Tips to Help Gen Z Prepare for Summer Internship

Nikita Chatterjee is a junior at Syracuse University majoring in finance and economics while on a pre-med track.  She has had experience as an Emergency Services Intern at Hackensack University Medical Center, a Private Wealth Management Intern at Morgan Stanley and, this upcoming summer, will be working for Bloomberg as an Equity Data Analyst Intern.  After medical school, she aims to become a pediatric physician and eventually open up her own private practice.  Currently, she is running her own start-up company, PAANI, which aims to bring authentic water solutions to slums in India.

Prior to Nikita's first day at Morgan Stanley, she was already immersing herself into their company's culture and learning how their employees think. "On my first day at Morgan Stanley, my mentor told me that I have to read this book called The Little Book on How to Build Wealth," she told me.  "I remember specifically the chapter about networking because this was not something I was good at previously.  So, that summer I was able to expand my networking skills externally, but also internally on a day-to-day basis in the Morgan Stanley office.  When I was going into the internship, I thought Morgan Stanley would expect me to already know everything, but when I got the book, I felt comfort and security knowing they were going to teach me and develop me along the way."

The expectations for interns are often set higher when the stakes of their role hold more weight within the company.  Because Nikita was responsible for building portfolios for high profile clients, she was expected to have skills that showcased her capability to work with high-level business executives, which is far beyond what she learned through her finance and economics classes.  "Always treat your internship like your real job because your work does actually have an impact on the company's bottom line, especially in the financial sector," she advised.  "It's always better to ask questions, even though you might think it will display your lack of knowledge in a specific area.  Your boss will appreciate your eagerness to grow and this will allow undergraduate students to be guided by people who have been in their shoes."

Suhaila Alomar is a junior studying Enterprise Risk Management at Pennsylvania State University.  She is solution oriented and devoted to creating the most positive experience professionally for everyone around her.  Last summer, she interned in London at True North Human Capital Limited and this summer will be a Territory Sales Manager at Altria.  After her internship this summer, she plans to graduate in December and pursue her career in risk management full time.

More and more employers expect their interns to be solution-oriented, not simply skill-oriented.  Employers know that they can teach interns hard skills that they will naturally learn over the course of their role, but it is much harder to teach interns how to be problem solvers in eight weeks.  "I think it's important to have a long-term view on where you want your work to go because it'll change your work ethic overall," Suhaila explained.  "Interns have to focus on how their work affects the overall company goal, rather than focusing on the current tasks or issues you're caught up in on a day-to-day."

Additionally, there is no way to bring value to an organization without knowing what the company values are overall.  "It's really crucial to study up on the company and the company culture," Suhaila said.  "That will give you a better idea of how to present yourself.  Also, always be confident because recruiters can tell when you're scared.  Never second guess on going the extra mile because you want them to remember you for your hustle, not your hesitations."

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