Insight Programme Attendee Review

Overall this was a good insight programme, which was very straight-to-the-point and broad. However, there were slight technical difficulties that could have been avoided really easily. I don’t think the speakers had much preparation as they kept relying on each other. Regardless, this was a brilliant initiative and made me excited to apply for summer internships at Jefferies as I felt as though they really did care about those of us with minority backgrounds, which was highly comforting.

All participants were very friendly and answered a lot of our questions in depth, ensuring they always left enough space to do so after every session. During this, they covered a lot of our concerns in depth and the nature of the sessions itself reflected their positive inclusive values well, which was really nice to see. All of these things combined definitely made me feel valued and as if they recognised some of the struggles faced by minorities in such an industry.

We did not receive much information before-hand and this programme covered the ‘next steps’ session (the one which many of us perceived as the most important) at the end in a very rough/fast manner. Aside from this, I still felt well supported as they covered a lot of aspects of the firm in depth and mentioned the levels of support available whilst at the firm. For a programme with hundreds of participants, the standard was quite high.

There was not much to help necessarily with our ‘degrees’, especially seeing as many of us came from different educational backgrounds and were interested in different divisions. However, the ‘knowledge’ I did receive that I believe will help me beyond my studies was that minorities are recognised and aided by this firm and that there will be opportunities for growth and successful despite potential societal inequalities. I learnt a lot about the industry in general too which will hopefully aid me further.

The structure of the day was really jam-packed and informative, covering a broad range of topics and with speakers from all backgrounds/ages/stages - which I found really insightful and an accurate reflection of the work atmosphere. However, there were some technical difficulties that made the programme seem a little poorly executed. The host for the day was incredibly friendly and chatty, which helped with this and aided the flow of the programme as there was a comfortable consistency element.

Everyone was incredibly friendly and passionate about the company, which was exciting and genuinely nice to see. The attendees were really respectful and it felt like no question was a stupid question, which is always warming. Overall, I felt really comfortable and engaged despite the minor difficulties and perceived jefferies as to have a dynamic, innovative and exciting atmosphere. From start to finish the programme held my attention and was very vibrant despite being virtual.

We did not receive much personal training or development aid (which is understandable as this was a 1 day event) but I could tell that jefferies are very helpful in providing such opportunities to their employees. They still made us feel like we were worthwhile investments as they took the time to address many of our concerns and questions and made us feel as if they had a lot of faith in us in regards to obtaining positions with them.

The programme, whilst only a few hours long, covered a lot of different divisions and topics, which made it easy to envision working full time with Jefferies. The speakers were very down to earth and genuine when answering questions about their experience at Jefferies, which made it easier to understand the culture at the firm and what a typical day at Jefferies would truly look like. If the programme was a little bit longer, this may have been slightly clearer.

They covered the culture in a lot of depth, especially how they supported minority groups, which was really insightful and valuable information. All the speakers also shares their personal experience of the culture, which was really helpful as it provided us with a lot of perspectives.

I felt a lot more knowledgeable about the firm and it’s culture, which made me feel more confident and excited about their application process.

It was virtual so this is completely understandable

Not really as it was virtual with hundreds of participants.

It was difficult to network as the session was only a few hours long and there were hundreds of us on the call.

This was touched on briefly but not in depth (understandable due to time constraints)

I definitely would - for a free, inclusive event this was really insightful and made me feel a lot more in-touch with the firm and industry.