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The Spring Week was enjoyable despite the conditions imposed upon it by Covid-19. I especially enjoyed the sessions on the Monday and Friday where we got to hear about the culture at JP Morgan and what makes it unique to other banks. The sessions with Fitch Learning I thought were slightly less enjoyable than the sessions run by JP Morgan themselves. Furthermore the Post-Programme Offerings I found to be very enjoyable as they gave us a good chance to hear about what life within JP Moran itself is actually like.

It was quite hard to feel valued given the online nature of the programme. Given that all our interaction was done by typing in questions it was quite hard to have that level of personal connection that makes you feel valued. I think if some of the sessions had been done over Zoom, or another platform that was more interactive, it would have increased the sense of feeling valued. However, JP Morgan continually expressed to us how much they did value us taking part in the programme so I think the issue was more with how this felt given the technical limitations. However, given the placement happened just a few weeks into lockdown I was very impressed by the offering JP Morgan put together.

I felt that I received a very high level of guidance and support throughout the insight week. JP Morgan were always very clear about what was expected of us, how they could support us and how to put ourselves in the best position going forward to apply to Summer Internships. They were also very good at communicating all of this to us through regular emails that made sure we always knew what was going on.

I felt that they provided a very good insight into all the different ways that banking works and some of the complexities present within banking. As I continue to study Politics and Economics I am sure much of this content will continue to be of assistance to me. Furthermore, the skills I gained and the insight provided I am sure will continue to help me as I apply for internships and jobs in the coming years.

The insight was very well structured. There was a very clear plan with introduction sessions being held on the Monday and sessions about the culture of JP Morgan being held on the Friday. Furthermore, the sessions with Fitch Learning were well structured in that each day between Tuesday and Thursday we covered one specific area of banking at JP Morgan. Furthermore, the Post-Programme Offerings helped to give a real sense of what working at JP Morgan was like and the fact these were added to the programme showed JP Morgan's willingness to give us the best experience as things continued to change and develop in the first weeks of lockdown.

The general atmosphere was very good. All those speaking were clearly enthusiastic about working at JP Morgan and eager to share with us all that they had learned. It was clear that despite the technical format those holding the sessions were eager to answer any questions we had which further boosted the overall general atmosphere. Furthermore, JP Morgan presented an atmosphere of professionalism through the whole week which made what we were doing felt like was of real value.

They invested in me to a very large extent. As well as running the online internship and the Post-Offering Sessions they also ran an Online Academy in which we could continue to develop new skills and train. On top of this JP Morgan have also continued to stay in touch with us, keeping us informed of events and when to apply for the Summer Internships. I have also found that people at JP Morgan are also very keen to invest in you on a personal level and assist you in anyway they can.

They did this exceptionally well. In the Post-Programme Offerings, we got the chance to hear about what life was like working in different departments at JP Morgan. We got to hear about the different experiences that are had at JP Morgan and to ask questions we had about these experiences. What really stood out to me was the breadth of different experiences that people have at JP Morgan depending on the location and work they are engaged in. It really sent the message that whatever you enjoy doing there is a role for you at JP Morgan.

The Insight hugely helped me to understand this. The specific sessions on the Friday allowed us to see what was unique about JP Morgan and really covered how its culture played into things like its philanthropy and its stance on environmental issues which I really enjoyed and made JP Morgan stand out uniquely from other banks. Furthermore, the unique culture of JP Morgan was emphasised throughout the placement which I found really helpful in helping me see why I would practically enjoy working at JP Morgan.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the experience having to be online I ended up having no expenses that needed covering. However, when JP Morgan were planning to hold the internship in person they had arranged to cover travel, accommodation and food. The place they had booked for me to stay in during the experience looked incredibly high quality and was very close to the offices of JP Morgan. I am convinced would of wanted to ensure that all expenses were covered during the time of the experience itself.

Networking was difficult given the online nature of the internship. While on one hand, we got to hear from a very large array of people, we weren't able to actually speak to these individuals ourselves as we had to send through questions to someone who was hosting the sessions and these questions had to be typed out. I would recommend if it is still online next year JP Morgan provide more opportunities for us to be able to speak themselves to those who work at JP Morgan perhaps by giving us an opportunity to have a one to one meeting with someone working at JP Morgan. However, we could still network with those in sessions by asking good questions and through LinkedIn once the sessions were over.

We were told about lots of different activities people at JP Morgan get involved with whether that is helping out with diversity events, other social groups that exist within JP Morgan or just what they do in their personal lives while not working at JP Morgan. JP Morgan were keen to stress to us the importance of ensuring that all there workers have a good work-life balance and in ensuring that JP Morgan is an enjoyable place to work.

I would hugely recommend this insight to a friend. Ever since I first worked at JP Morgan on the Aspiring Professionals Programme they have demonstrated an interest in my long-term development and I have continually benefited from being on JP Morgan's schemes. Being offered the opportunity to see how one of the world's biggest banks works is an incredible opportunity that I think anyone would be foolish to not take part in. Furthermore, JP Morgan make it incredibly accessible to apply for their schemes. I applied for the scheme and did my interviews while working in Burundi, and had to use a cafe's WiFi to do so because of a lack of WiFi where I was living, but none of this acted as an obstacle to me applying for the scheme.