From Summer Camp to Wall Street

Hello everyone! So, as mentioned briefly in my last blog, I have been highly successful in my quest for an internship this summer. Last summer, I worked as a camp counselor in a town called Starlight, Pennsylvania. To give you a feeling of what Starlight is like, the nearest Wal-Mart was an hour away. The closest thing we had to a chain restaurant was a McDonald’s in the next town over. You could drive down the (one) main road for 20 minutes and never see another car.

Camp days were typically long. Being in charge of the 15 and 16 year olds, it was a never-ending process of making sure everyone was where they’re supposed to be. At that age, it is very easy to find ways to go off on your own, and thus it was key that I kept an eye on them at all times. This led to several late nights and early mornings, with hardly a minute to rest during the day.

The camp hiring process was pretty simple. No career centers, no complicated networking tools needed. Since it was a camp which I attended, I knew many of the staff members already.  I emailed in my resume and cover letter and heard back a few weeks later asking for a phone interview, and at the end, was told that I got the job. All that was needed after that was filling out an I-9 and a one page contract, and I was done.

This summer, about the only thing I am expecting to be the same is the lack of sleep. This coming summer, I will be working on Wall Street and living in New York City. A little different from Starlight, huh? Instead of a wooden cabin, I’ll be staying in NYU’s dorms in Manhattan, and instead of being hours away from any form of civilization, I’ll have the entire city at my grasp.

In terms of work load, I’m genuinely not sure what to expect. I’ve heard two stories, both of which make logical sense. The first, from a friend working in one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, is that during your internship the company will butter up to you, making you think it’s all a wonderful and easy life, so after graduation you will immediately go work for them. Then the butt kicking can start. The other side of the story is that the butt kicking starts immediately, so they can see if they even want you back after graduation. Either way, I feel confident that I’ll make it through the summer.

The Wall Street hiring process? Well, that was a little different too. Cover letters, a resume and an email contact aren’t exactly enough anymore. First came the online application, then the career-fair half hour interview, then the “super day”, where I interviewed with 12 people over the course of the whole day. Finally, after getting the job comes background checks, information checks, SEC clearance, declarations of any stocks/bonds I’ve held, previous employer information, etc. Much more than the one page contract I got from camp.

So, as you can see, this summer is sure to be a lot different from last summer’s experiences. However, despite these differences, I plan on having just as great of an experience in New York as I did at camp.

Thanks for reading,

Nick