How I Landed my SWE internship at JP Morgan Chase & Co. through Code for Good
A few months ago, I completed my summer internship at JP Morgan in the NY Metro area, and as my very first corporate software engineer role, it was an invaluable hands-on experience to work in a professional development environment as well on work on the real-world projects available at JP Morgan. In addition, I’ve also met some fantastic people from the other interns, associates, vice presidents, to all the way up to Jamie Dimon himself!
With JP Morgan & Chase adopting a tech-first approach in business to compete with not only financial institutions such as Capital One and Bank of America, but with other technology companies, making this is the best time to be a JP Morgan Software Engineer! And knowing internally, the easiest way to get into the firm as a software engineer is through their Software Engineer Internship Program.
As a Software Intern last summer, I’ll be going into detail of the process from applying to securing your place in the program!
Step 0: Before Applying…
Before you apply, I recommend completing this JP Morgan Software Engineering Virtual Internship Experience powered by Forage. It is a job simulation of similar tasks you’d be expected to receive if you were working at JP Morgan, and is legitimate experience you can put on your résumé that not only shows you can work within a software environment, but also demonstrate your interest in the firm.
Step 1: Applying to JP Morgan
Probably the most intuitive but most important step, you start the process by applying! Rather than applying directly to the program, I highly recommend applying to the Software Engineering Program — Code for Good Hackathon, since that application will put you on the hackathon application list, and most people have an easier time getting the internship through Code for Good than directly.
Visit this link to apply or search “JP Morgan Software Engineer Code for Good” on Google to find the opportunity to apply to.
For tips on optimizing a software engineer résumé, since in this step you’ll need to submit one, I recommend checking out this résumé writing resource on the Technical Interview Guide and using this résumé scanner on Résumé Worded to improve your resume. The Résumé Scanner tool has up to five free résumé scans per account, and I recommend trying to hit a score of at least 90% (on the free tier) before submitting your résumé.
Step 2: Preparing for the HackerRank Online Assessment
And if you follow the steps above by applying to the right opportunity with your good résumé, you will be getting a online assessment (OA). Due to the competitive nature of software engineer internships especially at these large companies, it is imperative to get a perfect score on the online assessment (which is very possible for anyone).
For general software engineering interview advice, I recommend checking out the Technical Interview Guide, a free interview prep guide made by the Yangshun Tay, author of the famous Blind 75 LeetCode List.
You can also check out Cracking the Coding Interview from Gayle Laakmann McDowell, which includes all the extensive information you need to know to navigate the often intimidating technical interviews conducted by top technology companies. The book covers a wide range of topics, including data structures, algorithms, system design, behavioral questions, and even in-depth interview strategies for specific big tech companies like Microsoft.
I prepared for the online assessment by studying the JP Morgan specific LeetCode questions which you can find online through LeetCode or the many resources online that have company tagged questions like this GitHub repository. The questions I’ve received were string-related and backtracking questions.
If you’re unsure or new to coding interviews, I highly recommend checking out NeetCode’s Roadmap and understanding the problem concepts all the way to Graphs (since JP Morgan almost never asks DP questions for their OA’s.) There is also a Tech Interview Handbook guide on preparing if you’re curious.
Step 3: Preparing for the Code for Good Hackathon
Now that you’ve done well on the online assessment, you’ll now receive an email inviting you to the Code for Good Hackathon! Congratulations on getting this far! This is the final step of the interview process, and can be thought of as a super day.
The Code for Good Hackathon is a 24-hour event where teams of 4 to 8 students come together to collaborate and innovate on solutions to solve real-world problems for real social good organizations. It is a great way for JP Morgan to not only find talent but also provide value for social good organizations. You can read more about the event here.
Participating in the JP Morgan Code for Good Hackathon is not just an opportunity to showcase your technical prowess (while it definitely is); it’s an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work effectively in a collaborative environment. JP Morgan values teamwork and cooperation, and they often judge participants not only on their technical skills but also on their collaborative techniques.
But if you’re looking to improve your hard coding skills last minute, I recommend learning Git and GitHub, since you will often be judged by the contributions you make to your team’s project. The more (high quality) contributions you give to the project, the more likely you’ll receive an offer. To learn about the basics of Git and GitHub, I recommend checking out my other that goes through the step by step basics of Git and GitHub. You can also practice interacting with Git on the command line with here.
In addition, I recommend brushing up on the MERN stack (learning frontend will be more useful in a hackathon setting than backend). While there were other stacks, the most common stack teams used was MERN, so it would be a good idea to get an understanding for the environment. You can use the Odin Project, arguably the best (and free!) full stack development course online, to learn the MERN stack.
Step 4: The Phone Offer
Now that you’ve completed the hackathon (and proceed to get 18 hours of sleep), you will be receiving a phone call within the next two weeks. For those who received the offer, congratulations on the offer! To those who didn’t, remember that every experience, whether successful or not, is a stepping stone to growth. Embrace the feedback you receive, refine your skills, and keep your passion for innovation alive. The next opportunity could be just around the corner, waiting for your unique skills and perspective.
Overall, I recommend the following steps through each step of the interview process
- Complete the JP Morgan Software Engineering Virtual Internship Experience powered by Forage. Be sure to put it on your résumé!
- Be sure to write your résumé with the guidelines posted in the Technical Interview Guide’s résumé writing resource and make sure it performs well with Résumé Worded’s scanner.
- Be sure to apply to the Software Engineering Program — Code for Good Hackathon opportunity and not only the regular Software Engineering Program job posting.
- Prepare for the online assessment through NeetCode’s 150 Questions and roadmap and practicing JP Morgan specific LeetCode questions.
- For the Code For Good Hackathon, the most important part is your collaboration skills and creativity!
- For hard skills, prepare for the hackathon by brushing up on Git & GitHub and the MERN stack.
- You will receive a phone offer within the next two weeks.
Good luck to anyone who is thinking about or preparing for their software engineer interviews at JP Morgan, and happy hacking!
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