Making the most of an internship at 4most

An internship is an excellent opportunity to gain invaluable industry experience and begin to develop the skills that will help kickstart your career in a chosen field.

4most consultant and previous 2019 summer intern, Michelle Micek, explains how she approached making the most out of her 10-week summer internship at 4most.

I set myself 3 goals

At the start of the internship, each intern was buddied up with an experienced 4moster who was there to support with any questions and to be a point of contact throughout the programme. My buddy and I sat down and decided on 3 goals that I wanted to achieve by the end of the internship. This could have been something very simple, from improving my networking skills, to a technical goal such as being able to write a macro within SAS.

At the end of each assignment or every few weeks, we would revisit those goals and check on my progress. This would then allow us to track how I was developing, but also to identify if there was anything that I could do to further my knowledge and skills to excel. This might have included undertaking internal training, that was readily available at 4most, or presenting my analysis to others to obtain feedback and areas for improvement prior to delivering to a wider audience.

By the end of the internship, I had many opportunities to develop and work on my goals. Keeping track of each goal allowed me to monitor my progress and the key areas I had developed in during the program.

Networking and Getting Involved

Before starting at 4most, I made sure that my LinkedIn profile was up to date with all my previous roles and experiences. Whenever I attended a presentation, or I got to know a fellow employee, I would make sure to send them an invite on LinkedIn. You never know when that connection may be helpful in the future, especially as you may cross paths with colleagues again within the world of Credit Risk!

I also made sure I got to know the other employees within the office. Spending a little time each day asking them what projects they were working on and what areas they specialise in.

This was very beneficial during the final 6 weeks of the programme, where we had the opportunity to work and develop a product that one day could be sold as a service to clients. My team were struggling with some R coding and these newly formed relationships came to fruition. I quickly realised that the knowledge base was all around us and that my colleagues were always more than happy to help each other out.

During the internship there were several socials. Either on the office terrace at the end of the working day with a few colleagues or including the whole company. I made sure I attended as many as possible, because this gave me the opportunity to network with others outside the workplace setting. Even after starting my graduate role in September 2020 and having covid restrictions in place. There have been many opportunities to socialise as a company or team online, including quizzes set by other 4mosters, online escape rooms and even making pizzas together.

Moreover, as 4most is a consultancy, some employees may be based at client sites or working from home and therefore would have not worked in the London 4most office while we were completing the internship. Hence by attending the socials, it gave me the opportunity to network with those that I had not met yet and learn about their experiences.

Pushing myself out of my comfort zone

During the internship, I was provided with many opportunities that would take me out of my comfort zone. An example of an opportunity that pushed me outside my comfort zone is that I had the chance to prepare presentations and showcase them to others from different educational backgrounds and technical expertise.

Being an Intern, I was able to deliver presentations on a weekly basis allowing me to develop my confidence, be receptive to feedback and improve my own knowledge. This then helped me to feel more confident and prepared for when I was delivering our final presentation in front of most of the company, including the managing directors.

My final piece of advice is the more you put in, the more you will be rewarded with. Venturing outside your comfort zone can help accelerate your development while making the process of overcoming barriers gradually easier. You may even discover new things you enjoy, or areas that you excel in that were previously unknown to you!

You can find out more about internships at 4most and apply for our Credit Risk and Insurance opportunities by visiting our careers page.