Case study: Intern at Goldman Sachs

If you want to go into investment banking when you finish at university it's best to think ahead. There are a lot of potential roles in an investment bank, so it helps to know where you want to work.

There are big differences between equities, fixed income, and corporate finance, and the more you know about each one, the easier it will be to decide which division is for you.

I applied to spend the summer working in the FICC division of Goldman Sachs because I enjoyed a two-week Easter internship I did there last year, and because I've always intended to work in a sales and trading role.

The skillset appeals to me. Working in sales and trading is intense, mathematical, non-project based, and you have to have your finger on the pulse every second.

The ten-week internship gave me a chance to familiarise myself with how the whole fixed income division functions. The internship programme at Goldman Sachs is structured to give participants as much exposure to different areas of each division as possible.

During the first five weeks, we were split into groups and completed a series of projects. The projects were based on hypothetical challenges, such as helping a fictitious client to manage his risk profile using a combination of fixed income products.

Completing the projects required us to talk to representatives from all the different parts of the division, including currencies, commodities, credit, interest rates, origination and research. In the process we got really good exposure to all areas and learned a lot about how everything interacts.

During the second five weeks we had greater opportunity to focus on desks we were particularly interested in. I chose credit derivatives trading. It's a young area, which is fast growing and offers lots of scope for new products. It also combines an interesting mix of macro and microeconomic theory.

A highlight of the summer programme was a trading game in which we were split into groups and given real money to invest over a two-week period in a variety of futures contracts.

This was exciting - there was real opportunity to make money, though luckily for us there were stringent rules to limit potential losses. When the game ended about half the group were up, half were down.

Being an intern at Goldman Sachs is about taking the initiative and networking, as well as completing assigned projects. There were plenty of opportunities for socialising and making contacts, both with other interns and with full-time staff.

All the interns were given networking budgets, and encouraged to take staff out to lunch or dinner. I spent most of my budget buying lunches or coffees; it was easier to get hold of busy people during the day than in the evening.

However, on one occasion I pooled resources with other interns and we took some associates out for an evening meal. It was a good way of getting to know people informally and learning what a career in banking is really like.

All in all, the summer internship has increased my enthusiasm for working in fixed income. I'm currently crossing my fingers, and hoping I'll be invited back next year - this time to join the division on a full-time basis as a graduate trainee.

Last year Rahematulla undertook two Goldman Sachs internships for first-year students: a 10-week summer internship in the legal department, and a two-week Easter internship in FICC.