Applications: what each stage is actually filtering for

Apply to a few programmes, properly¹

JPMorganChase’s own FAQ recommends focusing on no more than three summer internship applications at the firm, and says applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Because review is rolling, when you apply matters as well as what you send.

The CV gets less than thirty seconds^2,3

Expect a recruiter to spend under 30 seconds on it. One page, a plain industry-standard layout, education at the top while you are a student, and sent as a PDF so the formatting survives. Every line should show a result, with a number where there is one - JPMorganChase asks for measurable data explicitly.

Online tests are a gate, not a formality^1,4,5

The first screen after the CV is usually online tests - numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, with competency questions alongside. JPMorganChase describes standardised assessments including virtual skills tests, and London assessment centres can re-run a variant of the same tests on site, without internet access, to check the scores were yours.

The recorded interview is an interview^1,6

First rounds at the large banks are often on-demand video: questions on screen, answers recorded against a timer. At Goldman Sachs it takes about 30 minutes; JPMorganChase says its recorded interviews assess language proficiency, verbal presentation and technical ability. Prepare your story and the first technical answers exactly as for a live interview.

The assessment centre is a European institution^5,7

Assessment centres are universal in London and common across Europe, but not the US norm. A typical day: two or three interviews totalling 60 to 90 minutes, an e-tray of simulated emails answered in five to ten minutes each, a solo case study of 30 to 60 minutes, a group exercise of 45 to 60 minutes, and a presentation. This has spread: a German guide from 2016 still described the assessment centre as a habit of German universal banks and continental houses, with the Anglo-American banks relying on interviews alone.

In the group exercise, contribute without dominating^5,8

Assessors watch how you work with the others more than what the group decides: contribute, take on the organising tasks, avoid interrupting, and bring in whoever has been quiet. Talking most is not the same as scoring best.

In the case study, speed and simplicity win^5,8

The solo case - a company profile, a short model, an acquisition recommendation - rewards a clear answer finished on time over an elaborate one left half-done. Set out more than one option with its pros and cons, then commit to one. Three or four practice cases, roughly ten to fifteen hours, is the suggested preparation.

If your university has on-campus recruiting, use that channel⁷

Where a bank has an agreement with a university's careers service, its students apply through their own channel and often interview on campus before the bank's public portal opens. It is the clearest signal a bank can give that it wants that school's students. It also means a second application through the bank's website is unwelcome: check with the careers service first, then use the route it names.

Workshops and insight events are applications too⁷

Some banks take written applications for one- or two-day workshops: a dinner with junior and senior bankers, a case study worked through with the juniors, and a presentation of the result. Candidates who stand out can be invited to interview the same day. Treat the event as the first round it effectively is.

Plan on about nine months' notice^7,9

Summer internships and analyst classes are recruited roughly nine months ahead, from the autumn before, and by the new year - under six months out - the remaining places are thin. The same nine months is a safe planning horizon for off-cycle places, though with luck one can still be found at shorter notice. New York now runs far earlier than this; the cycle page has the current dates by city.