Internship season is upon us and things are tense. This is probably the most stressful part of the MBA at Sauder. Core, as hyped as it is for being an uphill mountain to climb, breezes by while you are still reeling from the whirlwind speaker events and the flurry of time-consuming assignments. Internships are a different breed of ball game.
As an ex-banker, I have already managed to interview with TD Securities and Morgan Stanley. The major thing I have learned from these experiences is that no matter how hard you prepare, you can never know what to expect. One famous question asked during TD Securities’ second round interview for a Sales & Trading Summer Associate position:
“If you had to kick out one province from Canada, just kick it out, which would it be? And why?”
You can imagine the blank stare that question earned from me, a Pakistani student, having lived in the United States for five years, but having moved to Canada only four months before. I remember how in the US, Canada was brazenly referred to as, ‘That inconsequential barrenness north of our great land’. I am ashamed to admit at the time the question was asked, I only knew of five provinces in Canada. Below is a brief summary of my familiarity with these:
British Columbia = Mining
Alberta = Oil & Gas
Saskatchewan = Farming
Ontario = Financial Capital
Quebec = French Canada i.e. ‘culture’
Haplessly, I blurted out the name of the only other province I knew, i.e. Manitoba. No surprise: I didn’t get the internship. Unfortunately, I still have not received my $1,000 reimbursement check either, which is quite a surprise seeing as how organized, stolid, and trusted Canadian banks profess to be, in their culture of conservatism and customer service.
One big question that still stumps me regarding career establishment is:
How specific should I be?
I talk to various Finance professionals in the market. (Note: In order to get into the Vancouver Finance fraternity, one must network, network, network – everyone knows everyone else. It’s quite eerie actually). I receive mixed messages.
Message # 1: Be very focused. If Corporate Banking is what you want to do, stick with it. Don’t consider / explore / focus on anything else.
Message # 2: You are new to this country and have no Canada experience, plus the economy is bad. Leave yourself flexible. You are doing an MBA – it’s a time of exploration.
I have learned that a safe bet is to list down your key competencies / interests / skills, and emphasize in informational interviews that you are looking for a career that complements and leverages those skills – giving off the impression to any potential employer that may be sitting across from you that you are not only good at what you do, you are also eager about applying it.
Note on the Morgan Stanley interview:
Even if you have no Finance background, learn how LBO math is done prior to interviewing for an Investment Banking position. Oh yes, and know your Accounting inside out.
Hurriya Burney is a full-time MBA student with Sauder, specializing in Finance. She has three years of experience in Asset Management and Banking and has lived and worked in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Her most recent position was as a Corporate Relationship Manager with Barclays Bank Plc.
Hurriya Burney can be reached at hurriya.burney@yahoo.com
