Application Advice: Securing a Bank of America Internship

What is your current situation?

I am currently a second year Master in Management student at ESCP Business School studying on exchange at USC Marshall, Los Angeles.

Starting from June I will launch my career in the IB world with an off-cycle experience at Bank of America in the equity derivatives sales division in Milan, my hometown.

What was your experience of the application process?

I found the application process extremely stimulating! I did 4 rounds of interviews, 2 in Italian and 2 in Spanish since I will join a Southern European team which comprises offices in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

I believe that the most relevant thing I noticed during all these hours spent with BofA investment bankers was that the top thing they were interested in were my story and my motivation to join the team rather than my technicals.

Were there any unexpected challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

Interviews were not easy at all of course and sometimes it has happened to receive an unexpected question for example.

In that case, I would strongly suggest to stay calm and ask for a hint to then reach the answer by yourself rather than improvising and starting feeling more nervous than necessary. It also shows to the interviewer that you can face difficulties and stressful moments better than others.

What do you think helped make you stand out as a candidate?

I would say 2 things: My preparation and my motivation. Preparation especially in terms of what is currently happening in the world.

I read at least 2 hours per day on all the major financial newspapers to make sure I am always up to date about financial markets. It has helped me a lot since I was able to leverage many examples when answering and showcase my passion.

Secondly, I would underline my motivation to join the team since I am moving from the buy to the sell side and, as you can imagine, they wanted to understand the reasons why I am doing it and how all the thing I learned during my 2 experiences in asset management and private debt will help me to perform at my best at BofA.

Did your experience with AmplifyME help with your applications?

The most relevant extracurricular experience I had the privilege to do in the last year was the Summer Analyst Training Programme offered by AmplifyME.

It has been an amazing resource to understand what I really want for my future in the world of work with live simulations and eye opening chats with professionals from the industry. Moreover it has also allowed me to raise the level of my CV with data based experiences which intrigued recruiters.

How do you stay updated with industry trends and continue to develop your skills?

I honestly think the FT is an invaluable resource which every finance interested student should constantly read.

Other than that I like The Economist and its cover stories, the WSJ and Reuters. Moreover I am a podcast lover and I consider AmplifyME's Market Maker the best podcast currently out there. I have never skipped an episode in the last 12 months and it has definitely been an asset to obtain the desk.

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice from 12 months ago, what would it be?

I would tell to myself to be confident and trust the process.

I clearly remember last year a period in which some friends of mine were obtaining jobs I was aspiring to and I was stuck with constant rejections and doubts in my mind.

In those situations the most important thing is to just focus on yourself and continue to work on the puzzle of your life. Opportunities will come and if you stay positive you will be ready to grab them and launch your career as well.

Bookings for the 2024 Summer Analyst Training Programme are now open!