Insight Day Review

The day started off with a welcome to the bank and we were introduced to the job the bank does. Through the day we were given a clear idea of the various functions of the bank and being able to speak to several graduates/interns currently at the bank regarding their experiences. We were also given an overview of the recruitment programmes the bank run and the importance of diversity and inclusion was highlighted throughout. The talk from a lead of service area on their experiences at the bank and on the importance of diversity was also given and was a particularly enjoyable part of the day for myself.

As a result of attending the insight day I believe my communication skills were enhanced through the question and answer sessions and conversing with current graduates and interns who are at the bank. Additionally, I felt like my commercial awareness was significantly improved regarding the function of the central bank across its areas of operation. This was complemented through asking questions to graduates and interns on their experience where they could share more about what working in each division/area at the bank was like.

The way the banks operations were introduced was extremely clear and concise with the use of presentations and graphics as part of them being very useful in breaking down the structure of the bank. The recruitment team session on the various programmes which the bank offer for students was extremely useful and helped to give an idea of what programmes I could apply to and prepare for applying to in the future which was extremely useful.

The company culture was extremely welcoming and open from the short time I was able to speak to people from the bank. Everyone seemed extremely friendly and happy to answer any questions which insight students had and whenever asked about the atmosphere at work, interns and graduates all were quick to describe the great atmosphere experienced while working at the bank. They said they had support from line managers as well as more senior staff as well due to the open nature of work at the bank.

I throughly enjoyed the insight and got immense value out of it through being able to ask numerous questions to graduates and interns from various areas of the bank. Furthermore, the commercial awareness improvement from learning about the different areas of the bank and how they operate was extremely valuable but the area of the insight I enjoyed the most was certainly the talk on diversity and how much this specific issue was emphasised at the bank.

Yes

For advice in applying to an insight day at the Bank of England I would suggest researching beforehand about the bank across several platforms in order to get a decent idea of its function which can be expanded on during the insight programme. When answering questions on motivation show that you have researched the bank and it’s function and try to be authentic and unique in your reasons for why you want to attend the insight programme.