Easter internships

Several of the big banks have introduced 'Easter Internship' programmes designed to give eager freshers an insight into what goes on in the world of high finance.

The year you arrived at university used to be a time for finding your feet, making new friends and frequenting student bars. Nowadays, it's also an opportunity to explore a career in investment banking.

Also known as 'Spring Weeks,' or 'Spring Insight Programmes,' Easter internships typically last five working days and coincide with the Easter bank holiday.

Places are open to university students in the UK and continental Europe. First-year students and second-year students on four-year courses can apply.

Which banks?

Banks offering Easter Internships include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Lehman, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. Citigroup runs a two-day introduction to banking programme, known as the 'Certificate in Finance.'

How to apply?

Places on Easter programmes are few and far between. Banks like Goldman Sachs, which typically hire a hundred or more summer interns, only admit between 40 and 50 to their Easter internship programmes. An exception is JPMorgan, which admits 100 Easter interns over two one-week sessions.

Banks typically ask students to apply online via their websites, after which you may be expected to take a numeracy and verbal reasoning test, before being invited to London to interview if successful. Desirable candidates typically have an exemplary academic record. "Candidates need 320 UCAS points," says Karen McKinley, head of graduate recruitment at RBS.

Not all banks take the same approach to selection of their Easter interns. Merrill Lynch selects people on a team basis: applicants are asked to form teams of four people, including at least one woman, and complete a case study analyzing and researching an industry specified by the bank. The teams who produce the best case studies are offered a place. Last year 200 teams applied; eight were successful.

Lehman Brothers is using its Easter internship to help attract diverse applicants. "We're focusing the Easter internship on women and ethnic minority students," says Ellen Miller, head of graduate recruitment at the bank. "We want to make contact earlier in students' academic careers to have the best possible chance to attract the broadest talent pool".

When to apply?

If you want to be an Easter intern, you'll need to be clued up soon after you arrive at university. Application deadlines typically run from December (Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse) through January (Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs) to February (JPMorgan). Bar hopping may have to wait.

What do Easter interns do?

If your application is successful, you can expect to spend a whirlwind five days being familiarised with the ins and outs of investment banking. Most banks offer Easter interns exposure to as many different areas of the business as possible.

At Credit Suisse, for example, students spend each day working in a different division. "There are workshops and classroom tuition as well as work shadowing and interactive games," says Stephanie Ahrens, European head of graduate recruitment at the firm. "Students spend their afternoons allocated to desks across the different divisions to get as close a hands-on experience of the type of work one does in banking as possible."

A leg up?

If you complete an Easter internship, you should find yourself in a strong position if you then want to apply for a summer internship at an investment bank the following year. "You'll have an early opportunity to gain a sound understanding of what the financial industry is about," says Alison Trauttmansdorf, head of graduate recruitment at Goldman Sachs.

Even more importantly, several banks fast track Easter interns who catch their eye. Goldman Sachs is the most proactive: in some divisions Trauttmansdorf says favoured Easter interns are automatically offered a place as a summer intern. At RBS and Merrill Lynch, high-performing Easter interns may be able to skip the first round of interviews for summer internships.

But no money, money, money?

Unlike summer interns, Easter interns aren't doing any real work. As a result, not every bank will pay you. The programmes at CSFB, RBS and JPMorgan are unpaid, although participants have their travel expenses refunded and CSFB and JPMorgan pay something towards the cost of accommodation. Goldman Sachs and Lehmans pay their Easter interns, but declined to reveal just how much.