With my internship at Commerzbank finished as of yesterday (exactly 3 months and a day from when I began,) I thought I'd talk about it and the crazy places it's taken me including to a reception at the United Arab Emirates Embassy and playing basketball- diplomat edition!
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| Pic with the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Germany |
But first, I'll add to my previous post about my
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The view from one of my offices.
Gedaenchniskirche |
adventures in Wealth Management, working with specialists in investment banking. Following my time in Wealth Management, I continued to work at another branch furthering my work with specialists in investment banking and credit. Some of my activities there included: preparing documents for appointments with customers, translating (and lots of it!) analyzing and providing summaries about the stock market situation, opening/ closing bank accounts and personally, researching the differences between how finance works in Germany vs. the US. It's completely different. For example, with credit in Germany is seen completely different here than in the US. In the US, you have a credit score and history in which you build a credit score. This score looks better when you have several credit cards, contracts and payments so long as they're paid in on time. In Germany, having an abundance of credit is seen as a risk for a bank and will in return result in you paying higher interest. Both sides are logical and it was interesting comparing and contrasting the systems between two economically strong countries.
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| My notes trying to understand the world of banking |
However, the place where I learned the greatest amount and had the most fun in my internship wasn't in my typical intern things to do. I took it upon myself to get to know my colleagues and ask to work alongside them as my "mentors" as it was sometimes too difficult to hand me a more complicated project since I don't yet have the certification or the experience. I was also lucky to have worked alongside such an inspirational, encouraging team who helped me understand their work. The ones most passionate about their jobs would graciously take time out of their day to teach me and show me "a day in a life of a ..." whether it was sitting next to them as they did their work or joining them to appointments and meetings (I would prepare the documents for it before hand and what was really interesting for me was observing the interactions between the client and advisor). The incite they gave me into their work was fascinating and very inspiring. Asking questions and seeing how they interacted with one another also really helped me gain clarity into my goals (career, personal and in leadership). These connections with the advisor's led to all sorts of adventures and meeting interesting people. They led to invitations to attend different receptions and events...
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My team at IC!
They taught me the importance of building a strong, dynamic
group of employees and leveraging each member's
skills to improve overall performance (and to have
fun!) |
My favorite place to work during my internship was at International Counter- a branch of the bank established for Embassies and diplomats. In a typical day there, I heard at least 5 or 6 languages spoken a day (for granted, all the advisers speak 3+ languages fluently...and then there was me...). The focus of the branch is to manage accounts of the diplomatic community residing in Germany- both private and business banking. (The majority of my internship was spent in private banking, so getting a glimpse into business banking here was fascinating!) Boy, was it cool and right up my alley as I want to have an international career and having my original goal set on working in the US Foreign Service as a diplomat. Plus, it was the first time in my internship where I would leverage being a native English speaker. Since clients came from all continents, I learned the importance of understanding cultural implications on business. For example, not all countries shake hands before a meeting, especially in thee Middle East and Africa. Rather they kiss on the check. The game for me was trying to figure out how many...sometimes it was one, two or even four or more!
On a daily business, I'd call and write emails to customers in English while speaking with the advisers, doing research, filling out documents, and answering the phone in German. Needless to say, I no longer have problems switching between German and English!
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Noah and I at a networking event at the
Canadian Embassy! |
While at International Counter, I earned the privilege to attend and represent the bank at receptions and networking events. These events landed me all sorts of places including a national celebration ceremony at the South African and Taiwanese Embassies, and at the United Arab Emirates to a tour of the US Embassy with my branch to wine tastings and playing basketball! These events exposed me to the diplomatic community and gave me an early start to building a network within in! Ambassadors, diplomats, and other government workers open and excitedly spoke with me about the pros and cons of their career and gave me advice! Even met some alumni from my college!
Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience that still shocks me to this day! It was not your typical corporate internship and I had a lot of luck with having it turn out so positive. I am incredibly thankful for my host mom for making this opportunity possible and for the incredible people I met and the connections I've established through my internship! They exposed me to the world of banking and a range of careers I never knew existed! I'm incredibly thankful! My time at Commerzbank has helped me discover my passion for business and has most definitely affirmed my want to study international business.
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Pic with my diplomatic basketball team (including 2 Ambassadors-captains of course-
and a team representing 7 countries!) Met some at an event and they invited
me to join them for a game of basketball in Mitte! |
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