
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
-
The Company
-
The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement Î÷¹ÏÊÓÆµs/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
The placement was extremely enjoyable, definitely of the 'work hard, play hard' kind! The attitude was expected and shared by everyone joining the class. The right mix of working, learning, and networking.
Over the course of my 10 weeks at J.P. Morgan, commenced with a week of training, I was given progressively more difficult and challenging tasks. This, combined with the amount of one-on-one training and the time committed by my colleagues, proves that interns are valuable members of the team.
Interns are assigned a buddy and a resource manager (staffer). The buddy is an informal point of contact. The staffer manages the day to day work of an intern. Supervisors were very understanding of the individual learning curves and supportive in terms of the workload management.
While everyone arrives to J.P. Morgan with the hard work attitude, ready to take on the long hours, seniors make effort to tone it down. While the hours are highly desk- and dealflow-dependent, there is no facetime culture.
Interns were given progressively more responsible tasks over the course of the programme. As the initial weeks have passed, training was gradually replaced by ad hoc tasks supporting analysts and associates and those, towards the end of the internship, were replaced by own projects to be delivered to seniors.
The internship was a fantastic learning experience! Perhaps less so in terms of academic experience, as I am taking an unrelated degree programme, but the internship has taught me to approach work and deadlines in a different manner than at the university. On top of that, the skills learned will be extremely useful at any future finance job.
The Company
The atmosphere at my desk was great, with no facetime culture, no unhealthy competition, and frequent social events or team outings. This is, however, highly team dependent. The culture is largely driven by team leads.
The internship was organised extremely well, well done to HR and everyone involved! All relevant information was circulated well ahead before and during the internship. Interns knew about all events, the assessment process, and deliverables. Events were coordinated very well - London office, after all, hosts several hundreds of interns.
The training organised was top notch, with significant investment from J.P. Morgan. The entire first week was committed to external training. The following weeks saw additional modelling and Bloomberg Terminal (in Bloomberg offices!) trainings. Additionally, my department has organised countless class sessions hosted by junior bankers.
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
While my opinion may be biased, given that all interns have received their offer decisions on the last day of the internship, the employment prospects are excellent. The company encourages mobility for those wishing to change their teams. It was emphasised that interns do not compete against each other, that there is enough available places for everyone performing well enough.
The Culture
There were several internship social events organised by HR. Additionally, summer is always a good time to join the bank given the number of department and team drinks and socials. Interns have frequented Friday after-work meetings at Canada Square.
London is not cheap. Having said that, interns have often been invited by their teams to join social events. Intern and Analyst salaries perfectly cover the cost of living. While the area is certainly expensive, it remains manageable.
London nightlife is phenomenal, with the variety of clubs, pubs, and events catering to everyone's tastes. All the fun is just one long Tube ride away - Canary Wharf is not the most entertaining area of London.
The bank offers numerous sports activities and social groups, but there was little opportunity to join those as an intern, given the intensity of work, training, and networking. Interns were invited, however, to join a volunteering day and a city run.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Investment Banking
London
September 2017