What Are Spring Weeks?

Spring weeks can feel mysterious when you first hear about them, especially in your first few weeks at uni when everyone starts talking about the ones they're applying for or have secured. Don't worry, you're not alone in this feeling! Spring weeks are simply short insight programmes that help students learn about firms, teams, and possible career paths; almost like a very short internship but without actually doing real life work. They're a fabulous way to gain an insight into a company, it's dynamics and culture. Additionally, they are a great opportunity to explore a new area of Finance you most likley won't know much about. Most large firms offer spring weeks and often have specific programms for underrepresented groups, such as Women, People of Colour etc that you can apply to.

Why They Matter

They are useful because they give you early exposure to the industry and the earlier you start climbing the ladder, the better your chances of success. You can learn what different roles involve, meet people at the firm, and understand whether a particular area of finance interests you. They're also a great way to network and put your name out there, whilst gaining valuable experience in interview processes. I personally think spring weeks are very useful, in terms of discovering what areas of finance you might be interested in exploring, or areas that aren't a good fit for you. Discovering what you don't enjoy is just as important as discoverig what you do, as it helps you narrow down to a niche area of interesting. Spring weeks are a great way to explore this as they are such a low level of committment, being only a few days. A positive of these short programmes is that if you are lucky enough to get a few spring weeks, you can do multiple over the spring holiday, as all the firms have different dates for their spring weeks. Additionally, in my experience, many firms actually recruit from their spring weeks for summer internships and either offer you the internship or fast track you throguh the process to the assessment centre stage or fianl interview. It is important to note, that this recruitement depends on the area and the firm, as they all handle this differently. Now I'm not saying Spring Weeks are easy to secure, they are still very competitive, but are less competitive than summer vacation schemes and graduate schemes, as there are much fewer applicants. Worst case scenario for a spring week, is you gain good corporate experience and have something to discuss in your CV that demonstrates your intiative, interest and commitment. You're probably getting the idea by now that Spring Weeks are a good opportunity, so lets break down each step of the process.

Where To Find Them

You could spend an endless amount of time searching for opportunties as there are so many ways to find them, but the easiest and most efficient way, it to check the firms' official websites. Each firm website has a section for students and graduates where they list all their programmes. You can also find them on job boards such as Target Jobs, Indeed, and Rate My Placement. Additionally, you can find them on the university's career portal, as firms often post their opportunities there. It's important to start looking early, as some firms open their applications up to a year in advance, so you want to make sure you don't miss any deadlines. I would recommend doing some research before you even start your applications a few months in advance and make a list of all the programmes you want to apply to and their respective deadlines.

How To Approach Applications

Now you have a list of programmes you want to apply for, it's time to start preparing your applications. I'd suggest starting by researching the firm, its values and what they are looking for in their employees. Understand why the programme appeals to you, and prepare examples that show curiosity, motivation, teamwork, and resilience. You do not need to sound perfect. You need to sound prepared and genuine. It's very cliche, but, honestly be yourself, because firms don't want an army of clones, they want a diverse community of fresh perspectives, so show this in your application, whilst still maintaining a professional tone. Again the application process is highly dependent on the firm and business area, but in general you'll need to complete an application form, which might include a CV and Cover letter. Then there will be the Aptitude tests, verbal reasoning and logic tests. For some companies, these tests are their own separate stage, so not everyone is selected to complete them, however for most, they are part of your initial application. The next step is typically a video interview; now I know the idea of an interview can be intimidating, but trust me they're not that scary, as long as you are well prepared. These pre-recorded interviews can be tricky as you are just tlaking to a screen with a timer counting down how much time you have left to give your answer, but you definitely get into the flow of them, so do some practice questions before the real thing. You can find sites for this, but most firms give you a practice question that the interviewer does not assess you on. The final hurdle for many Spring Weeks, is the final interview; in my opinion this is easier that the video interview, because you are talking to another human, not your reflection on a screen. If you know who is interviewing you, research their LinkedIn, not only for their background, perspective and specifialisation, but also so when they next check thier LinkedIn, they see the notification and know you have done your research. Ath this stage, there is no expectation that you will know much about the field you are applying for, but read some of the latest news articles in this area and how the most recent poltical events have affected that area, this is a favourite question in many Trading interviews. Most importantly, in these interviews, you are not just being tested on what you know, in fact that's not even the main thing your interviewer is concerned about, they want to get to know you as a person and whether they can see themselves working with you in the future, whether you have passion, curitoisty and are ready to learn, whilst not being afraid to ask questions and admit when you make mistakes.

A strong application is not about pretending to know everything. It's about showing that you are curious enough to learn and push youself out of your comfort zone..

What to do next

Make a simple tracker with firms, deadlines, requirements, and progress. This makes the process feel more manageable and helps you avoid rushing applications at the last minute. Most appliations are rolling deadlines, so ensure you apply early. If you want to read more about how to break the application process down into easy daily chunks, check out next week's post.