Phone Interview with Credit Suisse Private Bank

Hey guys,

I have a phone interview on Friday for this internship I applied to:

Internship - Product & Process Management - Private Banking Hedge Fund Investments

You want to work in a dynamic and global environment. Here's the place to start.

We offer:
-6-month internship for students of a university
-Insight into our company and our various business areas
-Opportunity to gain practical experience
-Support for the creation of product-specific marketing materials
-Updating and maintenance of different tools
-Creating presentation materials
-Ad hoc project tasks
-Telephone inquiries concerning hedge fund investments the front

They offer:

-4 Completed semester in Economics (specialization Banking / Finance) at a university or college
-Interest in complex financial products
-Good knowledge of English
-Open and personality with diverse interests
-Proactive thinking and acting

Spoke with HR person today for a couple minutes to schedule the phone interview. As I understand, I will be speaking with the person responsible of this “department” and who’s basically in charge. I won’t be speaking with an HR person. The HR lady told me it’ll be a 30 minute interview and that I’ll be asked about my motivations concerning the internship and questions I have regarding the position.

I already had a phone interview and then a personal interview last year with UBS but I spoke with the HR person on the phone. It was really basic questions (list 5 strengths, 5 weaknesses, biggest achievement,… I was really surprised it was this “formal”). I don’t know if CS does things differently but do you think the fact that I’m already gonna be talking with the main guy on Friday is a good sign?

Do any of you guys know what this internship is about? I mean, I read the details of it but I don’t really get how banks (and specifically the Private Banking division) and Hedge funds interact.

Obviously I really want this position. Getting it would be a real game changer for me.

Btw, this would be my first experience. I wrote it in my cover letter but basically I’m finishing my bachelor degree in a month or two, I’ve already started a pre-master but I wanna change university and start another master next year. I plan on taking this year off to acquire valuable experience.

How can I make this go my way? Obviously between now and Friday I’m gonna prepare non-stop but do any of you have any ideas for good questions or things to say about my motivations to help me stand out and get this position? Obviously I won't mention the salary part if he doesn't bring it up. Or should I? This has always been a tricky one in my experience with internship interviews.

I'm thinking of saying that I really want to take a 'break' from studying and really feel like I need to get my hands dirty and get actual experience. I'm really motivated. I think I should also state that I really orientated my undergrad degree towards stats/finance/econometrics and this will help me a lot with this position.

I really appreciate it guys,

Cheers