SEO Explore Programme Participant Review

During the Nomura SEO Explore program, I participated in various activities over four days. Day 1 included an overview of Nomura, training by the Echios group on banking and finance basics, and an overview of the Digital transformation team in Global Markets. On Day 2, I attended a presentation by employees from all four divisions of Global Markets, received Echios training on Global Markets, and participated in a trading simulation. Day 3 involved an overview of technology and risk, DEI discussions, and speed networking with technology and risk professionals. Finally, Day 4 included an overview of different Investment Banking teams, a M&A case study, and a session on LinkedIn.

Through this placement I greatly increased my commercial awareness. The sessions with Echios were especially useful for this. We were taught the basics of banking from the ground up and the instructor created a safe space for us to clarify anything we didn't understand. I also developed my case study solving skills through the Global Markets and M&A workshop. There were additional sessions on improving communication, insights in how to be a good networker and a deep dive into using LinkedIn effectively to stand out to recruiters.

It was really enlightening. The thing this programme did really well was have a good mix of "lecture-style" teaching with someone at the front of the room going through a powerpoint and explaining what they do and how it relates to the wider context of the bank. But we also had speed networking session and networking lunches where we got a better idea of what it is like to actually do the job and ask specific questions to employees.

The company culture was really friendly! Nomura benefits from being a smaller investment bank and also it's respectful and helpful Japanese cultural undertones. The employees felt like they were proud to be part of the community. Even the investment bankers seemed much more relaxed. Looking at how long a lot of the employees had been at Nomura highlighted how much it values its employees. A lot of the people in the bank, including the recruiters went out of their way to answer your question and were very helpful over LinkedIn even after the event.

I really enjoyed the insight. I came in with an interest in a specific division but it was really nice to hear about the others. I especially appreciated how friendly and personable to rest of the cohort was. I have heard of other spring weeks where the people selected were intense and toxic but I got none of that at Nomura. Overall it was a great opportunity and I would highly recommend others to participate!

Yes

Have a good CV. Focus on doing well in the numerical assessment. In your application you would have expressed interest in a division within the bank so make sure you understand what the division does because that might come up in the interview. Also read a few news articles and feel comfortable talking through your CV. Most people on the spring week had pretty relaxed interviews which mainly focused on Why Nomura, Why the Division and going through your interests and CV>