Kimberly Callaghan ’13

Major(s):  INBM, Spanish
Internship Site:  Bank of America Merrill Lynch - New York, NY

The Internship:  
I found my internship through a family connection.  I was first put in contact with the Human Resources representative for the Global Internship Program at Bank of America.   

My work was both task and research oriented.  If a client was interested in rebalancing their portfolio or bringing over some assets from another institution, it was my responsibility to research and compile a portfolio recommendation based on the company’s investment strategy.  I enjoyed the balance between the task and research components because I never felt as if I was doing the same things over and over again.  There was always something new coming up and I was also able to interact with people in several other departments within the company as well as clients while completing my assignments.  I also completed a self-initiated project.  I created a mock portfolio with the performance of the most common holdings within my team, which will be generated at the end of every month.  This individual project not only impressed my manager and teammates, but allowed me to leave something with the group that will be useful to them and remain within the group.


The Challenges:   
I found that it was a bit challenging getting started in this type of business.  There is a lot to learn about the way in which the company works and its specific products.  Originally I was overwhelmed and felt like I could never fully understand anything because I didn’t know the company’s products and strategies.  I was able to overcome this challenge within the first 2 weeks of my internship because I made a big effort to not only take diligent notes during meetings and conference calls, but also ask my co-workers where I could find information on the company strategy and products.  During the times when there was no urgent work that needed to be done, I was able to get myself up to speed on these company specific items, as well as some other financial concepts.


The Future: 
This internship has given me a much clearer idea of what I want to do after I graduate.  It has shown me the type of company and environment that I would like to work in, and the type of work that I enjoy doing.   It also allowed me to expand my network.  Establishing professional working relationships with my co-workers will hopefully remain an asset to my future career.


Tips from Kimberly:
Use any and every connection you possibly can to gain internship exposure.  By having a recommendation from someone with a connection in a company can be the deciding factor between you and another candidate.  Reach out to your network of family and friends early in the year to make sure that you don’t miss any deadlines.  Once you get that internship, you can then see if a specific department, company or even industry is the one you want to work in when you graduate. 
   

*To find out more about how to get an internship, make an appointment with a career counselor. Just call the Career Center at 717-245-1740 or stop by Biddle House.