Spring week vs summer internship: what is the difference?

Who: a spring week is for first years on a three-year course or second years on a four-year course. A summer internship is for penultimate-year students, with some firms also taking final years and recent graduates for off-cycle starts.

When: spring weeks run in the Easter vacation, late March and April, with applications the previous autumn. Summer internships run from June to September, with applications opening from July to October the year before.

Length and pay: a spring week is one week, occasionally two, with a stipend or expenses. A summer internship is eight to twelve weeks, paid, often at a pro-rated graduate salary.

What you do: a spring week is talks, shadowing, a group project and an assessment. A summer internship is a job: you sit with a team, do real work, and are reviewed at the end.

What it leads to: a spring week leads to a fast-track or a direct offer for the summer internship. A summer internship leads to a graduate offer, which at most large firms is where the majority of the graduate class comes from.

In first year, apply for spring weeks in the autumn. In penultimate year, apply for summer internships, from the summer before that year begins. A spring week attendee who converts does not need to apply for the summer internship at all, which is why the spring week is worth the effort a year early.

A student who did not get a spring week applies directly to summer internships in penultimate year, and many interns come in that way. A student in final year or recently graduated looks at off-cycle internships and graduate schemes instead.

At most banks the spring week ends with an interview or assessment, and successful attendees are offered the following summer's internship or skipped past the first stages of its process. Consulting and law firms vary: some convert directly, some guarantee an interview, and some treat the week as purely an insight. The firm's programme page says which, and the tracker's listing links to it.