Summer Insight Week Review

This insight week was a really great opportunity to learn more about the different functions of the bank. This information has been exceptionally useful in trying to decide which divisions I would like to apply for summer internships in.

Everyone I met at the company was very friendly and seemed keen to get to know us. They were very active in encouraging us to apply for the summer internship programme next year.

Everyone I spoke to was very willing to answer all the questions I had and were happy to have a chat or meet for coffee. The campus recruitment team guided us through the next steps and beyond very well.

There was a real focus on presentation skills; we were given a talk on how to imrpove these skills and I was able to work further on these skills by giving a number of different presentations throughout the week.

The insight week was structured well, with a good balance between divisional overviews, interactive and skills sessions and networking events.

Everyone there was keen to get involved, learn more, ask questions while having some fun at the same time.

While it is hard to invest in personal training and development in a week long programme, the skills sessions and seminars were very useful.

The presentations and panel discussions were great for finding about the different divisions and the networking events were very useful as they gave me a chance to talk to the people currently doing the jobs that I'm interested in.

While there were some presentations on company culture (corporate responsibility, etc), the most useful part of the programme in this regard was the opportunity to talk to the employees who form the culture of the company.

It was exceptionally useful at enabling me to eliminate a number of areas and really focus in on the areas that I am actually interested in.

I was reimbursed expenses (up to £100)

There were opportunities everyday to talk to other employees of the company, from analysts to directors. Everyone I spoke to was happy to chat and answer all the questions I had.

There were welcoming drinks on the first evening which were a great opportunity to network in a more informal setting. On the last evening we had a dinner at a local restaurant with some lovely food and wine. There were 2 divisional representatives on each table who rotated between each course, giving us the chance to talk to a range of people.

The best opportunity in this regard were the networking opportunities as they were not covered extensively throughout the formal part of the week.

In hindsight, I would have been at a significant disadvantage had I applied to internships having not done this programme due to the amount I learned about the industry. In addition to this, I met some great people (both at the firm and on the programme) and had really good fun.