Summer Internship!!!
It took less than a week to get my summer internship. And, I am delighted I got an internship in my top choice firm.
When I applied to business school, I thought I wanted to work in the investment management industry. Once I came to Tuck, I spoke to people in the industry and realized I liked work that was more fast paced and energetic. While people within investment management were brilliant and loved their work (the attrition rate on the buy side is really really low!), my gut told me it probably wasn't the right choice for me.
After a workshop on Sales & Trading at Tuck in early October, I spent some time talking to traders and decided I wanted to do Trading. Since I was a career changer (prior background - IT management in India), I was prepared for a long and arduous internship hunt to get my trading job.
However, it was not to be. During the Finance club trip to Wall Street firms, I identified some firms I liked. A friend who graduated from my undergrad school spoke to me about the nuances of trading and the skill sets needed on the trading floor. I then had a shortlist of 3 firms where I would like to work and one other firm where I may fit in. As I spoke to people in each firm, I soon realized that I had one top choice and two close second choices. So, I focussed disproportionate energies on my top choice firm.
The Tuck & Dartmouth networks were of tremendous help as I went about researching the firms. Alumni went out of their way to connect me with people. Really senior people (folks with upwards of 20 years on Wall Street) gave me tons of time and spoke to me about their experience at the firm. Many people had worked at different shops on the Street. So, I got a perspective based on their experiences. Going into my interviews I had spoken to almost 15 people within the firm across work levels. Folks did mock interviews with me, gave me feedback and prepped me so that I did a good job in the real interviews.
The coaching given by second years for interview preparation was phenomenal. They were always at hand to answer questions about the firms, to conduct mock interviews, give their feedback on stock pitches and to boost our confidence when necessary. Next year, I will be happy if I can do as good a job as they did.
All the preparation seems to have helped in the interviews. The first round and final round interviews went off very well and a couple of hours after my final round interviews I had my offer. Since it was my top choice firm, I had no hesitation in accepting the offer though on-campus recruiting wasn't completed yet and many firms were yet to release their second round lists. In summary, it was a very nice ending to my summer internship search.
Oh yeah, mid way through last week I decided I didn't want to interview with the consulting firm (though it was again a top firm and I am sure I would have loved working there). I however interviewed with a couple of buy side shops.
My tickets to India are also in place. A friend is getting married in Delhi in mid March. A horde of Tuckies are attending the marriage. I also get a chance to spend a few days at home. I am looking forward to good ole Bangalore!
posted by Tagad_Tale @ 9:14 PM
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