Johanna joined Morgan Stanley in London in September 2004 after completing a summer internship in 2003. As a financial analyst in the investment and portfolio products division, she works in a mid-office trade support group that books, investigates and resolves trade queries for several equity derivatives traders. Johanna is a BA Hons graduate in Economics and Finance from Exeter University.
Q: What prompted you to apply for a banking internship?
I knew I was interested in a career in finance and that it was a competitive industry where work experience would be an advantage. In my first year I applied to fund managers on an ad hoc basis and obtained a month-long summer placement at Insight Investment, where I helped with data analysis. In the second year, I applied to around eight banks and chose Morgan Stanley.
Q: Did you intern in the department you’re now working in?
No. I interned on the operations side of the fixed income new issues team. I didn’t join that team because they didn’t have any vacancies – you can’t always specify exactly where you want to go.
Q: How was the internship spent?
It was a mixture of projects and day-to-day work. For example, I helped set up databases of contacts and categorise all the legal documents surrounding new issues. On a day-to-day basis I shadowed my line manager, who was a trade assistant for the new issues desk. She booked, investigated and resolved trade queries relating to fixed income new issues, and I helped.
Q: What did you gain from your internship?
A full-time job offer and a good understanding of how an investment bank works. I also developed a good network of contacts across the bank.
Johanna's tips
- Think of your internship as a 10-week interview. You have ten weeks to prove yourself and you need to work as hard as possible.
- If you’re given a task or job to do, look for ways to go beyond it and do more than you’re asked.
- Don’t be deceived by the less hectic pace – most internships take place in summer when people are on holiday. In reality, it’s just as hectic as I’d imagined.
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