Spring Insight Week Review

The insight week was a great opportunity and really enabled me to understand the different sectors within Bank of America and specifically Investment Banking, my chosen area. I was able to make some great contacts and learn more about what they do throughout the day.

All the people we worked with and met throughout the week were really welcoming and approachable. As the week went on I learnt more about how the bank really encourages diversity and values its employees through its different networks. One that really stood out for me was LEAD for women's network.

Personally I found the dinner on Thursday evening one of the most useful parts of the week. Members of the bank were sat in between us, who work in our preferred area, and gave advice, guidance and answered any questions we had.

I feel my presentation skills have improved and I would be more confident to present in the future. Team-working exercises were useful and feedback received was valuable. Although not a skill, I feel I am more motivated to do well in my degree to pursue a career in this industry.

The insight week had a clear structure and was full of different activities meaning we got to experience as much as we could through out the week. They made sure we were able to learn a lot about all areas of the bank and not only our preferred choice which I think was really good but after the first 2 days I think I would have benefited more just learning about Investment banking. Unfortunately for Investment Banking you are unable to shadow but instead we had a panel chat and case study. The case study was very beneficial and I think better than shadowing as it meant we were really able to understand what they do as opposed to just looking on. However I think the panel chat could have maybe been split in half and the panelists could have rotated round the tables so it was slightly more personal and more questions could be asked.

As mentioned before the week was full of activities and we were always learning which was great. We played sales and trading games during the middle of the week which was great fun and meant we got to know our fellow team members better. Towards the end of the week some of the presentations were not as interesting but still important. I did feel we were reminded a few times how we were always been watched which made us feel a bit uneasy but aside from that it was a great week and all the other undergraduates were really nice.

We had a talk on how to improve our presentation skills and how to work as a team.

Speaking to several employees helped me understand day-to-day life in their role although it was difficult to fully understand as for most of them each day is always different!

I definitely got the impression that Bank of America is very strong on diversity. There are a number of networks for different groups and one that stood out for me personally is the LEAD for women network.

The Insight week has definitely confirmed that I want to pursue a career in the finance sector.

I paid for my train ticket and then filled in a expenses form and it will be reimbursed.

Throughout the week there were a number of opportunities for us to network with employees especially through lunch.

On the first day we went for drinks after work for us to meet our fellow insight day colleagues and there were also networking events at lunch time and then the evening dinner on Thursday. As mentioned previously, I feel the dinner was the best networking event and I found it thoroughly helpful.

The employees are able to get involved with helping the local community and participating in philanthropy events. They are also able to join diversity networks.

I found the week such a great experience and definitely something I would do again and recommend to a friend.