Spring Insight week Review

I really enjoyed my time at FCA-it was a really insightful week and we had the opportunity to explore all sides and aspects of the company, discover the type of work they do and learn about how it affects people. I found it very interesting and different from any other company.

To a great extent, the company as a whole is very keen on diversity and inclusion and since the programme was aimed at women, it was very interesting to see how they were trying to bridge the gender gap in their workplace and making more efforts to encourage more women into the financial sector; i felt valued not only as a woman alone but also as a young person.

Every day, we had at least one member of staff come to give a talk about a wide variety of topics; we had people from the graduate programme talking to us about how they got on the programme, giving us advance and answering any questions we had. We also had a day to shadow one of the members of staff for some time; this was really interesting as we had the chance to see their offices, talk to other people working there, get advice and ask questions. The entire atmosphere during the programme was extremely supportive - everyone was open to answering our questions and just giving us tips on how to succeed in life.

As an engineering student, the information i received will not help me academically, however it has helped me become more commercially aware- i did not realise how much the reading and talks had impacted on the way i speak- my use of technical jargon and how much facts i knew about financial services until i started talking to some of the staff. The presentation at the end of the programme helped me become more confident; we were also given an interview techniques session with a seasoned interviewer and he went through all the techniques and everything we should know about interviews. I feel that the financial services is definitely a sector i could go into in the future.

It was very well structured, our whole was packed with talks, and Q and A sessions, skills development, work shadowing etc. On the first day, we were given a booklet with the entire programme of how the week would be run. The timings were also managed very well and the events ran smoothly.

The general vibe of FCA was very positive, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and inviting everyone was. They were all willing to answer all our questions- we even had the Chairman of the FCA talk to us twice during the duration of the programme as well as a few female senior members of the board. It was a very relaxed atmosphere

To a great extent, we had a presentation skills training and interview technique training which really helped brush up our skills in those areas. I also feel like some of the talks and places we had the chance to go were somewhat exclusive to us simply because we were on the programme.

We had multiple opportunities to talk to staff and people on the graduate programme. We were given a lot of information about their day-to-day role within the FCA, the level of flexibility, ease of promotion, work-life balance etc. And these questions were all answered to my satisfaction so i definitely feel like they performed very well on this front.

Ironically, the word 'culture' was used quite a few times during my time at the FCA; we were given talks about what they do, what their objectives are and their core values and it was quite refreshing to see a company that is not profit-driven unlike the norm. I understood a lot from the insight about FCA does and it really helped me think about my future plans and if I would like to work for such a company (yes).

I can attest to the fact that the contents of the day was extremely valuable-however, in deciding my career path, i believe it is a choice that is left to me to decide and irrespective of how amazing a work placement might have been, they can't help you choose what you want to do in life. I learnt a lot from this insight and yes, i will definitely consider working here; however, I still have my sights set on some other career paths as well so I can't say that the programme helped me decide per se; it just opened up a lot more options for me (which made me even more unsure about what i want to do-however, i still have time to decide so I'm not too worried about that at the moment).

I was reimbursed for travel expenses. We were also provided lunch and drink everyday so we didn't have to spend a lot of money on food.

Yes, multiple opportunities to talk to staff everyday as well as the people on the graduate programme. We had a specific Q and A session with graduate alumni as well as a lunch 'n' learn session with the staff and one of the senior female executives. We also had a session to shadow one of the staff.

They were very well organised, it was usually done in a relaxed area and the staff were veer friendly and easy to talk to. I didn't fond any awkward moments and conversations just flowed naturally.

Yes, we had at least 2 sessions about the volunteering work that is done at FCA for some of their local charities. We even had the opportunity to visit one of the local community centres that they support called skills for growth- we interviewed some of the young people about their financial habits and they also asked us questions about university and our studies.

definitely, besides it being something to have on your CV. it is an opportunity to develop yourself and explore new areas of your career that you might never have considered before. it is especially useful for people looking into the financial services area however, even if you have no prior knowledge of the financial service, it doesn't hinder you in any way.