniorities with no barriers to communications, hence i felt extremely valued there.
I managed to talk to a graduate and all the way to a fund manager so i really got two different, diverse point of views which was very interesting. I also felt like i could connect with the employees no matter the seniority level in the organisation. Both persons gave very good personal advice which was extremely helpful.
The impact will be great because as a graduate to be, the information i received will help me make informed choices that will leave me with little to no regrets in the future as i begin the path of my first career. It gave me insider knowledge which i could not have gotten elsewhere, or that easily.
The Company
The insight was very well-structured. The day was planned out and executed extremely well and professionally by the HR team as well as the speakers who were invited to give their speeches. Overall, the structure was good and the flow of events was smooth as a result and everyone could participate.
The atmosphere was one of eager and enthusiastic students who had a thirst for knowledge and insight into the finance industry. As such, the atmosphere was really conducive for every participant, and everyone had no qualms about asking questions in front of everyone as all participants were willing to learn from one another.
As this was an insight day, there was not much that the company could do at an individual level, however, understandably so, as there were literally hundreds of participants. Personally, the firm could not have invested much at such an event, hence, this question is not really applicable at this stage.
The panel of speakers were coming from a diverse range of backgrounds and positions within the firm, hence the insights were really unique and everyone shared personal stories that shed light into the real world practical life experiences in an organisation especially in an asset management firm. There were speakers from both the investment and technology role too.
Everyone was really transparent when it came to sharing the culture at M&G, from what i gathered, it is an extremely inclusive, collaborative culture and everyone enjoys their work and even if there are some aspects that they don't, things can be worked out internally to ensure that the roles fit the person and their interest.
The content was extremely valuable to help me personally as i am really interested in the investment area in finance and a firm like M&G would have the resource to let me learn and gain further exclusive insights that i otherwise would not have been able to outside of this event.
Everything Else
This event was a free to attend event. Other participants who travelled out of london were reimbursed their transport fees but i am living in london at the moment and simply covered my own cost of transport for the tube. Hence, it was not necessary to ask for any reimbursement.
Yes, there were speed networking lunches and panel discussions of which participants could talk to the panellists individually and ask any further questions that might not have been asked within the time given for Q&A. Hence, the lunch time provided ample opportunities to mingle with everyone in the firm from different departments and roles.
They were not so well organised in terms of the speed networking lunch as the nametag of the speakers were too small to see from a distance especially with everyone crowding around the speaker. However, i understand the constraints that the firm might face in terms of venue and space constraints.
Yes, at the end of the event, the HR shared about employee benefits such as yoga classes, and meditation classes. Outside of work, there are many social drinking events for the employees to get to know one another better. This kind of activities pique my interest more to the firm.
Yes, the insight day was a day that allowed me to gain insights to the asset management industry and meet people from different backgrounds and roles within the firm and i could ask all of my questions i had been curious about. The day was also kept fun by incentivising a prize for the winning team fro the trading exercises, professionally conducted by the HR team.
Details
Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)
Investment Banking
London
October 2019