Case study: Sarju Hindocha, UBS intern

If you are thinking of working in investment banking, it can help to have friends in the industry who can give you good advice.

My friends advised me that an internship would be the best way to find out about investment banking, and having completed the internship at UBS, I am confident they were right.

Before applying for an internship, it is important to do some preliminary research. Most banks require candidates to submit applications to specific departments.

After speaking to friends and attending a workshop held by UBS in Rotterdam, I opted for the Fixed Income, Rates & Currencies division. I realised that fixed income and currency products place a lot of emphasis on quantitative and analytical skills. This was what I was looking for: quantitative skills are one of my strongest points.

In all, I applied for internship positions at six banks and was invited to five interviews. I think this could be due not only to good grades, but also because I speak five languages, have experience dealing with clients at my parents' import-export business, and have been a board member of the university student finance club.

The interviews I attended usually followed the same pattern: numerical and analytical tests followed by an interview.

In the interviews there were some technical questions, but also some competency-based questions. The questions were also designed to see how well you would fit in with the bank. I now realise that success is not only a question of what you know, but also your ability to learn.

Ultimately, there were several reasons why I decided to do my internship at UBS. Firstly, I was interested in foreign xxchange and I knew UBS was number one in that area. I had also heard UBS had a culture that was both professional and relaxed, and this was reflected in my initial conversations and interviews with people at the bank.

The internship began with a preliminary week of classroom training for all the interns before starting in our respective divisions. I spent seven weeks working on the currency desk, and two weeks working in fixed income.

On the currency desk I worked in foreign exchange distribution. Because I had not sat regulatory exams, I was not allowed to talk directly to clients. Instead, I learnt by listening to what other people were saying in their conversations.

As an intern, it is crucial to listen and to be alert to everything happening around you; there is always plenty going on. Every day, I listened to the economists and researchers providing updates on events in the markets. Whenever possible, I also read internal publications on market events.

I undertook a project for the derivatives desk, in which I built a model for clients explaining the different types of option products available. This was very interesting, and brought me into contact with many senior staff. The model I built will be incorporated into client applications, which makes it doubly rewarding.

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience of being an intern. Admittedly there were challenges. I had to learn about a lot of new products, some of which I hadn't come across before, such as exotic options. - I had only encountered one or two at university but at UBS they were dealing with over 120!

I also had to adjust to the pace at which people worked. Everything happens very fast in investment banking, which was quite a change from the slower pace of student life. It can also be difficult to know when to approach people, and asking for help can be a bit daunting at first.

The best advice I can offer other interns is to accept that you there will a lot of things that you don't know, and that you shouldn't pretend to know things that you don't. Banks aren't looking for someone who knows everything already, but for someone who is open-minded and can learn.

An internship is a learning experience. It is a valuable opportunity to talk to as many people as possible, to get an overview of the bank and to learn as much as you can about all the different divisions.