Explore Nomura intern Review

The internship was definitely enjoyable in terms of the opportunities it provided and the range of contacts I was able to make, but the variety and exposure to the hands on working environment was somewhat lacking, and there were too many presentations in a single style and location.

My colleagues were very welcoming in showing us their work and engaging in ours, but we were not able to contribute work, and so could not be valued in that sense. However, everyone I met understood the importance of introducing us to the business in order to optimise recruitment, so were very willing to give their time. Our feedback on recruitment brochures and the internship were greatly valued, as we were able to offer unexpected and innovative suggestions.

Recruitment staff were very willing to organise different activities and panel discussions, and support all our questions. Banking employees were also very willing to give their time, but we had to take the initiative to set up meetings and work shadowing in addition to those set up for us, without guidance from management.

My schedule had a perfect balance during the working day, between presentations, work shadowing, project work and lunch breaks. However with the amount of project work to complete at home and after working hours was very tiring and would not be sustainable in the long term.

I was given fairly little responsibility, as most of the time was spent in learning about the business through presentations and work shadowing, as well as project work to reflect research for our own good. We had small tasks during work shadowing to calculate coupons etc, under observation by an employee.

The skills and insight I developed into the banking industry will greatly assist my in my career path and understanding, but I do not expect to assist my degree studies, which are more focussed on pure mathematics. However the transferable skills in communication and setting up meetings for example will be invaluable in my university life in general.

The working day was definitely interesting due to the number of aspects of the business we learnt about. We also took part in several different activities including work shadowing, presentations, panel discussions and networking events to keep up variety. However, the majority of time wery as spent in presentations of some format, and the lack of hands on exposure reduced the enjoyment.

The internship was very well structured, with a dedicated HR team setting up and observing a timetable with swift changes between activities. However, most sessions involved banking employess and senior management who were often unable to observe timetables due to work commitments, leading to delays.

The company invested a lot of time and resources in my learning and development, particularly in a time investment from senior management and bankers giving presentations and introducing their daily tasks through work shadowing. I felt there was no direct gain for the company, other than begining the training of its potential recruits and advertising the company. We were also provided with lunches and food during networking events.

I believe I did well in during the internship in demonstrating my skills and making a good impression. The direct knowledge and understanding of the organisation I gained will definitely support any future application. However, a select few were offered a fast track to a summer internship next year, which I missed out on.

I did meed a number of interesting and different colleagues from varied backgrounds, and enjoyed spending time with several of them during lunchbreaks. However due to the short nature of the internship, we didn't necessarily build long lasting friendships.

The cost of living was very expensive in central London, where we were based, both for drinks after a days work as well as food and travel. However as the internship was in my home town, I didn't have to pay for accomodation.

I did not get a chance to explore the nightlife, due to the demanding hours and workload at home. However, based on my existing knowledge of the area, the London nightlife is definitely fun yet expensive.

There were a number of networking events organised after working hours, to learn more about the business as well as the experiences and opinions of other employees. However, other than this there were few opportunities outside work.