Spring Week: Inside the Industry Investment Banking & IB Risk Review

It was the most amazing week. Packed full of talks and also networking opportunities- you get the best of both worlds! It managed to be a huge learning opportunity whilst also being a real giggle.

So many members of the firm were willing to speak to and help us, the people giving the talks even started cutting their presentations short to answer our (many) questions. Incredible to see people from MD through to Analysts giving up their time for us.

We were allocated mentors for the week and had organised time to get to know them which was lovely, such a help! The only slight disappointment was not getting to spend much time with our mentor for the group project, but in the world of IB there is no guarantee that they will be free! The other group mentors offered to help us anyway, which was a great reflection on the J.P. Morgan culture.

The week certainly helped me to understand what goes on behind the scenes of the deals you read about in the papers! We learnt so much useful information, and developed real technical skills that are hard to learn by yourself. I will also be learning from the networking opportunities, it was a great place to get used to talking to all sorts of people. The insight week gives you something to aspire to in the future, there isn't much better motivation to help you knuckle down during your studies.

The only problem with the structure was not having enough hours in the day. I'm sure each talk could have gone on for longer than it did, and each networking session too. The addition of social events in the evenings was really good fun, and a great excuse to get to know other people from different programmes. The days were jam-packed!

The people on the spring week were amazing, which made the atmosphere incredible. I personally have never been in a situation where I can meet and really get to know so many people from so many countries and backgrounds, it was so much fun. Everyone was really lovely, and the recruiters make you feel really at ease too. Not a scary banker in sight! Great people and an inspiring environment created an unbeatable atmosphere for the week.

The week gives you plenty of opportunities to develop and learn more about which career might appeal to you.

We had in depth talks from almost every Analyst role and multiple overviews of all of the departments within the Investment Bank. Panel sessions with Analysts then gave you the chance to ask any questions you had, which left everyone with an 100% understanding of what each department does. The Q&A sessions were always extremely honest too, which was really beneficial.

Being able to see the culture first-hand was almost more helpful than any talk, but being able to meet so many J.P. Morgan employees was the icing on the cake. Everything we were told about the culture through J.P. Morgan's website and during the talks was proven whenever we met people who work there.

Gaining an in depth education on the departments, the roles and the day to day tasks of the analysts within the Investment Bank gives you all of the tools you need to ascertain if this is the career for you. As mentioned previously, everyone is very honest with you about what their role in the firm is, and this really helps you make your decision at the end of the week. It confirmed for me that Investment Banking is (hopefully) for me, and gave me a few ideas for which desks look good too. More than I could have hoped for!

If you live outside of the M25 you are put up in accommodation with other people on your programme. So convenient and the accommodation is lovely. A great opportunity for socialising too! You also get lunch provided every day, travel to and from the office and dinner sometimes.

I think previous answers speak for themselves- the whole week was an excuse to network! It was really stressed to us how key networking is, and we got a lot of opportunities to work on it.

Some networking opportunities were cut short, and we got used to one poor J.P. Morgan employee being surrounded by 10 of us feverishly trying to ask a question, which made it hard to get the chance sometimes. But little and often was the theme, we got plenty of chances to meet JPM emloyees. The social events were fun too, especially the quiz!

There were lots of mentions about the J.P. Morgan clubs and what they all get up to within the firm when they aren't at their desks. Everyone seemed very well rounded. It was also really nice to hear about so many teams who go on holiday together, such a nice environment to be in.

Worth every nervous moment leading up to applying, going to interview and then actually starting the week! Would recommend to anyone.