GBM Intern Review

The role will differ whether you sit on a sales, trading or structuring desk. With all teams there is an expectations to join into the daily calls relevant to the division and usually make notes. With sales, there are more presentations and trade idea/project based roles. With trading there are usually trade ideas but also usually some technical tasks. Structuring is very project based with excel/coding skills being used for some of the products. There is lots of networking daily alongside work.

I have learned significantly more about markets than I had previously learnt. I'm more confident in developing views on events going on in the world and interpreting market impact, but also being able to condense this down to palatable snippets. I've also expanded my technical understanding of structured products and derivates to a massive extent. Exposure to presentations allows for enhanced public speaking and delivery skills, as well as developed networking capabilities through the social functions.

This will vary depending on the desk- for certain desks interns produce projects that will be passed on to clients/used as a blueprint. Often have to send out morning wraps summarizing the overnight news and key events that impacted markets, sometimes asked to provide views on this, and this gets sent out to the broader teams. Trading desks will naturally have less intern 'responsibility' as interns cannot literally trade, but there is effort put into stimulating trade simulations.

We received buddies through the program who helped guide us through any questions that we had whether technical or more personal development. The senior management is also very responsive to interns who reach out and ask for advice, overall there is good support put in even from desks that are not participating in the internship to help support interns and create and environment that allows for people to ask questions and explore ideas beyond the scope of what is necessary.

The culture is generally positive regarding learning and progression, with people generally being very helpful and willing to take on mentorship kind of roles. The atmosphere may differ depending on the desk and how high flow it is, but knowing how to work around this and find time is a useful skill that is learned through the internship. The company culture may differ depending on the division one is in, but is generally positive and encouraging

It was a fantastic experience and a huge learning curve. The connections that I made with interns and the teams are fantastic and have helped me get a much better grasp on the industry and specific desks. I found the work to be of a good difficulty and the experience to be one which I would gladly repeat if given the opportunity. Overall exceeded my expectations and I would recommend to others to try if possible

Yes

I would say try to get an understanding of why it is that you want to do the division that you're applying for, and read up on the interesting developments in the field. Prepare for interviews with the information that's available on the company website and also for the technical aspects relating to the role that you're applying for. Understand the skillset that you have and explain why its useful for the role you're applying for.