Summer Intern Review

I enjoyed the internship to a great extent. There are several aspects that made my internship memorable and extremely rewarded. I liked the activities that was organised in order to help us interns network not only with peers but also with other businesses. I also liked the fact that the internship programme was very well managed and I was well informed of every step of the way. I was also given a lot of support and responsibilities by my team and everyone else who I approached.

I was given a lot of supports from my manager, her own manager and the wider team. I was also given a lot of support from colleagues outside of my team in other lines of business when I have some specific questions relating to my project. I have daily catch up with my manager and also weekly in depth meeting with my manager to go through my progress to date and help pointing me towards the right direction.

I was given a lot of responsibilities during my placement. I was given the main goals and objectives from the very beginning with specific deliverables and specific expectation of how it should be done. However, I was in control of my own approach to get things done and my own timeline. I was given the types of work that were directly relevant to the business and what would normally be done by an associate.

The biggest takeaway from the internship was developing a network and learning how to use it. This topic was stressed numerous times and has already opened a few opportunities for me. In addition, time management skills have assisted me in my day-to-day productivity. Working under pressure have made it easier to approach problems and planning out the next steps.

Compared to other floors, my floor is relatively quiet. The atmosphere is very much depending on the team you are with. The trading floor for example is more lively and has lots of noise, people are generally also seem to be more stressful. Within project teams or back office area such as compliance are generally more calm and quite.

The internship programme was very well organised with plenty of activities to support the interns and plenty of opportunities to meet up with people outside of your own business. We were made aware of all the main activities and the preliminary internship schedule on the first day of the internship. The communication has also been clear with weekly updates from HR.

I was assigned a senior advisor who is in a senior position in the firm and she gave me a lot of advices not only on the internship itself but the overall career goals and aspirations. There is also opportunity to catch up with one's assigned buddy who is in a junior position to ask questions regarding their internship and graduate experience.

Employment prospect and career progression in JP are very appealing for graduates, but it seems to differ significantly depending on the scheme and the actual positions you are placed in. The majority of other interns in my network have made it to the graduate scheme. Some graduates have also told me of opportunities to travel abroad.

Some teams with more senior team members whom already have family will be less inclined to socialise in the form of drinking afterwork. Some team usually has lunch together at least once a week. However, this is all dependent on the age of the team and the line/ nature of the work. Generally the social scene is very dynamic and lively amongst interns and graduates. There are usually networking drinks set up amongst interns in different departments every weekend.

The cost of living is relatively okay if one is used to paying for student accommodation in Central London. It could get relatively cheap if one is sharing a rented house with other interns. Canary Wharf is an extremely vibrant place but it could get expensive in certain bars. There are however plenty of places for cheap drinks and food in the area.

Nightlife is standard with plenty of choices but would probably be not as good as in Central London

Appeared to have several activities for employees. However, they are not well advertised and usually not in the time scope of the internship.