IFMR GSB MBA-Internship Stories | Sumit Jha

IFMR GSB MBA-Internship Stories are a series of interviews with the students of IFMR GSB, who have recently completed their Summer Internships. Here, Sumit Jha, MBA 2021 shares his internship experience and learnings at Credit Suisse.

Could you tell us about the organization you have completed/are doing your internship from?

Credit Suisse is a global wealth manager, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. It mainly focuses on global markets. 

Did you focus on a specific domain while participating in summer placements? How did you approach the whole process? 

Yes, I was focused on Risk Management.  Before the placement season, I spoke to seniors within the MBA programme and did ample research on the roles offered by Credit Suisse.

Now that the internship has successfully concluded, could you reflect on your experience through the same?

From a learning perspective, the experience was great. I was able to gain deep practical understanding of risk management practices.

How was the environment of the company, the resources, employees and work culture?

The employees were friendly, helpful and approachable. The resources were great, from learning tools to hardware.

What were the key challenges you faced during your internship and how did you overcome them?

Getting appointments for meeting slots with senior stakeholders was challenging as their schedules were always packed. Though continuous follow up and reaching out to them over the phone eventually helped.

How about the learnings you garnered from this internship? Are there any milestones you would like to share?

The skills I learnt at Credit Suisse has helped me develop a practical understanding to complement the theoretical knowledge I will be acquiring in my MBA programme. I completed my deliverables before the assigned deadline and that was a definite milestone.

Do you think it’s important for an MBA student to do an internship? What values/skills can a student gain from a summer placement?

Yes, it is important. Practical understanding of concepts can help align your career, provide information related to upskilling and importantly tell you whether you should work in this domain or a change is required. It also helps decide, which subjects you should study in your final year or which stream to choose, whether generalisation will be suitable or specialisation.

During your internship, how were you connected with your academic mentor(s) at the institute?

I was in constant touch with my mentor over email and phone. The ensuing conversation along with constant support, aided in shaping a  great internship experience. 

Would you prefer to return to the organization for a job opportunity in the future?

Yes, I would definitely want to return to Credit Suisse for a job opportunity.

With due consideration to COVID-19, all internships were moved to the virtual mode- how was that navigating through this new experience?

Even though I missed the in-person experience and the fact that substantial learning during internships comes from shadowing a senior resource which is tough in the virtual mode but given the dire situation, Credit Suisse did the best in the circumstances.

Could you tell us how the remote working experience was, with respect to building team rapport, internal communication and work as a whole?

The entire experience was great, given the security challenges COVID-19 posed. The team was very supportive, internal communications were crystal clear and from a work perspective the experience was helpful as I learned some important practical concepts.