Doostang News June 23: Making an Internship Click

Jr. Hedge Fund Analyst, New York, NY
M&A Intern, San Francisco, CA
Private Equity Intern, New York, NY
Venture Capital Analyst, Boston, MA
Investment Banking Intern, Hong Kong, China

Interns are on the recruitment fast-track. Employers take them for a test drive and, if they’re suitably impressed, make them an offer they can’t refuse. In a down economy, getting on the inside track is even more important.

“Our studies show that in a poor economy, when employers do have jobs, they often look first to their own interns and co-op students”,” says Marilyn Mackes, executive director of National Association of Colleges and Employers. In the past, employers have extended offers to nearly 70 percent of their interns, and more than one third of the new college graduates they hired came from their own internship programs.

We talked with former JP Morgan intern Abena Opoku-Acquah about how she got the job that led to a job offer. A native of Ghana and graduate of Smith College, Abena overcame the odds of being an international student in search of a job and an H-1B visa. After a summer internship, she was hired as an analyst in the Credit Risk Management Group covering the Retail/Consumer/Healthcare sectors..

Abena has since returned to Ghana, where she is doing Credit Risk Management for Zenith Bank Ghana. Here’s how Abena got on track to a career in financial services. Read on…

From Intern to Analyst with Abena Opoku-Acquah, Zenith Bank Ghana

Tell us about your move from Ghana–What brought you to the U.S.?

School. I had a choice between the U.K and the States. I got into Smith College, and the financial package was great. Even though I knew I wanted to major in economics, I also liked the idea of not having to make a firm decision until sophomore year. Funny enough, once I got into school, I started studying economics from day one.

What was it like for you–going to college, then looking for a job–compared to your classmates?

It was much more stressful. International students only have 12 months on their OPT (optional practical training), so my internships had to count. I had to apply for OPT before I heard back from potential employers; but if I didn’t get a job, my OPT months would be forfeit. There was a huge risk involved in looking for internships. The field was also much narrower, because I couldn’t afford to take a non-paying internship, and the jobs had to be related to my major. Those
jobs also happened to be the most competitive.

My employer list was also much shorter. I had to apply to a company that would be willing to apply for an H-1B (non-immigrant visa) for me. That list of companies is a lot smaller than you’d think ,especially if you didn’t do IT or engineering in college.

How did you get your position at JP Morgan? What credentials do you think made you stand out from other applicants?

I did an internship the summer of my junior year and, frankly, I think I got lucky, because I was competing with kids who had set up businesses by the time they were 19. I do know that I was curious: I didn’t hesitate to ask questions about things outside the scope of my assignments, I took time to get to know people, and I did my work well. I think it’s really about the fit and the culture. One day I walked in the door and felt this “click.” I guess they felt it too.

Unfortunately, I got unlucky in the massive lottery / game of chance that was the H-1B visa application process last year, and I had to leave the country.

Why did you decide to go into financial services?

I was already into Economics. Figuring out how markets work, how business and government are interconnected, how industries react to certain stimuli—that really got me excited. So when I was thinking about my career, I looked at an industry that would allow me to continue on that path of discovery. I wasn’t ready to get my masters or a PhD (the other path economics majors can take), so I went into banking

What do you wish someone had told you before you left Ghana about living and working in the U.S.?

I wish somebody had told me that everything I thought I knew and everything I thought I would experience would be completely wrong, and that I should go into the experience with no expectations and an open mind. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have listened.

If you could map your career for the next 5-10 years, what stops would you make along the way?

Business school for sure. I don’t believe you can fully serve businesses without really understanding what motivates them. You can’t structure debt or propose a merger, for example, without understanding how the business works, what the long-term strategy is, how different divisions work together, etc. I think an MBA will help me understand that better.

After that, maybe a foray into the fashion industry or the entertainment industry, where financing is a little more risky, more uncertain. Then I may end up in a venture capital firm or running my own firm. Ten years down the line is a little nebulous. I think this market has taught us that nothing is set in stone, and everything can change when you least expect it. So I’ll just continue to build my skill set, keep my mind open and cross my fingers for luck.

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Results from NACE’s Student Survey show that 73 percent of the 2009 grads who have landed jobs had completed an internship at some point in their college careers.

The Doostang job bank lists more than 350 internships across all industries—and more than 40 in finance alone! Check out the opportunities and apply via Doostang or the company website.

Do a Doostang Q&A and get one month, Free. Email us today with your interest.

Team Doostang

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