First-year analyst in Mergers and Acquisitions for Citi
Katie Fritts
Education: BS from McIntire School of Commerce at University of Virginia, concentration in finance and marketing, 2008.
One piece of wisdom Katie Fritts came away with after her internship for Citi, is that the financial world is a lot more complicated than it seems in the classroom. She pulled back the curtain on the mysteries of Wall Street, learning all the acronyms and specialized lingo, and now she’s found her stride. When a managing director cites her research during a meeting or presentation, she knows the hard work has been worth it.
What made you interested in Citi?
I had previously worked at a small investment bank after my first and second years in college. I knew I wanted to be at one of the larger firms. Citi also worked with me to set up interviews before the usual process because I spent a semester abroad. At the time, they were one of the few companies that made accommodations for that.
Tell me about a typical day during your internship.
It really depends on what type of project you are working on. My tasks ranged from pulling research to formatting presentations to working on financial models. It helped a lot that a staffer helped manage my workload. He’d also put interns on projects that he thought would be good learning experiences.
What was the most important thing you learned?
I think it was to keep a positive attitude, especially after spending long hours in the office. It’s part of the job that you are basically on call whenever they need you. It was frustrating that my free time wasn’t in my control, but it makes a big difference when you get along well with the people around you.
How did you make the transition from being an intern to a full-time hire?
We had a much longer training session and a whole lot more independence. As an intern, you’re asking all your questions to find out what’s going on. As an analyst, it’s more up to you to make the call and the judgment about scenarios and how you run them.
What would you recommend to someone pursuing an internship in finance?
You need to be comfortable and confident in your interview. You want to be more than someone who can just correctly answer all the technical questions. You want to be interesting – someone they’ll really want to talk to. Also, I think it would be smart to ask questions about the business and the market to show your interest and knowledge of the industry.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
My current program opens a lot of opportunities for all types of jobs in finance. A lot of analysts end up at Private Equity firms or hedge funds after two or three years in banking. Private Equity sounds interesting to me, but it’s too early to tell where I’ll end up. No matter what, I think that investment banking definitely gives the best training for careers in finance.