Premium Graduate Placements Presents:An Insight into a Financial Internship
This week, Premium Graduate Placements sat down with one of our interns, Amith, to gain some insight into his motivations for pursuing a career in finance, his perspective on the necessary skills required for the industry, and his overall finance internship experience.
“Academically I studied economics all the way through my undergraduate and postgraduate studies-in multiple institutions. My undergraduate studies were at the LSE in London. In 2009, when I first commenced my studies, London was still revered as one of the global centres of finance.
This also prompted some very big businesses to have their global HQ in London, so the careers available were varied, but the competition was ruthless. You would find yourself competing against graduates of some of the top-tier institutions in Europe-for any chosen career.”
In light of the Global Financial Crisis, with global economic slowdown hitting Europe especially, the increased number of lay-offs forced previously skilled individuals to retrain and return to study. As Amith puts it, “the economic climate was gloomy and chances of getting a job, especially for international students, were slim and narrow.
”Thus, Amith believed that in order to be competitive in the job market, there was only one real solution; obtaining as much experience as possible to stand out of the crowd.We asked Amith he enjoyed most about finance, and what drove him to the industry in general.
“The appeal of finance for me was never the prospects of a career offering huge sums of money-quite contrarian. It was always the prospect of helping individuals, corporations and the ability to apply what I have garnered academically over the years.”
He went on to add that in order for him to achieve these goals therefore, it wasn’t a difficult decision to undertake a finance internship from Premium Graduate Placements.In order to effectively fulfil his duties, Amith went on to list what he thought, in his experience, were some necessary skills that must be obtained to be successful in the financial sector.
These included the ability to read and interpret financial statements, the ability to calculate and convey metrics of risk and returns to clients, and the ability to structure the appropriate protocols of engagement for clients to access and redeem funds. In addition to this, Amith believes that in order to set yourself apart from the crowd, you need to be able to convince potential clients to invest with you.
“Knowing the content of what you are offering helps but everyone else is doing the same, hence it is pertinent that you work to offer creative solutions to clients and offer solutions that are arranged around them and are relevant to them.”
Going back to the Global Financial Crisis, Amith realised that in order for him to actually secure any meaningful employment in finance, he had to complement his education with relevant work experience. Amith says he enjoys his current placement selected by Premium Graduates Placements.
“My current placement has all the elements of a career in finance; I get to interact with clients, I get to analyse things and I also get to talk to the Principal who sits right next door to me and talk strategy and business development.”
So far, Amith has worked on the company's marketing efforts to better augment their capacity to reach clients, setting up new divisions of growth and returns, and has been responsible for streamlining old practices to better improve internal organisation protocols.
“My finance internship has enabled to display how I can add value to the enterprise and they have allowed me to expand beyond my routine of "regular" work. The resources for personal growth and development are there and one is most welcome to use it, hone it and utilise it to help the client and the business. This wouldn't have been quite possible if Premium Graduate Placements weren't mindful of what I looked for in a career. Thankfully they listened and subsequently they delivered. ”
Long-term, Amith looks to managing his own fund, and at this stage, is hoping to focus more on what specific skill areas he is lacking and where best to direct some of his improvements going forward.
On behalf of Premium Graduate Placements, Amith, we wish you all the very best in your future pursuits!
Click here to find out about our program and other opportunities.
