JP Morgan - undergraduate intern case study
"I've spent a little over 10 weeks with JP Morgan. Unusually, I switched between departments. Most of my time's been spent in the markets department, where I worked in foreign exchange.
But about two thirds of the way through, the bank allowed me to move into human resources. Both experiences have been valuable - they've shown me how both departments work, I've learnt a lot, and I've realised that while markets may be glamorous, it's not for me.
JP Morgan has been very supportive - I thought it would be the end of it when I turned around and said that I wasn't sure about markets.
In fact, the bank's been very understanding and really helped me to work out what I wanted to do. A lot of my peers at university have wanted to be investment bankers for years and years and are very aggressive about it. I haven't found it to be aggressive at all.
I would advise prospective interns to pay attention when choosing the area they apply to.
It's hard to know which internship is right. Look very carefully at the bank and how well you fit with the culture. Try to penetrate the glossy corporate image.
What was the best thing about being an intern? The constructive use of the summer. I don't know what else I would have been doing - perhaps a bar job or something.
This way I've learnt more than I could have thought possible about my career. And in fact, JP Morgan gave me a week's holiday, so I haven't worked all the time, either."
Catherine is waiting to find out whether she has an offer from human resources.
