FORESIGHT(2019): Summer Internship Nomura Structured Financial Services | Amandeep Singh

Student Welfare Group, IIT Kharagpur Follow

Listen Share My name is Amandeep Singh. I am a third year undergraduate student from the department of Mechanical Engineering enrolled in its 4 year BTech course of manufacturing science and engineering. I did my internship at Nomura Structured Financial Services in the Global Markets division in the summer of 2019. The process begins by applying to Nomura with one of your 3 CVs made on the CDC website. There is no hard cutoff on the basis of CG but it pays to be above 8. After you are selected on the basis of your CV, you have to appear for a GD. The topics of the GD can be anything ranging from abstract analogies for the professional world to contemporary issues. Post the GDs, there are 2 technical interviews followed by an HR interview. During the technical interviews, it does pay to have some basic knowledge of financial securities, however, there is no hard and fast rule. The best thing would be to back up your CV such that you can explain the learnings from virtually every experience written on your CV. It’s also beneficial to have a decent idea about guesstimates and brain teasers. “Heard on the street” is a good book to prepare for the same. Apart from a lot of ad hoc and BAU work, my main project was creating a tool that could calculate Initial Margin requirements for derivative transactions underlying Bespoke CSAIDs both using SIMM and Schedule IM models. The work mostly revolved around excel and also some VBA so it does help a lot to have some decent understanding of Excel beforehand. The company culture is pretty chilled out where everyone from the analyst sitting beside you to an MD overseas lend an ear to help you with your work. You are expected to dress in formals as they have a pretty strict dress code. The best part, however, is that the timings are flexible as long as you complete the work assigned to you. The amiability and approachability of senior management is a great motivator and weekends are usually as awesome as you can imagine. Overall, the culture is amazing. This internship is perfect for anyone looking to get an idea of how the finance industry operates irrespective of whether you have any prior knowledge or experience in finance. The company provides a plethora of reading material to learn on your own pace once selected and you even learn on the job hence that is not an issue. Someone who already is interested in finance shoulddefinitely apply because the practical knowledge that you’d gain is in no way achieved with any course, certification you may have already done. Stay calm during the technical rounds. The aim of the interviewers is in no way to intimidate or grill you. The more interested you can keep them and steer the interview into a conversation, the better your chances. Stay to the point during explaining your past experiences and try to weave your CV into a story wherein you show how an internship or a project reinforced your belief about joining the industry. Most importantly, just try and smile. It does wonders!