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Think you can’t study abroad during the fall of your junior year and land a competitive finance internship? Think again! William Baumann, Class of 2017, was offered an internship in J.P. Morgan’s Global Wealth Management division while studying (and enjoying Oktoberfest!) in Germany.
In early September, William received an email from Career Services about J.P. Morgan’s Boston Sales & Trading Networking Reception. Since William was thousands of miles away, the Bentley alum who shared this opportunity with Career Services suggested he apply online to the 2016 Corporate & Investment Bank Sales & Trading Analyst Summer Program. The opportunity with that program didn’t work out, but William was not discouraged, as he had also applied to the Global Wealth Management Program. After a 30 minute phone screen with an Analyst (recent Bentley grad) and an Executive Director, William was invited to the final round of interviews. He was unable to travel to the U.S. for the Superday interview, but J.P. Morgan offered to interview William via video conference from their Frankfurt office. William took a two plus hour train ride from Mannheim to Frankfurt and walked to the address on Google maps to discover that the sign on the door said Credit Suisse. As it turned out, J.P. Morgan had moved to another location, but did not update their address online. William called J.P. Morgan, and they were kind enough to send a ride so he made it to the interview with time to spare, since he had planned ahead. And he managed to navigate while knowing just conversational German. The first interview was with an Analyst (30-45 minutes), and the second was with an Associate, a Vice President and an Executive Director (45 minutes). The interviews went so well that William was offered a position the following day!
Top tips for landing a finance internship while abroad:
- Be proactive and have your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile updated and reviewed before you go abroad.
- Many prominent companies (think J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, Wells Fargo) recruit for summer interns early in the fall semester. Understand timelines so you don’t miss key deadlines.
- Don’t be discouraged by video interviews – treat them as seriously as you would an in-person interview:
- Dress the part – from head to toe!
- Maintain good posture and be aware of your body language.
- Make eye contact by looking at the camera – don’t stare at yourself in the corner of the screen.
- Don’t fidget with your hands.
- You can refer to your notes, but don’t stare at them or recite from them.
- Follow up post-interview.
- Make sure you can communicate effectively via phone, as many companies will want to call you. This may get expensive, but it’s an investment in you!
- Specify time zones when setting up calls. Be prepared to take calls at strange times and make sure you have a quiet location to talk.
- Connect with Bentley alums, whether it’s via phone, email or LinkedIn.
