Personal Narrative: My Interview With JP Morgan

On March 16, 2016, I interviewed Santi Wong. I went to the JP Morgan Corp, which is located at 270 Park Avenue New York City. She kindly gave me about thirty minutes for my interview. Santi is a very warm hearted and talkative person. She is really willing to help others. She is a banker who has been working at JP Morgan for a long time. The building of JP Morgan is a big structure. There were a lot of people walking in and out the building. People all seemed very busy on doing their business. Also, the security system of JP Morgan is very good. All the people need to swipe their card before they enter the building. The guests need to get a guest card and swipe it before they enter.

During the interview, she answered all the questions that I have brought up to her, which let me know

more about JP Morgan and her job as a banker. First of all, I asked her for some information about JP Morgan. JP Morgan is a global company that has branches in more than 100 countries. JP Morgan donates approximately US$200 million annually to nonprofit organizations around the world. It also performs volunteer works worldwide. Next, I asked Ms. Wong about her job as a private banker. She helps people with their house property on a daily basis. She does asset management. Her job is mainly performed out of company. She is always making new clients and to let them join JP Morgan. At the same time, she maintains the relationship with the old clients. She as a banker is very busy. She has morning meetings starting every day at 8:00 am, but she always arrives half an hour early. The working hour is long compared to the other kind of jobs. She usually leaves work at 7:30 pm. The total working hour is twelve hours, which exceeds the average working hour of U.S. workers. However, she does not consider putting that much time in working as suffering. She actually enjoys the mode she is in right now. She really cherishes her life. The salary for a banker varies from different people and different companies. She does not know the exact number of the salary as a banker.

Next, I asked how she got this job as banker. She told me that she was introduced by an alumni. Before she did this job, she worked for another company. Also, she told me that she is a Fordham University graduate. She told me that Fordham is a very good school, which provides many opportunities for students and there is a very strong alumni network. She told me that it is extremely important for a student to use all the sources that provided by school. She said I should join some clubs, such as business club and go to career fair. In those places I can meet more people, which can spread my network that maybe I can use in the future.

I asked about her how she feels about JP Morgan and her job as a banker. She likes JP Morgan very much. She thinks it is a great company, because she likes the culture here. She said JP Morgan is a supportive company with many opportunies. Also she likes the diversity in JP Morgan, because there are a lot of people from different countries and have different backgrounds. She does not have any places that she does not like this job. She likes her job because she can meet new people and share her own story with others. Also, she thinks that solving problems for different people in different situations is very interesting.

For my future internships and jobs, I asked her some questions on her first internships. She told me that she got her first intern in 2009. Before that, she helped out in her parents’ business as a cashier. She said that I do not need to start internship very early. As a freshman, what I need to do is to get a high GPA and at the same time join more clubs and know more people. To get a good job, a student should have the minimum GPA 3.5. If I want internship at JP Morgan in the future, I can visit JP Morgan’s official website and from there I can see some job opportunities options, but those internships are mainly open for junior and seniors.

There are several important skills that people need to have to be a banker. First of all, people should have talent to deal with money and numbers. Furthermore, people should be very focus on their works. Next, people should be honest, so that can make others trust you. There are several related jobs such as, human resources, marketing, reporting.

About the last ten minutes of the interview, I asked if she has any suggestions for me.

She said reading is very important. Reading newspapers will allow people to have a broader view, so that people can use the things they learned to talk to their clients. At the same time, people can get to know what happened in this world, which can help them do their work better. Also I asked her could she introduce other people in the same career field to me. She told me that I need to have a clear mind. She asked me to think three questions before I meet those people. The first one is that why do you want to meet. Next one is what do you want to learn from them. The last question is who you want to meet. If I am clear with all the answers of these questions, she will definitely help me to find someone that match my

answers.

In summary, I learned a lot from the interview.

I knew more about JP Morgan and a banker’s life. It is not easy to be a banker, because it needs a long working time. However, if people like their job, they will not feel tired.

In the future, I will keep in touch with Santi. She said she can help me out whenever I needed. I am very happy that I can make a lifelong

friend.