YORK VISION
INTERNSHIPS:
LIFESTYLE
Tuesday October 13th, 2009
WHO, WHAT, WHERE WHY?
19
HOT
Andrew Theodosiou takes us through the ins and outs of finding an internship...
I
t is unfortunate that as soon as we have just properly adjusted to university, made a decent set of friends and started understanding that it is simply a fact of life that Thursday morning lectures will never be attended, we have to start thinking about life after university. For second years this reality appears in the form of the gaining of a summer internship, and whilst third years fret about graduate positions even freshers
have to be mindful of their CVs and employability as fewer and fewer positions become available due to the global recession. People may hope the worst is over, but as the USA announced another quarter million job losses last month things are indeed looking dark for the graduating classes of ’10,’11 and possibly even ’12. A decent degree from York simply doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough. For those of you who still have no idea about what you want to do upon
Where to go A short list of the “big names” in banking that offer internship programs are: Morgan Stanely, Goldmann Sachs, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, RBS (70% of interns are offered full time places upon graduation), Barclays’s Capital, Lloyd’s TSB, Citigroup, Merill Lynch (part of Bank of America), UBS, Standard Chartered, Rosthcild, Investec, ABN, Bank of America, Wells Far-
go, Wachovia, Bank of England and Nomura. This list is by no means comprehensive, there are a myriad of fantastic places to apply to and work. The application process is long and arduous so the sooner you get started the better. They often offer position abroad and so present a great way of combining travel and work.
On the internet A good idea is to sign up to a graduate recruitment website. It takes about 20 seconds to sign up and does half the work for you; firstly, in terms of finding jobs, and secondly, of reminding you of deadlines, what is required (CV, cover letter, etc.) Most importantly though they are perfect
for finding that mystery unknown profession you are tailor made for as they show the gargantuan amount of varying jobs that exist in the world today. A particularly good one is the Graduate Recruitment Bureau which you can sign up to at www.grb.uk.com
graduating an internship is a perfect way to find your 'calling'. Maybe you were always meant to be an auditor or go into consultancy! Cast your net wide, apply to absolutely everything and anything and once you get your offers decide what looks the most enjoyable. After all, it might be something you’ll spend the rest of your life doing. Here are some top tips to help find the right internship for you...
Most importantly, read , read and read some more. There are some great (and hilarious) blogs on the internet about what it’s like to work in different professions and these give you the inside scoop and behind the scenes picture of what it’s like to work in a given sector. A great one for finance for example is “Merges & Inquisitions.” Maths, IT, Engineering, Economics and other scientific degree graduates are particularly geared towards finance and quantitative positions. Banks and firms offering financial services have a particularly strong internship culture. In fact, if that’s what you want to get into after uni it’s almost impossible to do so without having prior work experience. This list is by no means comprehensive, there are myriad other fantastic places to apply to and work. The application process is long and arduous so the sooner you get started the better. They often offer position abroad and so present a great way of combining travel and work. History, Management, Business students could consider consulting or working for one of the “Big Four” – Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PWC. Another exciting branch to work in if you love negotiating and fast changing environments is brokering. One of the big brokerage firms – ICAP is always at the careers fair so be sure to go up and ask at the stall. Always remember though, almost no professions are exclusive to certain degrees – literature students could end up working in insurance and mathematicians could end up as journalists. The rule, however, isn’t universal; if you want to become a doctor and are doing linguistics, you might want to consider changing course, The Economics Society will be arranging several talks from some of the big names in the industry so look out for those this term. You can join the Economics Society on facebook - and automatically receive updates about when and where they’re happening, even if, and actually especially if, you’re not an economics student. Ultimately don’t be scared of applying – it doesn’t hurt you and if you’re worried about your degree title and its relevance to the position you’re applying for just remember that employers look for skills you’ve learnt, rather than specific content. No economics student is ever going to use demand and supply analysis working for a bank.
We're completely addicted!
Everyones back in York and we can't wait to go out!
The cold is coming... and we're excited to buy the winter wardrobe.
Fresher's flu! Everyones got it and we don't want it!
9:15s Freshers will soon learn to hate them.
Mantyhosewe hope this is one craze that doesn't hit York
NOT