What is a Spring Week?

Spring Weeks are a type of pre-internship programme. They’re a feature primarily for investment banks and professional services firms, and they are run on an annual basis.

These short work experience opportunities for first year students include presentations on the firm and industry, networking and business-focussed games and activities. They also usually include a social event or two as an extra opportunity to get to know employees and the other students on the programme.

These programmes are one of the best ways of demonstrating your interest in the industry and boosting your CV ahead of the next stage: summer internship applications in your penultimate year.

Research, plan and choose the right Spring Week

Some banks run a handful of Spring Weeks with different focuses, providing insight into a particular area of the business and relevant roles on offer:

• Investment Banking
• Operations
• Technology
• Risk
• Finance
• Accountancy/Tax
• Consulting

It’s important to choose the right spring week for your interests and career ambitions. There’s not much point in attending one in operations, for example, if your heart’s set on the front office. What’s more, if that’s the case then you probably won’t be accepted onto it in the first place! Employers are looking for candidates with genuine interest in specific areas, and you’ll usually only be allowed to apply for and attend one of their Spring Weeks.

Investment banks and firms do tend to stagger their Spring Weeks, so you could technically attend one with more than one of them to help you get a feel for where you might fit in best.

Summer internships

There are also some summer internships available for first year students at a small amount of banks and professional services firms.

These programmes last between six to eight weeks, and will include an introduction to the firm or bank. There will then be the opportunity to support a team on the projects they’re working on, and you may also carry out your own personal project.

Again, a first year summer internship with a firm could stand you in good stead for summer internship in your penultimate year.

Application process

In order to get your hands on one or more of these first year opportunities, you’ll have to go through an application process. The process can vary between employers, but generally it’ll look a little something like this:

1. Online application
2. Online tests (numerical/verbal/psychometric)
3. Telephone interview/face-to-face interview