How I turned my internship into a full time job offer

During the selection process for my internship, I remember being told more than once that it would be 'like a ten week interview' and a chance for banks to see how well I performed in a real working environment. I treated it like this and was lucky enough to be offered a full-time placement. This is why I think I was chosen -

1) I always tried to be interested in what I was doing

It's easy enough to look interested when you're working on a transaction or major project, but this may not be the case when you're an intern. Instead, you may find yourself doing more routine or tedious tasks. For example, when checking comps in presentations, I tried to pick up on any anomalies (e.g. a very large or very small multiple) so that I could ask questions about why that particular figure was so different from the others. That way, I was able to perform better because the work was more appealing.

2) I did as many different things as possible

For example, I tried to spend time with other interns in other teams, attended networking events, and went to as many talks or lectures as possible making sure that I asked at least one or two questions. All of these things gave me a better overview of the business, allowed me to find out what specifically interested me - so helping me to enjoy the internship more -, and, of course, got me noticed by recruiters and other employees outside my team. Sitting behind your desk will only get you so far. As well as making the internship more interesting, both recruiters and your colleagues will be more impressed if you show you have a willingness to get involved as much as possible.

3) I took every opportunity I could, even it if seemed insignificant

For example, I asked to sit in on every meeting I could to take notes. This may seem like a mundane task, but it is one of the best ways to understand the business and your role better and, therefore, to feel more interested and involved in what you are doing. It will open doors for you to work on more substantial deals or projects when the opportunity comes: you have shown your interest in the work and have some understanding of what it entails. In addition to this, you can 'add value' by taking notes and providing records of meetings for yourself and senior members of the team.

There are many more things that make an internship successful, and you should ask business professionals and graduate employers to get as much advice on this as you can. However, in my opinion, these are the things that made it work for me.

The author is a UK student who has received a job offer at a major European investment bank.