The Shortest-Longest Year Yet
by Demetri Typadis, MBA ‘13
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived for the first day of my internship this summer. I made my way up to the 32nd floor and found myself waiting alongside countless other nervous-looking interns in freshly pressed suits for the first day of orientation at a major global financial services provider. An exciting whirlwind was about to begin that, despite the long hours, would pass by in the blink of an eye.
As an equity research analyst will tell you, the sector and team that you work on can make or break your experience as an analyst. Mesh well with your senior analyst and teammates, and it could be one of the greatest jobs in the world. Clash, and it could feel like the worst. At the end of orientation, I got my sector placement: Gaming, Lodging, and Leisure. The initial excitement of landing in this sector (maybe they’ll send me to Vegas or Macau to do primary research on casinos or perhaps on a cruise to the Bahamas to do channel checks) was quickly replaced with trepidation when I found out I would not only be filling the role of summer intern but also serving as a full-time analyst while the lodging team analyst was out on maternity leave.
I was immediately nervous thinking about taking over the responsibilities of a full-time analyst. Fortunately, my supportive team and colleagues were fantastic. And my experience from the Capital Markets and Asset Management Immersion and the Investment Management Club (IMC) helped me step into the role of team analyst seamlessly. It all came together well, and I was even offered a full-time opportunity at the end of the summer.
Even after it was all over, it was crazy to think that only twelve short months earlier I had just arrived at Johnson to kick off my MBA experience. I had come to Johnson to refocus my career on investment management and get formal instruction on how to pick stocks.
When I arrived I had no idea how little I actually knew about the field or how much I would need to learn to land an internship. It became abundantly clear how far I had to go when, early last fall, I made my first stock pitch to a second-year student and he found more holes in my pitch than in a sieve.
Landing a job seemed extremely challenging given the difficult job market, but it was from that point on that the strength in Johnson’s collaborative community and coursework really propelled me forward. The immersion gave me a crash course in the mechanics of valuation, modeling, and financial statement analysis. The IMC and the Cayuga Fund exposed me to the correct way to design and present stock pitches. My first-year peers, second-year mentors, and alumni advisors were always happy to share their knowledge in areas where I had gaps in my understanding, and helped me connect all of the things I had learned in the classroom.
I owe my success as an MBA intern to the incredible support system at Johnson and my wonderful colleagues. I can’t wait to be an anxious full-time associate in a freshly pressed suit on the first day of orientation next summer.