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Spring week coach

Make the week count, then prepare for the conversion interview

Checklist for the week

Tick things off as you go, saved on this device

Part of the week

0 of 6 done

0 of 18 across the week

What I learned and which desk

Build a clear answer to which desk and why while the week is still fresh

Name the desk or division in one sentence

Aim for 8 to 30 words

In your own words: its clients, what it offers them and how it earns money

Aim for 20 to 50 words

One specific moment from the week, such as a session, a task or a conversation

Aim for 25 to 60 words

Link it to something you've already done, such as a project, a job, a society or a module

Aim for 20 to 50 words

What you'd want to learn there this summer, or how you've followed up since

Aim for 12 to 40 words

Your answer

0 words

Your answer builds here as you write

Aim for 140 to 210 words, about 1 to 1.5 minutes spoken

Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere, so copy your answer before you leave

Conversion interview practice

Original practice questions on the week, your desk choice, competencies and light technicals

Practise on the recorder

Starts with six questions, 30 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to answer, and recordings never leave your device

See the questions26 questions

Motivation

  • What was the most useful thing you learned during the spring week?
  • Which desk or division would you choose for a summer internship, and why?
  • Based on what you saw, what does a typical day look like on the desk you'd choose?
  • Did anything during the week change your view of the industry or of a particular division?
  • Why do you want to come back to this firm for an internship rather than go elsewhere?
  • If there were no places on your first-choice desk, where else would you like to work, and why?
  • Tell us about a conversation during the week that stayed with you
  • What will you do between now and the summer to prepare for an internship?

Competency

  • Talk us through your role in the group task. What would you do differently next time?
  • Tell us about a time you disagreed with someone in a team. How did you handle it?
  • Describe a time you received critical feedback. What did you change?
  • Tell us about a time you had to deliver something to a tight deadline
  • Give an example of when you had to learn something unfamiliar quickly
  • Tell us about a mistake you made and how you put it right

Strengths

  • Which part of the week gave you the most energy, and why?
  • What did you find hardest about the week, and how did you respond?
  • How would the people in your group describe you after the week?

Commercial awareness

  • Pick a recent business or markets story. How might it affect the division you'd like to join?
  • How do changes in interest rates affect a bank's business?
  • Who are the main clients of the division you'd choose, and what do they need from it?
  • What is one challenge facing the firm or the wider industry over the next few years?

Light technical

  • What does a sales and trading desk do for its clients?
  • Explain what happens in a merger or acquisition, and where an adviser adds value
  • What is the difference between active and passive fund management?
  • Why do banks need risk and operations teams, and what could go wrong without them?
  • If interest rates rise, what happens to the price of a bond that has already been issued, and why?

What a strong answer covers appears on the recorder after you answer

Follow-up emails

Keep them short, specific and sent within a few days

Which email
Fill in the gaps

Thank you after the week

Subject

Thank you for your time during the spring week

Dear [their first name],

Thank you for speaking with me during the spring week at [firm]. I really enjoyed hearing about [something you talked about], and it gave me a much clearer picture of what the [desk or team] does day to day.

The week has made me even keener to learn about the area, and I'm now reading up on what we discussed. Thank you again for being so generous with your time.

Best wishes, [your name]

5 gaps left

Names and details stay on this page and are never saved

What to expect

Summer offer
20%
31% in 2025
Fast-tracked
44%
38% in 2025
Neither
36%
31% in 2025

Reported:Outcomes at spring weeks that can convert, from Trackr's surveys of 232 candidates in 2026 and 136 in 2025

  • Reported:In Trackr's 2026 survey of summer internship applicants, those with a spring week on their CV needed about 73 applications per offer, against about 138 without one and about 39 after a converted spring week
  • Reported:Spring weeks usually run around Easter, and fast-track or summer offers typically follow within weeks
  • These surveys are small and self-selected, so read them as a picture of the market rather than your own odds
  • A fast track or a no still leaves you with real experience to talk about in every application next cycle

Sources

Last checked 17 September 2026, and every programme runs its own process, so its own communications have the final word

Official:
The employer or organisation says it on its own website or in its own documents
Reported:
From surveys, news, candidate reports or prep sites, not the employer's own pages
Unverified:
Sources disagree or the evidence is thin, so treat it as a possibility

Not affiliated with any employer or assessment provider, and names appear only as references to these sources