Eligibility/ Intro

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Spring Weeks are typically a week-long insight programme for a particular firm. They are open to students in their first year of a 3-year course or students who are in their second year of a 4-year course across any undergraduate discipline.

Spring weeks are offered by a range of firms across a range of industries like finance, consulting and law. Most notably, Investment Banks tend to provide such programmes.  Over the course of the programme, you will learn more about the firm in question, the industry and the careers they offer. You will also have the chance to network with many professionals and students during this week. 

Since you are still at an early stage of your career/study you are not expected to have any relevant work experience but instead an obvious interest in the industry of your choice.

These programmes tend to act as a pipeline for summer internships in the following year, so it's important to apply to avoid the stress of applying to 100 different internships in your penultimate year of study!

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Pedagogy:

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Spring weeks offer a great platform for students to develop their foundational understanding of select industries and key skills sought after by recruiters. 

For example, you may :

• Network with students and professionals in the select industry
• Undergo Technical and interview training 
• Undertake case studies of previous transactions(IBD) or legal cases (Law) or even run trading simulations (S&T)
• Have the chance to engage in real everyday work and shadow employees

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End Results:

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Spring weeks tend to be a pipeline for the summer internships in the following year. During your spring week, you will be observed by recruiters as they will track your engagement with other students and professionals. If you demonstrate the skills and behaviours that the recruiters are looking for, you will be invited to a fast-track interview/assessment centre for the summer internships or depending on the firm, you may be offered the internship straight away.

For example, Lazard last year did not open their summer internships as all the places were taken up by students from their spring weeks and other early career programmes. Additionally, Citi bank is known for wanting most of its spring week participants to join them the following summer. 

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Timeline:

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Applications for Spring weeks tend to open in the Autumn term and tend to commence during the Spring break hence the name Spring Week. They can begin as early as March and as late as May. They can last anywhere from 2 days to two weeks in some cases! Since the Pandemic, many firms have adapted to hosting such events virtually however, since this year many have gone back to hosting in-person Spring Weeks. If you are not located anywhere close to the first offices you will be provided accommodation and have your transport paid for in most cases so the location should not put you off from applying.

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Application Process:

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The application process for spring weeks does vary from firm to firm but most of them follow the same pattern:

• Filling out the application form and uploading your CV/Resume and sometimes a Cover Letter may be needed or some questions asking basic questions like why this industry or why this firm.
• Online Tests: these can range from quantitative reasoning to qualitative reasoning and situational judgement. The best way to prepare for these is by practising.
• Hirvue: this is a simple video interview where you are asked a series of questions where you will have 2 minutes to record a response. So you need to do your research before .
• Interviews: these can be phone or video interviews and can consist of 1 or 2 rounds. Since you will be at the beginning of your studies you are not expected to know the technical skills but some basic technical knowledge may be useful or even seen as impressive and go a long way in your favour.
• Assessment Centre and then receive your offer!

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Tips to stand out:

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• Apply Early! This can't be stressed enough as most firms receive applications on a rolling basis which is another way to say first come first served. So by applying early you will almost guarantee the fact that your application will be looked at. Aim to apply within the first 2 weeks of the applications opening as this will give you some time to reach out to people on LinkedIn and do research on the firm to help you stand out. Remember you are competing with every other student in their first year so you need to stand out.
• Use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one the most important tools you could have when it comes to applying to spring weeks. You can use it to find current professionals and see what activities they did when they were your age and from that you will get an idea of what you can do to stand out. To take this a step further you can even reach out to professionals and speak to them to gain a better insight. This can go in your favour when it comes to interviews as it will show recruiters that you're in fact interested in their firm and the industry.
• Practice for the online assessments. Use JobTestPrep to practise before completing the assessments. JobTestPrep has a bank of resources that will help you ace the assessment.
• Join University Societies: Having executive positions at societies go a long way in proving to recruiters that you can be trusted with important tasks and can handle responsibilities. Additionally, by joining societies related to the industry of choice you are demonstrating engaged interest and that is what recruiters want to see.

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Major Recruiters:

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For Finance: 

• Bulge bracket firms :
• International Boutique firms.
• Local Boutique firms.
• PE firms.
• Other Financial institutions.

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For Law: 

Law firms like Simons & Simons, White & Case LLP, Osbourne Clarke and TLT LLP.

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For Consulting:

Firms Like Boston Consulting Group and Oliver Wyman offer spring weeks.

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How Cross Path can help?

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By having links to individuals at large institutions, Cross Path provides a community for students to learn and share their experiences to let more students access the same opportunities and grow together. By being engaged in the Cross Path group chats you will be alerted to when specific applications open up. You will also have the opportunity to attend events held by Cross Path where you will have the chance to hear from professionals and gain a better insight into the industry of your choice to help you land that spring week.

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