Employees and interns of JP Morgan participate in a video conference via Zoom, in this screen grab taken August 7, 2020. — JP Morgan handout via Reuters
Schmoozing with executives and fellow interns has been via virtual coffees and quizzes, while Goldman Sachs laid on Zoom networking lunches, hackathons and fitness and cooking classes. Investment bank interns in London are usually paid around £10,000 for a 10-week programme, financial careers website efinancialcareers.co.uk estimates.
How well virtual internships work-out is being closely watched by banks assessing the long-term future of remote working, particularly for new joiners, with Barclays and RBC considering keeping some elements for future programmes. At Barclays, there were two weeks of classroom learning, and while some parts involved a real-life teacher others required watching videos on an online portal.
But working virtually has made interns less competitive with each other and more willing to help, the intern said, adding they were able to call each other to ask questions.