Peter joined the operations training programme at JP Morgan in April 2005 after studying mechanical engineering with management science at Trinity College, Dublin. He has now completed his first rotation.
Q: Can you outline your experiences so far as a trainee at JP Morgan?
After joining in April I had two weeks' classroom training. This covered everything from what an investment bank does, to accounting, presentation skills, and communication skills. When that was over, I came down to JP Morgan’s office in Bournemouth for my first rotation, working on the collateral team.
Q: How does the 'rotation' system work?
Usually, you do three rotations over a two-and-a-half year period. The bank arranges our first rotation, but it’s up to us to sort out subsequent rotations ourselves. Within the operations division I could go anywhere from technology, project management or trade support.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working in client services, as part of the collateral team. We make sure the bank is covered for any risks incurred by trading with third parties. For example, we look at how much the bank would lose in its trading portfolios if every client defaulted on payment, and we ask clients to pay us some collateral to help cover the risk.
Q: What’s been the most challenging part of the training programme?
Most of the learning is done on the job, which can be hard. Everything flew over my head for the first few weeks, but I quickly found I knew infinitely more than when I started. You need to accept that everyone makes mistakes at the beginning and that you’re alright as long as you don’t make a habit of it.
I’ve also had to improve my time management: there’s a high volume of work and deadlines are consistently tight.
Peter's tips- Don’t be put off initially if you don’t know anything about banking – banks aren’t looking for people who know everything there is to know about financial markets, but for people who can solve problems.
- Research the job you’re applying for carefully before you apply – banks will want to know why you’re going for it.
- Think what you want to gain from a training scheme and make comparisons between different banks – does the bank you’re thinking of joining allow you to travel, for example?
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