Finance Students Begin Boot Camp

This fall marked the start of an intensive yearlong career program for juniors in the Financial Analyst concentration. During the first weeks of the program, students identified their skills in a self-assessment; explored the types of jobs available based on their talents and desires; and developed and fine tuned their resumes for the finance arena. This month they are working on interview skills.

“We’re in the business of preparing students for careers. Part of that is curriculum, the academic side, and part of that is professional skills. That’s what this boot camp is all about,” according to School of Business Dean Paul A. Leonard. He added, “It’s a big issue that students don’t always understand. They think ‘I’m a straight A student and that’s enough.’”

Deirdre Sweeney, Director of Career Services said, “The program prepares financial analyst students to land jobs and internships with high level investment banks and financial institutions. It creates more competitive candidates, on par with Ivy League schools.” Besides career focused training, students take classes from Training the Street, a Wall Street training firm, in Introduction to Corporate Valuation and Financial Modeling, training often received on-the-job. Sweeney noted, “It gives them a leg up.”

Boot camp graduates will come out of the program with a “stamp of approval” indicating a high standard, much like Professor Ron Forbes recommendation of finance students in the 80’s. Dr. Leonard notes, “A Ron Forbes recommendation meant the student was prepared.”

Though boot camp is optional, there is a strong expectation that students will attend. Of the 42 juniors enrolled in the financial analyst program, 32 have enlisted in boot camp, an excellent response.

Besides readying them for the work world, the program helps students determine which area they are best suited for. They fine-tune their goals after hearing from our alumni.

Some finance students yearn to work for investment banks. Boot camp enlightens them to the realities of the job: analysts work in high pressure environment 12-20 hour days. Marty Pincar ’04, Analyst, JPMorgan Chase, spoke to the group recently, noting that in investment banking, there are no offices. Analysts work 12+ hours a day in a room of 700 people.

As part of their training, students visited Eaton Vance in Boston. Three School of Business alumni provided an overview of jobs in finance and how they fit together.

Dean Leonard envisions similar School of Business programs in the future, “This is an experiment. We’d like to develop similar professional development programs for all concentrations, starting with ITM, which is likely to be the next honors program.”

This fall, the school offered an accounting orientation providing similar information to students in that discipline.