3 Secrets to Start Your Finance Internships

By Agustin Valecillos


Job Vacancy, Employment Jobs, Employment

An internship is an opportunity for a student to gain work experience with a finance company. The goal of a finance internship is to gain work experience that can be parlayed into full-time employment after graduation. There are 3 secrets that will improve your chances of being selected for an internship.

1. Focus your efforts on companies that already offer internships

Companies that already have an infrastructure in place to support internships are where you should focus the majority of your efforts. It is easier to be accepted into an established internship program that it is to convince a company to start a program with you as their first intern. Year after year there are major firms that offer internships to finance students. You should apply to as many of these companies as you possibly can.

If you want to work for a company that does not have an established internship program, you will have to convince them to start a program. This process can take anytime from several months to a year or more. You will be required to write to the company and follow up with phone calls in order to convince them to create an internship. You will have a better chance at convincing the company to create an internship if you have prior work experience in their industry.

2. Improve your resume and qualifications

Finance students at your university will all have taken the same courses as you. You need to have something other than your academics that will let you stand out from the crowd and improve your chances of being selected for an internship. Extracurricular activity, volunteer activities and work experience are the best ways to improve your resume. Companies want to hire internships that are well rounded and have shown leadership in club or group activities on campus. If you have been involved in a large number of activities, this will put your resume at the top of the pile.

Another way to improve your chance of getting a finance internship is to have prior work experience. It is possible to work for a company during the summer before starting college and the summer after your freshman and sophomore years. This work experience will be beneficial to companies that hire you as an internship.

3. Networking

Many companies that hire interns will recruit on college campuses. Make sure you are able to grab one of the interview positions with the recruiter when they visit your college campus. This campus interview is the first step in securing an internship with the company. Some companies only hire interns from their on-site college recruiting and will reject any resumes from students who did not interview at their college.

If your targeted company is not interviewing on your college campus, then utilize the resources of your career placement office to find a contact within the company. Write to this person to inquire about the possibility of being selected for an internship.

An internship allows college students to gain real world experience working in the finance department of a company. An internship can lead to a permanent position after graduation so utilized these 3 secrets to land your internship.