Early Insights Digital Hub

My name is Tosy and I joined J.P. Morgan as part of the Software Engineer Program (SEP) in 2019, specifically in the core banking space of the Wealth Management group. My team works on applications that strive to drive efficiency by automating various manual processes within the core banking space. I work closely with our business users as well, assisting them with support issues and bringing enhancements to various applications to make the user experience more streamlined and efficient.

My manager has been a great advocate for my career growth since the day I joined. I appreciate how my manager cares for my growth holistically, constantly encouraging me to try things outside my comfort zone and have open conversations about big topics like diversity. In addition, my colleagues were always so eager to assist whenever I reached out. I love being surrounded everyday by people who are tenacious but also warm and helpful.

I would not have had this experience and growth without participating in the Winning Women Program. As a student, I was not too sure about what I wanted to pursue and was curious about working in the financial sector. I jumped straight into the opportunity when I found out about the program. It gave me a safe space to interact with people from different studies and backgrounds.

I vividly remember one of the sessions where a senior leader shared her life journey, elegantly juggling her role as a daughter, wife, mother and individual. Her story resonated with me and I was inspired at how well she was able to carry herself and how she worked hard to make herself known. The question ‘what do you want to be known for’ is a motivation for me and challenges me to constantly think about how I can do things differently or improve to create the personal brand I would like to have.

The Winning Women experience impacted me greatly and made me want to work at J.P. Morgan. If I have one piece of advice, it would be to come armed with a truckload of questions. You might get answers that could surprise you and will give you better clarity on what you can do. You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take. It might be something as simple as submitting the application for the program but will set the lasting foundation for your career. It was at Winning Women that I found out about the Software Engineer Program which I applied for – that’s why I am here today.

My name is Varun and I joined the firm as a Corporate Analyst Development Program (CADP) intern. I was fortunate enough to receive a return offer that kick started my career here at J.P. Morgan. I rotated across three very different teams within the firm and currently work in a very specialized team called Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Conduct Risk Controls. It’s a global role with exposure across the business focusing on the conduct related risks affecting our employees by applying analysis techniques to attempt to quantify conduct. The inherent impact driven nature of the role is extremely rewarding and allows me to see firsthand the impact of my work.

My upbringing was extremely diverse growing up in six different countries, which subsequently played a part when choosing my first employer. The most important criteria for me was diversity and a people centric workplace. J.P. Morgan offered me exactly that. Diversity was represented not just in terms of background but also in terms of thought process, experiences, and personalities. It was at Find Your Fit that I had my first experience of that collaborative culture.

For example, all the volunteers at Find Your Fit came from extremely diverse roles and backgrounds. When a question was asked to a manager not from that business, they would happily link you to the person with the right experience and knowledge. This allowed me to network across the different businesses. Funnily enough, when I returned as a full-time graduate analyst, these were the same people who made the transition to a full-time role less daunting.

As eager students hoping to enter the firm, we are usually exposed to second or third hand information available online but often I found it biased or inaccurate. I found that the easiest and most accurate way for prospective graduates to gain insights into the culture of the firm and the role was through programs like Find Your Fit. It was through these conversations that I learned about their experiences and their day to day responsibilities. Ultimately, it was the effort and genuine interest that each manager or recruiter displayed during our time together that stood out for me. It spoke volumes about the culture and people of the firm which further enhanced my drive to join J.P. Morgan.

The best piece of advice I can offer to anyone joining Find Your Fit is to not shy away from asking questions or from sharing your ideas. Make the most of your time at these events. These programs are a platform but are only useful if you use it.

My name is Eda and I am a Software Engineer Analyst in the Trade Surveillance team under the Corporate Technology business. My role primarily consists of programming and maintaining software that generate alerts for trade surveillance investigators.

Other than my daily work, I am also improving users’ experience through two side projects. Namely, revamping our investigation platform’s user interface (UI) and the search bar experience of Corporate Tech applications.  I also joined a User Interface interest group, where we share our knowledge and discuss any problems we might be able to solve in Corporate Tech.

I applied for the Code For Good program in 2018. Unlike other hackathons I participated in, this was an opportunity to use my technology skills to give back to the community and provide solutions to challenges faced by NGOs. I was very nervous at first because I would be working with people I never met before, but the experience turned out to be great. With the support of our mentors, we managed to work well together to put forth a viable and scalable solution. In fact, the most memorable experience from Code For Good was being able to showcase our prototype in front of senior management, all the team mentors, NGO representatives and other hackathon participants. After working on it for the entire day, it was great to be able to present the fruits of our labor.

Given that our mentors came from different lines of businesses and have worked in the company for quite some time, we got to ask questions about how their business operates, their work experience and what their team does day-to-day. They were all very willing to help and friendly towards us.

After saying all this, my advice would be to just go for it and apply! You don’t need to know a lot of programming languages or frameworks. Each person in the team will bring a different skill to the plate so don’t worry about having to be the expert. Code for Good is a great platform to learn and improve your technology skills, discover which area of tech you are interested in and most importantly, create lasting connections with your peers and company managers. And who can say no to helping NGOs and giving back to the community? 

My name is Aaron and I’m a rotational analyst in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management business based in Taiwan. I am currently supporting the Product and Client Portfolio Management Team and moving into Institutional Sales for my next rotation. With the help of my manager, I have a clear and structured development plan that allows me to cultivate key skills and set a strong mindset throughout my rotations.

Like every other university student, we gained theoretical knowledge in our coursework, but lacked the practical experience. The Asset & Wealth Management Challenge (AWMC) provided an excellent platform for us to showcase what we learned from school. To do well, we needed to understand the client’s need, showcase teamwork, pay attention to detail and demonstrate strong presentation skills.

Client-first mentality is always emphasized in the firm and competing in AWMC really changed my perspective on this. With the guidance of our mentor, I quickly realized that the key is not always about chasing the ultimate return with the portfolio but to focus on addressing the client’s needs based on their future plans and risk tolerance.

A mentor was assigned to us after the second round of the challenge. Having a mentor allowed us to view our case from a professional’s perspective, making our solution more robust. It was a special and rare opportunity for us to be able to get in touch with Associates and Vice Presidents in a closed session and be able ask them anything. I received career advice and gained insights into the industry and the firm. I even stayed in touch with my mentor from AWMC - he guided me through my interview and even now in my daily work.

Overall, the most memorable part for me was the Q&A session after each round of presentations. We had to think on our feet as we could not preempt the questions being asked. To add more pressure, how each team responded to the questions often determined the winner of each round. The intensity during the final presentation is an experience I’ll never forget, with four pairs of eyes staring straight at you. Our goal was to stay poised and structure the responses answers logically. Thinking back, this experience prepared me well for my interviews as well.

AWMC gave me a head start in my career as the learning experience was drastically different from what I had learned in university. That really benefitted us not just during the competition, but also in my career as a J.P. Morgan analyst.

My name is Jerry and I am working in the China Digital Access Investment Banking team. As an analyst, I was exposed to various products in the TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) sector and helped with M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions), ECM (Equity Capital Markets) and DCM (Debt Capital Markets) transactions. In my day-to-day work, I support the team in the entire deal process from marketing, pitching, execution and attending to various client requests and internal processes.

I was a past participant in the Inside the Industry program in my early stage of career planning. Inside the Industry is a comprehensive introduction of how different departments in a global bank work through detailed case studies. The deal project I worked on provided me great learning opportunities and I was given mentors from multiple departments including the Investment Banking, Sales & Trading and Research teams. They shared some of the real life experiences they faced in the work place and helped me better understand the firm’s businesses and the way it operates. I also befriended many peers, some becoming my lifelong friends today. As a University student at the time, this experience was exactly what I needed to learn more information about the business and daily responsibilities of employees first hand, something that was hard to come by and at time inaccurate from other sources.

One takeaway about joining this event is to be prepared and proactive and start your career interest search early. Information is key for career preparation and I would encourage you to reach out to alumni or employees to better understand what this company is about.