Full-time Student Review

This was a highly insightful experience led by industry experts. I particularly enjoyed the insights provided into investment banking, equity sales, trading and equity research which opened my eyes to new job roles and made it clearer which divisions I would like to gain experience in. The Q&A section ensured that this experience was interactive, despite it being virtual. Questions from students in the same position as myself were very well answered by the speakers. Although technical difficulties cannot be controlled, it would have been nice to be put into break out rooms on Zoom for smaller group sessions.

Engagement with speakers was made accessible through the "raising hand" function on Zoom so it was relatively easy to communicate with the professionals. This showed that our questions and concerns were being valued and that the speakers appreciated interest shown by students in their career fields. Although the experience was held virtually, the speakers ensured that everyone was involved and made sure they stuck to the timetable of the day despite technical difficulties which I really appreciated. This showed that they were valuing our time and efforts too.

It was full of guidance and support throughout the entire experience. Each speaker offered guidance and advice to students like myself who are interested not just in Jefferies, but in different sectors within finance too. The session even ended on a "Next Steps" slide which guided me into taking steps and making decisions that would lead to a more successful future. The support that the professionals provided on internship applications was fantastic! They talked through the steps of a typical application to Jefferies and advised on do's and don'ts when applying.

The information I received from this insight experience was like no other. I will use this towards making stronger applications and choosing sector roles now and in the future. The speakers explained their roles fantastically, explaining in a way that would be easily understood by students who have no experience in the field or who may not know much about the particular roles discussed. The information about Jefferies itself was very insightful and I learned a lot about the different ways they promote diversity.

The insight experience started with a slide dedicated to the timetable of the afternoon and the host ensured that the day panned out according to this structure - allowing sufficient time for each speaker and Q&A sessions which followed after. I could tell that the structure was very well planned out and a lot of effort had been put into it to ensure that students like myself had the best experience despite it being held virtually.

Despite it being a professional experience, speakers ensured that students were very comfortable in learning from this experience and in asking thought-provoking questions too. All in all, this was a very educational experience in which I learned a lot from and so the atmosphere created was one where it felt like an in-person insight experience rather than a virtual experience which I am very grateful for. The general atmosphere may have been improved if networking sessions were embedded within the timetable to make it seem more like an insight experience, though I am aware this would be difficult to carry out considering the number of students on the programme.

Considering the volume of students involved in this programme, it would have been difficult for the firm to invest in individual personal training and development sessions with each student, so there was no direct personal training offered. However, the firm did ensure that a Q&A session after each seminar was aimed at enhancing understanding and knowledge of students which contributed to development of students as a whole. I am sure that if this experience was not held virtually, more personal training and development sessions would be provided!

For a solid understanding or close-to-solid understanding of what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm, an real (non-virtual) experience would be needed. However, the speakers ensured that they talked about their day-to-day work life, primary roles and rewarding/difficult experiences during each seminar which gave a close and deeper insight into what a full time role would be like at the company/firm. This was discussed throughout the entire experience which I really appreciated!

The virtual experience was absolutely brilliant in understanding the company culture - the entire event was based around this, particularly diversity at that company! Needless to say, this was a 10/10 experience when it came to understanding the company culture as I got a deep insight provided by leaders of the diversity programmes at the firm: why they do what they do and how the workplace has changed since - including statistics and facts too!

The content delivered by the industry experts was focused on their specific roles, hence I received informative, detailed insights into the different roles I may apply to in the future. This was highly valuable to me as I was able to form a deeper understanding of roles I was previously interested in and could make a better decision regarding which career path I would wish to take in the near future. Not only did this help me narrow down my potential career paths but I was also able to evaluate what type of working environment would suit me best!

Since this was a virtual insight experience, I was not paid or reimbursed for the experience. I did not actively contribute to this company/firm, but instead received a lot of guidance and support from professionals.

There was no opportunity for networking or meeting other employees of the company or firm since this was a virtual experience with a large volume of students involved - hence, it would have been nearly impossible for one to one networking to take place! However, if this event was held in reality (non-virtual) there would have been many opportunities for networking - it is only due to the unforeseen circumstances that meeting other employees of the company or firm was not possible!

The networking/social event opportunities were not available due to the large volume of students involved in this experience, as well as the programmed being virtual. However, I have no doubt that the networking/social event opportunities would have been amazing for students like myself if the event was non-virtual.

As well as the employees explaining their experiences and details into their specific roles, they also made sure to give students like myself a full insight into what life is like with a full-time job! They explained the activities they get up to outside of work which involved their teammates or colleagues and how this translated into a positive working environment in their office/working space too. More insight into this would have been appreciated, though the information I did receive was very realistic and valuable.

I would 100% recommend this virtual experience to a friend and I already have! This amazing insight experience taught me so much about the world of finance, different roles/sectors, activities outside of work and typical working days of the employees. It helped to narrow down the choices I have as potential career paths, as well as introducing new roles too! Although this experience was virtual, the speakers ensured we benefitted from this experience in a similar way to how this experience would have been if it was non-virtual!