Bank of England First Year Insight Day in July Review

It was a great day as I got to meet other First Years looking to apply for an internship in the summer, was given fantastic application advice by the HR team, was given great networking opportunities and also played a trading game.

I felt quite valued as almost the entire day was devoted to the insight day. We were provided with lunch and tea breaks and also got to ask questions to people who work at the bank. I felt like the bank devoted a lot of resources for us.

We received a lot of guidance as I got to ask questions to people who had different roles at the Bank, we were given an hour long presentation on the application process and tips to make us 'selection confident'.We were also given a talk about what the Bank of England does in general and the different areas.

The skills I learnt will help me in the application process when applying for a summer internship for 2015. I also learnt more about the Bank of England which will be useful for my Economics degree.

The insight day was quite well structured as it began with a company presentation (about the Bank) and was followed by a trading game. Lunch was an hour long and we were given a skills session for the rest of the day, which informed us of the application process and helped make us more 'selection confident'.

The atmosphere was really good, particularly during the trading game as people got really competitive. However, people tended to stay in their groups for the rest of the day, rather than try and meet more people.

I felt like a lot was invested in me during this day as it lasted 6 hours and there were plenty of learning and networking opportunities. We also got to speak to other members of the Bank and I felt as though they really wanted me to do well in the application process.

The insight day helped me understand what it is like to have a full time role as we were told about the workload and normal working hours, along with getting to meet people who worked at the Bank. I would have liked to gain a further understanding of the summer internship because they only skimmed over the basic facts such as pay and overview, rather than what you would be doing exactly.

The insight day was a fantastic indicator in helping me understand the company culture, as the networking and panel sessions were very insightful and the bank staff were very honest. The Bank of England seems to be a righteous organisation to work for and the employees were very enthusiastic about working there.

Travel expenses up to £35 were reimbursed.

There were 4 opportunities to meet and network with employees of the BoE: The one hour lunch, the tea break, panel session and finishing drinks. I found the employees were honest and very helpful in describing their experiences at the bank and encouraging us to work there. We were introduced to the broad work of the Bank and this was very helpful.

Considering the length of the day, there were more than enough opportunities to network, such as the lunch hour, tea break and finishing drinks which went up till 5pm.

We weren't really told about this and no one asked this question.

I would absolutely recommend this insight day to a friend because it was a fantastic chance to network and learn more about the Bank of England, as well as gain valuable skills for applying. I look forward to joining the Bank of England as an Intern next year if I am lucky!