Securing Good Finance Internships for College Students: A Comprehensive Guide

For college students pursuing a finance degree, internships are invaluable stepping stones to a successful career. They offer practical experience, networking opportunities, and a chance to explore different facets of the finance world. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you navigate the process of finding and excelling in finance internships.

The Value of Finance Internships

Finance internships provide students with many valuable experiences, giving a real taste of what it’ll be like to work in finance down the line. The best finance internship programs strengthen resumes, provide valuable avenues to letters of recommendation, and can even turn into full-time jobs. If you consider all of these perks of a finance internship and add the benefit of exploring different areas of one field, then start your finance internship search now!

Internships are great opportunities for growth and experience. From summer finance internships to the best finance internships, you’ll be able to build both hard and soft skills. You’ll even network with some of the finest industry professionals.

How to Obtain a Finance Internship

Getting an internship in finance could not be more exciting considering the sheer amount of opportunities at different companies. Finance internships during summer will provide you with many valuable experiences.

Optimizing Your Resume and Profile

Before you get started on sending out applications, make sure that you have your resume up to date and have fully filled out all your Handshake profile details. With a complete profile, an impressive finance internship is more attainable than ever. Recruiters on Handshake are much more likely to message a student with a complete profile that says you want to work in finance than an unfinished one.

When putting together your resume, make sure to have all your skills, courses, and accomplishments laid out for employers to view. Also having your preferred job role and location on your Handshake profile is a great way to signal your interest to potential recruiters. For finance interns, some great skills to list would be specific technical skills, time management, ability to follow through and execute, and ability to contribute and collaborate in a team setting.

Excelling in the Interview

When you do land your first interview, be it a virtual interview or in person, make sure to come prepared and dressed to impress. Review your resume and cover letter to make sure you have specific examples of your experience to share, from clubs or coursework. You can even schedule a mock interview with your university’s career center or, if you’re tight on time, ask a trusted friend to grill you on some common interview questions.

Networking During Your Internship

Once you’ve landed an internship in finance and settled into the flow of day-to-day life in your role, start chatting with your coworkers. Whether they’re industry professionals or fellow interns, it’s important to treat them with equal respect. You never know what insights they could lend, or who could be a valuable connection down the line, five or ten years from now. Don’t be afraid to ask your new colleagues out for quick coffee chats, or request 15-minute informational interviews about their career trajectory.

Continuous Learning and Development

Looking for specific advice before your internship begins? Or are you hungry for further information even after your internship is over? A good way to delve even deeper into your career path growth is to attend a virtual event or two. Not only will you be learning more about your own career, but there will also be chances to network with employers, industry specialists, and other students sharing different perspectives.

Types of Finance Internship Roles

Internships in finance can fall under any of the following roles. Internships are meant to guide you towards your true desired career path and your summer finance internship could kick it off in the right direction.For internships, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the hunt for finance internships in Chicago, finance internships in Boston, finance internships for sophomores, finance internships in Houston, paid finance internships or finance internships in NYC. The following job roles and suggestions on where to apply for finance internships can guide you in the right direction for whatever you’re looking for.

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Business Analyst

Business analysts and management consultants provide organizations with valuable strategic insights and strategies on how to ensure prime efficiency in the workplace and improve weaker areas of their finance. They often possess a finance degree and have extensive knowledge on finance practices and organizational behavior.

Companies you can apply to: EY LLP, Accenture, WayfairAverage pay: $70,000

Accountant

Accountants record and analyze data from financial records. After assessing a person or company's accounts, accountants advise their client on the best way to organize and manage their funds.

Companies you can apply to: Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, EY LLPAverage pay: $50,000

Public Relations Manager

Public relations managers and specialists communicate with journalists and media outlets to promote news and create a specific public image for an individual, group, or organization. Their responsibilities may include managing social media accounts, writing press releases, and planning press events.

Read also: Becoming a Better Student

Companies you can apply to: Insight Global, Ignite Mental Health, Nestle USAAverage pay: $38,000

Project Manager

Project managers (PMs) oversee the planning and execution of given projects for a company or client by managing a team of workers, scheduling deadlines, and acting as the point of contact for any outsourced resources.

Companies you can apply to: Kiewit, Microsoft, Fidelity InvestmentsAverage pay: $55,000

Data Analyst

Data analysts collect and compile data to produce useful insights for a given project, client, or organization. They manage the research, planning, strategy, and execution of the company's marketing initiatives, which ultimately aim to increase sales or brand awareness.

Companies you can apply to: KPMG LLP, Apple, MicrosoftAverage pay: $42,000

Finding Internship Opportunities

When searching for finance internships, it’s key to use the location filters provided on Handshake. You’ll be able to pinpoint finance internships exactly where you want to intern just by selecting the city you want in the search bar. Easy finance internships in your preferred city are just a search away.

You can even research possible job roles that you might want to explore during your finance internship. Handshake also makes it easy to learn about roles in finance simply by using the job role search bar.

And if you want to take your research one step further, you can even research top employers in the finance field on Handshake. Even companies that don’t seem to have a main focus in finance are looking for bright interns to help them develop.

What to Expect During Your Internship

Along with networking and gaining mentorship, finance interns will spend time working on skills great for later in their career journeys. Finance interns will learn how to organize and file client records, communicate their analysis effectively, and collaborate with a team of professionals on a goal.

During your finance internship, you’ll learn some great generic skills like time management, accountability, organization, and teamwork. Additionally, you’ll be immersed in the world of finance which will help you develop your knowledge of quantitative aptitude, how to manage finance projects effectively, and about your company’s supply chain.

Compensation for Finance Interns

Yes, you can find paid finance internships on Handshake by using the search filters! The average annual pay for full time jobs in finance range from $38,000 to $70,000.

Examples of Companies with Strong Internship Programs

Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo’s wide range of internship and development programs for undergraduates and post-graduates are designed to prepare you for a rewarding and successful career. At Wells Fargo, they offer more than a job - they offer a path to grow, thrive, and make a meaningful impact. When you join their team, you’ll step into a dynamic, supportive culture where learning and collaboration drive everything they do. You’ll gain hands-on experience within a specific business group - while also discovering the breadth of opportunities across our organization. They are committed to nurturing the next generation of leaders through our world-class development programs. Their robust internship opportunities are designed to empower you with the skills and experiences you need to kickstart your career. Employees in banking, markets and finance roles work directly with individual clients across the United States, as well as companies and institutional clients globally. Enterprise Credit is an integrated credit underwriting, monitoring, credit data management and credit technology transformation organization supporting clients across the bank’s eight lines of business including consumers, companies and institutions. Global Corporate & Investment Banking (GCIB) teams provide corporate clients, financial institutions and government agencies with solutions across the entire capital structure. and multinational businesses to financial institutions and public-sector entities. As a major with so many career path options, finance gives you many options to choose from for internships. There will always be an opening for a great finance internship, as the field is always looking for smart and capable finance students to hire and guide.In your finance internships you’ll gain skills in client relations, organization, accountability, and problem-solving among many others. Internship opportunities for finance students can foster great exploration of the field, since there are many paths for a finance major to consider and understand.
Capital One: In Capital One’s 10-week internship programs, you’re paid to dig into challenging projects with real business impact. They seek individuals earning a bachelor’s degree by August 2027, who want to level up their skills in business and problem solving. You can identify, build and test strategies that help them change banking for good. You can accelerate your career as a data analyst. You’ll work on hypothesis-driven strategy analysis and build valuation models or data products on AWS infrastructure using SQL, Python and Spark. You can join a team of internal consultants who make some of their most important business decisions. Develop your critical-thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills while gaining world-class consulting experience. Launch your career as you own key finance projects from start to finish. Get the project experience and tools you need to dive into commercial banking. Immerse yourself in meaningful projects while gaining insight into investment banking best practices. You’ll intern with one of Capital One’s line of business: Derivatives, Financing, M&A, KippsDeSanto or TripleTree. Learn how to deliver complex, cross-functional initiatives that drive business forward through roles in Project, Process or Risk Management. Preferred Majors: Economics, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Information, Finance, Supply Chain, Accounting or Marketing. All majors welcome. Grow as a software engineer as you develop world-class technical skills and a comprehensive understanding of our tech and business. Preferred Majors: Computer Science, Computer Engineering. You’ll be at the heart of new product launches and innovations that improve the customer experience. Technical major preferred: Computer Science, Management Information Systems. Learn from best-in-class cyber security professionals.

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