As students and young professionals often reach out for advice on breaking into competitive fields like investment banking, consulting, etc., I decided to put together this article. Here, I'll share my thoughts and considerations on how internships get transformed into jobs. I hope you find some value in the following paragraphs.

What Really Matters

Successful entry into competitive jobs consists of not two but three steps: getting invited to an internship interview - through good signaling (university, focus areas, grades, etc.). Next, you must stand out during the interview: through knowledge and your personality. Step three: "outperform" during the internship through skills.

Sounds straightforward. However, I often notice that a lot of time and energy is spent on creating a particularly attractive resume and on shining in the interview. Surprisingly, this is often treated as the final step of preparation. There seems to be the implicit assumption that there is no way to prepare for the actual internship. While this might have held true a decade ago, times have changed. With this attitude, you will miss out on the biggest opportunity to gain an advantage over your peers and impress your employer right at the start.

Skills Needed

At the beginning of your career, the question is initially as follows: How can I efficiently handle my tasks so that I can relieve my new colleagues as much as possible? How do I gain their trust and prove that they can rely on me, that I am the safe pair of hands. If I can stand out here, then I will get the job. Unless the competition stands out by performing even better - then someone else gets the job. So, the core question is: How do I "outperform" the competition?

In the internship, most tasks will revolve around research, analysis with Excel, and the preparation of presentations. Therefore, you should focus in advance on improving these high-impact skills that "get stuff done". It is evident that a standard course will not be sufficient to elevate you to the required level with which you can outperform the competition. This is where best practices of investment bankers come in handy.

Acquire IB Best Practices

The following questions are important: How do I complete the research as quickly as possible? How do I optimize my work methods so that I can quickly create error-free analyses in Excel? What conventions do I need to follow so that calculations are not only clear to me but also to my colleagues? What tricks allow me to quickly create meaningful PowerPoint slides that meet the standard of successful companies? These skills are not learned at university. You usually have to work on them after starting the job.

Gain the Decisive Advantage

My suggestion: Don't stop preparing for your job after the interview. Focus on improving the skills needed in the job, increase your performance so that you "outperform" the competition in the internship, and get the desired job. You have already invested so much time, effort, and money in your education. Now you should make sure that you set the right course for the last mile so that you reward yourself with the desired job. Make sure that you don’t regret not taking the final but decisive step.

#LevelUpYourSkills #RiseAboveTheCompetition