By Anamil Kochar
Around late November during my first year at university, I started thinking that I wanted to make the most of my summer break by doing something productive. Knowing nothing about the corporate world, I decided to apply for an internship as I thought working in a financial company would greatly enhance my chances for a career on the Wall Street after I graduation.
The first step
was to get my CV reviewed by the Careers Service, once I had done this I started searching for internships in various companies through websites like ratemyplacement. Figuring out the right company to apply for was a journey in itself encompassing understanding the opportunity in detail and researching the company to see if it made sense for me, after my initial analysis I decided I wanted to apply for several internships, the application process is probably the most time-consuming part of the overall process, from filling in information on education and personal details to answering application questions, it is also the most important step. Inching through the online tests, which consisted of numerical, verbal and logical reasoning was the next stage of the process and by March, I was asked to appear for a Skype interview from Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Pune, India office. I had a week to prepare and I spent that time researching the company, what it does and the services offered, a few weeks after my interview, I got an offer letter for a two month internship in the Finance Team of BNY Mellon one of the biggest investment banks in the USA. Can you imagine? my very first corporate job! I was so excited.
The first week I went through induction and attending a 
training program getting to know how the company works. The next week was spent in shadowing my team members and getting an overview of the work my team was responsible for. The main work started after that. I spent my time analysing the Financial Reports of the company. I also helped in developing profit and loss and cash flow statement and Budgets for different department such as HR, IT etc. I also undertook several online trainings such as mutual funds and derivatives, learning more about the different areas of finance and investment. I also received training on stocks, share market and how to analyse them. In the last week of my internship, I had to write a report about what I had learnt during the two month period, my manager and my team were really happy with my work and congratulated me.
Through my internship I believe I have gained a practical approach on the subject and can understand my course in a greater detail with focus on real life scenarios. I have started developing a practical approach of working in accounts. Also, I understand risk and uncertainty much more, which will help me immensely towards a career in area of Investment Banking. I believe this two month experience has opened my eyes to the real world of Finance & Investments.