Spring break at J.P.Morgan Review

I felt a little out of depth with the industry as a whole. I felt that I should have done some background reading into the company before I started. This maybe was highlighted by the lack of general explanation about the company as a whole.

Due to the nature of the program (only 2 days long) it was very much orientated around the employees presenting at us, instead of interacting with us. I feel there should have been more time to chat to those around us in a more informal setting.

The only applicable part of the insight for this question was the work shadowing session. I was partnered with someone who worked in the transaction service and he talked me through his work. It was sometimes difficult to understand what was going on as, even though they thought they were simplifying things, it was too complex to understand within the time-frame.

I learnt a lot more about an industry I had not really encountered before. The operational aspect of the insight tied in with a module I was doing about the physical supply chain and I learnt more about the supply and transition of money through bank accounts.

There was a clear program and this was followed very strictly. There was time at the end of both days to interact with the members of staff and network. I always knew what was coming next and didn't feel unsure.

The general atmosphere was not as expected. I felt like I was slightly looked down on due to my lack of knowledge and this made me less inclined to contribute to the proceedings. Compared to previous insight weeks it was slightly cold!

I liked the information pack that they gave us to learn more about the industry. The book on investment banking was useful for my studies and I have used it in reference. The insight was focused purely on the operational side of JPMorgan and I came to realise I was more interested in the investment banking side.

I was quickly introduced to the operations side of the work. I was clear what the day to day job would involve and this was further introduced in the work shadowing session. However, the full on nature of the insight was maybe not representative of the actual day to day work culture.

It was obvious from the initial slideshow what the company culture was like. There was an emphasis on the credentials of the company and the focus on gaining revenue and profit. There was a very work hard emphasis and not as much focus on helping communities and the local people.

I know that I do not want to go into investment banking. I feel that my skills lay in helping people and companies grow, rather than making the most money out of investments. The two days gave me a brief insight into the company and I was glad that I took part.

All of the travel was paid for and accommodation would have been paid for had it been required. However, the system of booking everything through a separate travel desk was annoying.

At the end of the both of the days an also during the lunch breaks there was plenty of time to talk to the employees and the partners at the firm. It was sufficient to get to know their job roles and what they did on a day to day basis.

There was too few people to talk to compared to students there on the insight. It was hard to get sufficient time to talk to the people. Equally, there was not really anyone to talk to who had a broader knowledge about the company outside of the operations area.

I did not have a chance to ask them about this and there was no focus at all on the extra activities outside of work. This is what put me off about the culture as I very much like the focus on the balanced lifestyle.

Just because of my personal preferences towards the industry I would not say steer clear. It was helpful for me as I now know that I am not interested in this career. I would say it was invaluable in helping me understand my future career path.