Summer Internships

It’s daunting to begin thinking about a career when you’re only 20 years old. Fortunately at Georgetown, students have the resources of the Georgetown University Career Education Center to utilize in the job hunt. As a junior in the McDonough School of Business, this time of year is full of internship recruiting. I just completed the process myself, and while relieved to be finished and secured an opportunity for the summer, I am very glad that I had the chance to go through the interview season. This summer I will be working in New York City at Credit Suisse in Equity Research.

Students can check out the Career Center from their first days on the Hilltop. You can schedule a visit with a career counselor who specializes in a particular subset of careers. These staffers will provide guidance and advice to help you learn about a certain path, and later on can put you in contact with alumni and recruiters who are interested in working with Georgetown students. Also, the Career Center staff can edit resumes and cover letters, as well as conduct mock-interviews to help you prepare for the interviews themselves.

As a Finance and Accounting double major, I began looking at a variety of fields within both my majors, settling on Finance after attending firm information sessions in the fall and speaking with recent graduates and friends. Upperclassmen tend to be terrific resources, and my friends at the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union have been invaluable sources of advice. Job postings are made available for part-time and full-time positions as well as internships. Opportunities span careers as diverse as journalism, consulting, Teach for America, the Peace Corps, healthcare, Non-Governmental Organizations, and the CIA.

I began searching and applying for positions in January, with the majority of my first-round interviews being held on campus. Although occasionally a little intimidating, it was a great experience to hone my interview skills and meet professionals from different backgrounds. Final round interviews are often held at a firm’s office, and I was fortunate enough to visit New York City for my final round interviews with Credit Suisse. These “superdays” often consist of multiple interviews with individuals from different levels of the firm.

Given the challenging job market and economy, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to gain some experience this summer in the field I am interested in. Summer internships provide a unique chance to see if you truly do like a certain career, and in many cases, can result in a full-time offer of employment. While I’m certainly not quite ready to leave Georgetown for the real world just yet, this first foray into the job market has shown me how well prepared we really are and just how large the Georgetown alumni network really is.

Best of luck in your college search and Hoya Saxa!

Jeff Bailin

MSB 2010

Clarendon Hills, IL