This summer I was offered an internship for Merrill Lynch in my hometown of Towson, Maryland. For eight weeks, I worked five days a week for an average of thirty hours. There are numerous Merrill Lynch offices in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. Offices in Annapolis and Baltimore are greater in numbers and advisors. The Towson region only has about fifteen advisors and four client assistants. However, almost all of those advisors started their careers in Baltimore. The Towson office was for more established advisors who already have a distinguished client list. Because the office was much smaller, I was the only intern for the summer, which proved to have both its ups and downs. On one hand, being the only intern gave me more responsibility. I had the privilege to meet with all the advisors, giving me new perspectives on how the job is done. However, on the contrary, it also meant that I did not have a defined job description. For instance, each advisor would have different tasks for me to perform. Nonetheless, this experience proved to be beneficial.
Although I had to carry out numerous tasks, there are several that were more important than others. During my first week, I began running Client Review Centers (CRC). This was a task that I regularly executed for nearly all the advisors. When a client comes in for a meeting, the financial advisor needs to show the progress their client has made over the years with Merrill Lynch. The Client Review Center gives the entire client's general information: the diversification of their portfolio, the amount of change his portfolio has undergone, and the client's total assets. In...
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...sses, but to a greater extent. For example, I learned the differences between the Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA): the Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and the SEP-IRA, which I went into detail in my journals. It was shocking to see how much the finance classes I took actually drew a parallel to the work I did during my internship.
For eight weeks, I gave up the traditional summer activities. Rarely did I see my friends, go out to social events, nor did I have spending money. I gave up two months because I knew the reward would be much greater than the risk. The sacrifice I made seemed immense at first, but I know that this can only help me in the future. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and recommend this internship to anyone willing to make the sacrifice as well.
But as my internship grew closer to the end date in early September, I began to reflect on my experiences with a “Big Four” accounting firm. After only three months, I had gained exposure to a handful of very different, and very large client work and worked with some very intelligent individuals throughout. I had made some good friends and several acquaintances while interning at KPMG and had spent some very rewarding time helping out the local community volunteering. I had found a passion working with partnerships and forming client relationships.
idea of how to enjoy a summer vacation. But I decided to perservere, hoping to
Internships completed by students in certain degree programs are quite popular in most colleges and universities. An internship is used so classroom based learning in a degree program can be applied to practical situations in the real world (Jordan, Burns, Bedard & Barringer, 2007). When students are placed with an agency, there is a real possibility that a portion of students will witness actions they believe is unethical or illegal. During a study conducted within four universities, many students that participated in an internship program within the criminal justice system reported that they had observed behavior they suspected to be illegal behavior for a law enforcement agency. (Jordan et al. 2007). Due to this ongoing problem, colleges
Winter break was awesome and much needed. It was so tempting to just give up and not return to Pace for my spring semester, but there was still a small part of me that wanted to make my lifelong dream of living in New York City work. I returned to school slightly more optimistic and miraculously acne-free. I was determined to make spring semester my bitch. Having a better attitude and practically perfect skin definitely helped turn my college experience around. I grew closer with two of the girls of my floor and we branched out and started having more fun. Things were getting a little better, but I still wasn’t completely sold on staying at Pace. I was desperately looking for something, anything, to make me stay. Which
To be completely honest, I was unsure about how much I would benefit and grow through participating in an Alternative Service Break trip. The duration of the trip reinforced this uncertainty, because how much could I learn from this community in a week? Moreover, how much could I affect in such a short amount of time? Fortunately, the trip blew my expectations out of the water and the lessons I learned at Hoonah are ones that I will carry with me for a lifetime.
Internships are becoming the norm in today’s ever changing society. Both paid and unpaid internships allow the intern to learn about a particular field or industry, gain experience in that particular field or industry, and build a network that can be leverage for future good. These benefits combined prove to be very useful and significant to the intern because it’s a differentiator from those individuals who did not have an internship. Given the very competitive job market for recent college graduates, the many benefits of internships have caused many interns to pass up pay in return for the aforementioned benefits. Internships have become so standard in the workplace that the National Association of Colleges and Employers recently reported that 75 percent of employers prefer job candidates with relevant work experience, while more than 90 percent prefer to hire interns who have worked for their organization (Bacon, 2011). When it comes to hiring full-time employees, 42% of graduates with internships who applied for a job received an job offer compared to...
These chapters taught me how important it is to reflect back what the client has told you in order to make sure you are understanding everything properly. Using the skills taught in chapter six, I can ensure that I am giving the client the best use of their time, because instead of asking useless questions or just waiting for them to continue talking, I am able to direct the focus of the session to the main problems, with the help of the client.
ability to establish a professional work ethos as well as developing skills needed to maintain a work life balance. Through all the experiences gained from this internship, it has provided skills such as multitasking in a fast paced office setting, keen organizational skills, and improvement on communicating in a professional workplace as well as the ability to handle situations as they arise.
In 2012, eighty-four percent of Santa Clara University graduates who responded to a survey from the Santa Clara University School of Engineering obtained one or more internships during their undergraduate studies. Of those who responded, eighty-two percent were employed full-time after graduation earning a median salary of $62,500 (Santa Clara University). This research exhibits that internships can be an important strategy in the efforts toward job search for both students, as well as for employers looking to hire valuable employees. As defined by InternNE.com, an internship is any carefully monitored service or work experience that may be evaluated for educational credit in which an intern or student establishes learning goals and reflects on his or her learning experience in relation to achievement of the stated goals. Internships should first be examined that, when implemented at fullest potential, these opportunities can provide companies and students with a competitive edge in today’s business world. Subsequently, it can be shown that internships assist organizations and companies with temporary or seasonal project and task completion. Lastly, internships will be clarified as to how they allow students to gain valuable experience before entering the workforce. From reviewing an ample amount of research, internships are beneficial and advantageous to the success of a young student, as well as companies.
In particular, it was helpful to here from individuals on the panel that were graduates from our program. Elizabeth Cowart, a LPC at Transitions of Augusta, informed my classmates and I about about her personal internship experiences. She noted four key things (1) the importance of getting as much hands-on experience as possible (2) taking a mental note of the what you like and dislike at each internship site (3) using weekly supervision hours to discuss your areas of strengths and weaknesses and (4) remembering to always maintain a professional image. In addition, she also gave a brief overview of opportunities (e.g., adolescent group therapy, child and parent therapy, disability evaluations, etc.) that interns might have at Transitions of
I had never done an internship before so it was a learning experience for me. Would I do this over again probably, would I recommend an internship to someone? Yes I would, it is very rewarding growth in integrity, character, and spirituality if you let the Lord refine you, and you are able to take constructive criticism, which helps you refine your weaknesses. I think this is a great course and would recommend it to another student, thanks for the opportunity to learn and grow from this experience.
It was not at all what I thought it would be and I honestly realized along the way this is not a department I would want to work in. The desk work and the constant time on the computer really turns me off from working in any department that entails sitting in one spot for six hours. To counter that I did go out to shoot promotional videos and I had the opportunity to go to some events that I would never be able to go to without 6abc, but the time spent at the desk really makes those events less intriguing. I was hoping to do a lot more on camera projects when starting this internship, but I spent a lot of time behind the camera which I was not used to. I do think that having this internship was very important because it taught me a lot about how much goes into promoting a news station. I now appreciate all of the people that aren’t on television because they do most of the dirty work. Our talent do write some of their stories, but their job seems a lot more relaxing than some of the other employees. I loved interacting with the talent more than anything because I hope one day to be in their shoes. Adam Joseph is such a sweetheart and I am honored to have worked closely with him on projects along with all of the 6abc talent. Watching them with fans at events make me even more driven to be the best I can be and get a fan base like they all have
The quarter has finally come to an end, and with that, I close out my internship and this class that went along with it. It was a great experience and I leave equipped with a new set of skills that are preparing me for the world ahead. As I write this reflection paper, I think back to the very first week when I set up two goals for myself to focus on and hope to achieve throughout the following weeks. My first goal was to develop a better understanding of myself within the work place, and my second was to develop a strong network to jumpstart my career. Both of my goals were achieved, however, I don’t feel that either of my goals will ever be complete. I believe that you can always formulate a better understanding of yourself, and you can always network to develop a stronger tree of connections. I know for a fact, however, that I reached satisfaction with both of my goals at this internship at MKI and know whole-heartedly that I did everything in my power to exhaust my resources in
...r in financial services with assets of $2 trillion, and third largest deposit base U.S. banking institution behind Wells Fargo and Bank of America. My responsibility includes direct supervision of 15-18 bankers, ensure proper staffing coverage to meet service level requirements, provide ongoing training and support to bankers ensuring optimum level of customer satisfaction, analyze banker’s performance and develop action plan to improved performance gaps. Handle general administrative duties (i.e. employee file maintenance, management reporting, review and audit time sheets attendance records, communicate policy & procedure updates). Through this work experience I gained knowledge and skills in providing an effective and clear focus in developing the team’s performance. Guides, motivates, coaches and inspires subordinates to positive performance and development.
Throughout my internship, I was well trained and did receive a fruitful experience. The real working environment prepared me for future employment after my graduation. However, I did encounter some problems, which I gradually managed to deal with. Whatever happens, productivity increases by keeping a positive attitude.