EMEA Rates Apprentice Review

I work in a rates trading Middle Office for EMEA. Day to day I assist in reconciling new trading activity, ensuring that we are compliant, and liaising with teams to provide the highest possible service. I work very closely with Tech teams, FO (both sales and trading), and we have regular meetings with management to ensure we are constantly striving for perfection. Projects wise I am involved with continuous process improvement, and hoping to do more of this going forwards to boost my reputation.

My communication skills have massively increased over the 8 months that I have been working here so far. I've learned how to be at my most professional when discussing any issues, and how to appropriately give feedback, both constructive and positive. I have learned to be a lot more self motivated and confident, and this has bolstered my self esteem outside of work. I do notice that I am most myself at work, I get the chance to continuously prove and improve myself and I am very grateful for this opportunity. I am looking at undertaking an excel skills course, to make myself more independent, and this should be an excellent opportunity for me. Looking to the future I plan on completing the CFA. This will give me a truer knowledge of risk and products that are supported globally. This will also be great for my long term career progression.

The company culture and work environment I am in really benefits me as a person. Outside of work I can be very introverted and so the work I do brings me out of my shell, and I become a lot more sociable and happy. My team is a perfect personality match for me, and this is one of the great things about being allocated a role. Even if the role itself is not quite for you, the Early Careers team do an excellent job of finding a team that will suit you well. Personally I find the 4 day week challenging; as a workaholic I prefer to be in the office learning and developing. However without the study day I know that I would find it really difficult to manage my studies, so I am grateful for this.

I feel incredibly valued by JP, I'm an integral part of my team, and being an apprentice in a global bank is an amazing opportunity to prove yourself, and prove that you don't need to get a degree to succeed and excel. I've undertaken a lot of CSR/Community Outreach work since joining JP, and this has been exceedingly rewarding. I know that when I attend an event like this I am a representative for JP, and this responsibility is daunting, but appreciated. All in all I think that even though I am an apprentice, I am treated exactly the same as any other employee, and not disadvantaged at all by my lack of a degree.

The structure from the JPMorgan side is great. We have regular catch ups with the London Early Careers head, we work closely with the other apprentices to help our learning, and we have had plans set out from day one as to what exams we have, what support we will get, and how the course should be run. We each have an assigned 'buddy', a previous apprentice who we can go to for pastoral and work support, which is excellent. In terms of lecture structure, we have weekly 2 hour lectures, which as a rule work well.

The support attitude from the training provider is good, the one to one sessions we receive are really excellent for personal, professional, and career development. However for me, the lecture structure is a bit difficult. This is completely down to myself, as I find it easiest to learn straight from a textbook.

The support I get from my team with my learning is outstanding, they understand my responsibilities as an apprentice and are always helpful whenever I have any queries that they could assist with. As a new joiner to my team, I was assigned a mentor from a similar LOB. Whenever I'm facing a hardship, or if I have a question I cant ask my direct team, I can turn to them for some help.

I personally don't have any travel costs, as I live within walking distance from the office. I find this so useful as not only does it save me money, if I stay late for any reason I'm only a 10 minute stroll from home. I budget by cooking weekly, and meal prepping in advance a range of meals. I try to not overspend on lunch every day. London evening plans are a bit pricier than other areas of the country but clubs always have deals on, so it's manageable. I house share currently so my rent is well within budget as well.

We have dedicated sporting clubs for all lines of business in the bank, I play football every Wednesday with the Tech and FO teams that I work with. It's an amazing opportunity to network and put faces to names. I've been to a wide range of outside opportunities, working with local schools, and fundraising for London Poppy Day. These have been rewarding fun, and you get to be sociable with people you wouldn't necessarily be social with.

Yes

Its an incredible opportunity to work for one of the world's largest banks. The work is hard, but so in depth and rewarding. I get to work with senior team members, and I carry great responsibility only 8 months in. To get your foot in the door at one of the most respected firms in the world is an unmissable chance. I regularly speak to teams across the world, and work with them to develop our services every day. I've never worked in such a challenging and rewarding environment, and the company culture is second to none.

My best advice would be: don't pretend to be someone you aren't. The application process isn't trying to find someone who's the complete package already. The process finds people that are engaged, motivated, willing to learn and develop. I applied having not the fullest view of the financial service industry, but I showed how willing I was to learn and the potential that I could bring. Don't worry about getting 4 A*s at A-Level, as long as you meet the entry requirements you're at an equal footing during the interview process. Make sure to be a rounded person, be passionate about your hobbies and interests, be diverse in yourself. Nerves are good, but letting them prevent you from being you is bad. Use them to show how good you would be for a position here, use them to showcase who you are as a person. Be prepared that this is a huge deal. Working in a corporate environment is different to any other job you may have had before. But it is brilliant to work here. So give it all you've got.