5 steps to a core Finance Internship in MBA
There are two stories in every B-School.
Story 1:
Alex is joining IIN, Bangalore (One of the top 10 Management colleges in India 😉) in June, for the MBA Batch of 2016–18. He has put in a lot effort in cracking CAT and the subsequent GD-PI rounds. Now that he has made it, he decides to take things slow during the first trimester. His dream is of a career in Finance.
But before he realized it, by the start of second trimester -, just 3 months later — finance companies were rolling in to recruit summer interns. An under-prepared Alex missed out on this wave and ended up in an internship with an IT company. He really struggled to explain this during his final placements, too.
Story 2:
Christina joined IIN Bangalore with Alex. Christina’s more informed! A friend has told her that the race doesn’t stop — it just heats up! She decides to get a head start.
By adopting some well-planned initiatives during the first trimester, a confident Christina managed to grab a core Finance internship at in M&A, no less- and went onto crack a PPO in the same company.
Its time to decide — now! Do you want to Alex or Christina?
So, how do you make sure you’re not caught off-guard during summer internship recruitment? Here are a series of steps you can undertake!
1. Network with a select set of seniors:
It’s important to identify select seniors who have got good internships. They are the ones who will give you informed knowledge, rather than general gyan.
Networking with such seniors will help a great deal. You will get an idea of the placement scenario, the kind of companies that visit the campus for summers, and of course — you can be the rightful heir to all their notes😊
2. Catch the Recruiter’s Eye
How different is your CV from every other person in your batch?
In September, when CVs go to the recruiter, they all look the same! Since your 1stterm GPA etc hasn’t come out, a recruiter finds it hard to choose and will just go down the path of filtering out the highest acads.
Its crucial therefore, to show your interest in Finance — put that flavor on your CV. It really helps get your CV shortlisted This is more important to students coming from an Engineering / non finance background who will Have a CV full of engineering, coding experience!
3. Ensure a strong finance foundation
Linked to the previous point — you’ve got shortlisted for the process; now to crack the interview! Are you ready? Knowledge doesn’t come overnight. It needs to be built over time.
You can test your Finance knowledge with this Basic Quiz — Take Quiz
You must therefore, look for a a course which provides excellent knowledge, alongwith a recognized certification. The best in its league is undoubtedly FLIP’s Finance and Banking Fundamentals certification program. It’s a concise, beautifully simple, yet strong foundation on critical finance concepts, how financial markets work and an overview of the banking business. It’s the choice of thousands of B-School aspirants and first-year students.
It’s got loads of rave reviews on Quora, too! Check them out:
And if you’re an aspiring Finance professional,
a course in Advanced Excel will be a great value add to your CV and your skill set. (Explore FLIP’s interactive Advanced Excel and Power point online course here)
4. Understand the career options in Finance for MBAs
It is important to understand the various roles and verticals on offer in Banking and Finance. This can help you get an idea of the internship roles that you can plan for. The Placement report of your college might be a good place to match this against.
Here’s a brief look at verticals and roles that are offered for an MBA in BFS sector.
The better the B school, the more likely you are to get a role in the last 3–4 verticals.
5. B-School Competitions:
Competing with with B-schoolers across India offers an opportunity to innovate, get exposure and perhaps, make it to an eye catching top rank all India! Participating in B-School competitions are invaluable. From The FLIP National Challenge — India’s must do Finance contest for B-Schoolers, to HUL’s LIME — a prestigious competition for B-schoolers aspiring to a career in Sales & Marketing, these competitions help you benchmark yourself against an All-India pool.
Here’s a list of 6 Best B-School Competitions — for every MBA student.
www.dare2compete.com is a good source to keep a track of B-School competitions.
The FLIP National Challenge 2018 is coming soon. Keep yourself posted with all the updates.
To summarize,
while it would be lovely to take things slowly at the beginning of your MBA program, it is important to take some crucial steps that will help you a long way, in getting that dream finance internship — and placement!
In a Nutshell, be Christina — Not Alex! 😊
5 steps to a core Finance Internship in MBA
Originally published at www.learnwithflip.com on June 12, 2018.