How to Spin Government Experience
Hey all,
Just finished my freshman year and am currently doing an internship at the US State Department as a financial analyst. The internship itself, however, involves a lot of data entry & invoice processing as well as some occasional budgeting (nothing too advanced, though). Not much actual relevant experience.
I was wondering what's the best way to spin this sort of experience for IB. I'm planning on pursuing more relevant internships for next summer, but I'm still at a loss on how to properly phrase & connect my current experience to my story.
Any help is appreciated! :)
bump
Say something along the lines of "although I enjoyed my time in government and found it interesting" you are looking to "transition into finance, and really be able to impact companies on a granular level" or something like that.
Or just be honest, and say you enjoyed your experience but are looking to pursue finance for X, Y and Z reasons. You want to work in a challenging, team-based environment where you can actually make an impact.
Alternatively, tie it back to your major/other experiences. If you are studying econ/math/business/finance, touch on how the internship lacked an opportunity to really engage with those topics, but you are confident that you will be able to in IB. Even better, if you are a poly sci/history major, speak about how you want to diversify your experience and get broader exposure.
It really depends on what the rest of your resume looks like -- you shouldn't speak about your interest in IB solely from the perspective of one internship. It's about the whole "story" of why you are sitting in front of them today.
Happy to give more detail in PM.
Thanks for the reply! What you mentioned first is what I'm leaning towards as well. I'm majoring in finance with a 4.0 GPA, and am involved with leadership positions in finance related clubs & societies, so I think the rest of my resume conveys some interest towards IB.
Do you have any advice on how I could somehow "bankify" the experience so it sounds a bit better on my resume? Can provide a bit more detail if needed. Thanks a bunch!
There's no need to "bankify" your experience, that's approaching it from the wrong way. Then you will just come across as ingenuine, because working in the State Dept has nothing to do with IB. Just be honest about what you did during the experience, but that you are looking to transition into finance because it more fits your background and interests.
If you oversell what you did/try to tailor it in an unnatural way, and then they ask you about it in interviews and it doesn't match up/it's obvious you are stretching the truth, that can be a big ding.
Lastly, if you are honest about what you did and make it sound interesting (which is what you should do), they are more likely to be intrigued and to want to ask you about it. Your interviewers are doing banking all day long - they would much rather talk about what you did in the political arena, what your experience was, etc. We are humans and, thus, naturally curious. Play to that curiosity when you are crafting your resume/story.
Also, don't know why you gave me your GPA...no need to brag on this forum.
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