What advice would you offer prospective candidates
on transitioning from school to the workplace?
First, make sure you are choosing a career path
that truly interests you. If you’re excited about what you do and
actually enjoy coming to work every day you will be much more
productive and feel a much deeper sense of satisfaction about the
work you are doing. Summer internships are a great way to explore
different career paths until you discover one that’s right for
you.
It’s also important to prepare by seeking
advice from more experienced professionals already working in you
industry and by reading trade publications; The Wall Street
Journal, Financial Times and The Economist are a few I read on a
regular basis. If possible, seek out a mentor at your firm or in
your industry.
If asked about your career at a dinner
party, how would you describe it?
Every day is a learning experience. Our clients are many of the
people you see on television and read about in the newspaper. Many
are first or second generation entrepreneurs while others have
inherited their wealth. Some are sophisticated investors who work
in the industry themselves while others are not. One day you
may be preparing a performance report for a couple’s IRA and the
next you may be preparing a model to help a young Hedge Fund
Manager decide whether he is generating enough income to afford a
new G5 personal business jet. Every day is different, every client
is different and every day I learn something new.
What do you consider Citi’s competitive
edge?
I believe our truly global footprint
coupled with the size and specializations of other groups within
the firm is our biggest competitive advantage. Ours is one of the
only private banks that can truly provide a one-stop shop for
anything clients might be interested in doing from lending and
credit facilities to investments. We also have a wide range of
advisory services and specialized groups such as Trust and Estate
planning, our Law Firm Group and Art Advisory, to name a few.
How do you apply your degree to what
you’re doing now?
I earned a BA in Economics and my college
curriculum has been very relevant to the work I do now on the US
Investment Solutions team. With the markets and the economy being
so volatile at the moment it’s important to understand different
key economic indicators and be able to explain to clients exactly
what the performance of their investments can be attributed to and
help them make good investment decisions in up and down
markets.
With lending being such a big part of our
business it’s also important to understand key rates and how
changes to these rates, whether they are adjusted by the market or
by a Central Bank, affect clients’ loans, fixed income investments
and Capital Markets products.
What non-work related activities
do you get involved in through Citi?
Through Citi, I’ve been involved in the Big
Brothers Big Sisters workplace-mentoring program. The goal of the
program is to expose 7th and 8th graders to
the office environment. You meet with your “Little” bi-weekly in a
large group and complete a planned educational activity either at
the office or by going on a field trip. This year’s field trips
have included the Natural History Museum, a Thai restaurant and
bowling. The program has been a lot of fun and highly
rewarding.
I also play on the Private Bank’s adult
kickball team. This is my first season and we play weekly in
Central Park. The other teams are typically other financial
services firms and the friendly competition is a lot of fun.
How did your summer internship help you
make the decision to pursue a career at Citi?
My summer internship at the Private Bank was a
real opportunity to decide whether Private Banking was the right
industry for me and whether the culture of Citi as a firm was one
that I wanted to be part of. During the 10-week internship, I
worked on a project that required me to interview clients to see
how they felt about one of our investment themes and one of our new
capital markets products and I presented my findings to senior
management during the last week. During the internship I was
surprised by how much access I had to senior individuals in the
organization. I had many opportunities to meet with them
and gain valuable career advice. I was also paired with a
first-year Analyst who, a year out of college, could give me
specific advice about different decisions I was facing at the
moment.
What do you enjoy doing outside of
work?
Outside of work I enjoy traveling,
spending time with friends and family, and watching sports. This
summer during a vacation from work, I took a trip with friends to
Italy and France. I grew up in Cleveland, OH and I am looking
forward to watching Cleveland Browns football this Fall.