Forward Thinking – An Intern Perspective
Much to my parent’s dismay, I switched my course rather last minute in the application process from Psychology to Economics. Having always loved Maths and following current affairs, Psychology was an illogical choice, especially because I wanted to work within Finance. Despite the undeniable stress attached, this leap of faith to Economics was one of my finer decisions. After a series of spring weeks in Investment Banks, the need to look elsewhere within the financial industry for future job prospects became clear to me. I enjoyed the demanding nature of the work and excelled in high pressured environments hence looked close by in Corporate Finance for my next experience.
Originally, I reached out to Rob Dukelow-Smith, co-director of Forward Corporate Finance, via mutual connections for a day of work experience. Nervously I attended, shadowing Rob’s work and learning about the day-to-day goings-on of a Corporate Finance Advisor. At the end of the day I thanked him and left. Later, I received a call. I was extremely lucky to have been asked back for the full summer as an intern. I was astounded the extent to which a little bit of initiative had landed me a first-year internship. It emphasised to me the importance of remaining resilient and how much yearning to learn and improve can maximise own future potential circumstances.
Having never studied anything remotely finance based prior to University, I began my summer at Forward entirely oblivious. I vividly remember being unsure what a balance sheet was, or how to work excel. After quickly learning the basics, I started by completing simple research tasks and concisely summarising information, quickly moving onto learning about valuations, the different types of acquisitions, how to create a cash flow or analyse a company from their accounts. By the end I began attending client meetings, going to networking events for the company, and doing a wealth of things that merely a month ago I would have had absolutely no clue about.
Most importantly, something I would have never realised was so important is culture. The difference waking up and looking forward to going to work can make is astonishing, and I can gratefully say this is the case at Forward. I am sure without a doubt I would not have learnt so much in such a short space of time without amazing teachers, a lot of encouragement, and feeling supported in my environment. Being part of a team where everyone genuinely enjoys working with each other and has a passion for what they do and producing the best results is so important.
Forward thinking is very important in the workplace as well as in day to day life! I believe those who take initiative, make the most of opportunities, and work hard to proactively resolve issues will be far more likely to succeed than those who don’t. Furthermore, if clients know that the business is doing everything they can in the present to maximise return for the future, the relationship will be healthier and along with this comes a better reputation, which leads to being rewarded with more work!
To finish, I would like to thank everyone at Forward Corporate Finance for an amazing summer, in particular Sarah and Rob. I encourage people to do things the Forward way!
by Holly Dellar