Intern diary: I’ve already decided that a wealth management job is too mundane
I’m spending this summer interning at the wealth management division of a large US investment bank. This is the third installment of a weekly intern diary
This week, perhaps predictably, I’ve been mostly prospecting for clients. One of our team members goes about doing that by scrawling through a compact disc with section 16 compensation information on it. The upside is that it practically guarantees that the prospects are qualified to be clients of the wealth management firm that I am interning for.
I’ve been helping print out lists of section 16 employees from hundreds of insurance companies that I then used to created contact cards. We’re only a quarter of the way through every single list, but I definitely won’t have to call every one. The financial advisor that I’m assisting maintains an ongoing cycle of finding specific companies and employees to prospect, creating contact cards for them, and making then the calls.
While I know that in any job the work is ongoing, I’ve already decided that I want a different position within investment banking because this job never really seems to change. I prefer a role that is a faster pace than wealth management, where I’m constantly learning on the job, and following the markets closely. While I consider myself talented enough to do this internship well, I also feel like it’s a job that anyone can learn and improve in.
At the end of the week, intern evaluations were held in 15-minute intervals in the office of a woman I’ve never met (presumably from HR). At first I was really nervous about the situation, but it wound up going really well. My boss gave her an evaluation of me that was very positive. This is the first time I have been given feedback in an internship and I really appreciated it. We talked about my strengths and weaknesses, which I can now think of when I am trying to improve.
Related articles:
Intern diary: I’ve only just started this banking internship and am cold calling potential clients
Intern diary: I asked for a letter of recommendation and was told to write it myself
