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Transitioning into the financial services sector can be a natural fit for veterans. Even if you weren’t a financial professional in the military, working in financial services can be a lot like working in the military. There are a variety of internships for veterans that can be helpful.
Many veterans leave the service still desiring a structured life. Because of the level of regulations on financial services and the fact that you will be dealing with people’s money, the industry tends to be fairly conservative. The career path is more well-defined and the workplace is more structured — a dynamic that can resonate with a lot of veterans looking for a workplace akin to the military.
The industry basically falls into three sectors: retail, commercial, and investment.
Retail banking is what you are most likely associated with. This would be the set of services and products that help individuals take care of their personal finances. Brick and mortar banks, online savings accounts, and your checking account all fall under the retail banking sector. Careers in this sector can include working on the broader systems of banking that millions of people may use, or working with individuals to meet their private banking needs.
Commercial banking is just what it sounds like- you work with businesses for their banking needs. To be successful, you will likely end up needing an MBA and should be comfortable with sales. Much like consulting, you can get the benefit of being exposed to a wide variety of businesses and industries, a type of diversity that appeals to a lot of people.
Investment banking is perhaps the most misunderstood. Investment bankers work with companies to raise money and manage the mergers and acquisitions process. Looking to take a company to an IPO? You’ll need the help of an investment banker. The life of an investment banker is notoriously stressful and difficult, but the potential to make a TON of money exists. Investment banking firms tend to be in the biggest cities, and if you think you may be interested in investment banking you should check out MBA programs like Chicago Booth or NYU Stern– both located in investment banking hubs and with solid scholarship opportunities for veterans.
There are a lot of initiatives out there by banks to bring veterans into their company. While banks like Bank of America and U.S. Bank have veteran hiring initiatives, the programs below have internships specific to veterans. These career programs can provide a structured path to lead you as you learn more about banking.
But these are not just experiences, these companies created internships for veterans to add them to their teams.
Wells Fargo Veteran Employment Transition (VET) Program
You’ve likely heard of Wells Fargo. Since 1852, Wells Fargo has been one of the main retail banks used in the U.S. With over 258,000 employees, including 8,400 veterans, they are about as large of a corporation as you can get. And they have a stated goal to more than double the number of veteran hires, seeking to bring their total to 20,000 veteran employees.
Wells Fargo wants people who enjoy working in dynamic environments, are goal-oriented, have strong teamwork skills, and want to improve themself.
Hmm, sounds like a veteran to me.
The goal of the program is to immediately transition you into a growth promotion position. Veterans have participated in the program working in teams at Wells Fargo such as:
- Corporate Risk Groups and Financial Crimes helping to identify and manage risk
- Enterprise Finance & Information Technology (EF&IT)
- Investment Portfolio, managing a portfolio of investments worth over $400B
- Commercial Banking
- Commercial Real Estate lending
This is by no means the only way to start a career with Wells Fargo. If the timeline does not work for you with the internship, you can still go through traditional hiring methods to try and land a job with Wells Fargo.
To land the internship, you will first need to complete their application. Should they like what you provided, you will be invited to an interview in Charlotte, NC.
Goldman Sachs Internship for Veterans
The Goldman Sachs Veteran Integration Program is one of the most prestigious veteran transition programs available. For anyone looking for internships for veterans, this should be near the top of the list. The Firm, as it is known, is a traditional powerhouse and extremely well-trusted brand in the financial services industry. Many Goldman Sachs alumni move on to positions of even greater influence in both the public and private sectors.
Goldman Sachs launched the program in 2012, seeing that the values and skills veterans built in the military matched extremely well with what Goldman Sachs sought from new hires. The program is a paid 12-week program that can be a natural entryway into landing a job at Goldman. Even if you do not end up working at Goldman, having this experience on your resume can give you some serious credibility.
The program provides both experience in performing day-to-day responsibilities and the opportunity to complete a training program on financial markets and products. So do not worry if you aren’t already a financial whiz-kid. Notably, you will get prime networking opportunities with Goldman Sachs leaders (see above comment about their alumni) and be guided through your experience with an assigned buddy, also a veteran.
The process to bring you on is fairly competitive, with an application and multiple rounds of interviews. Should you get invited to an interview, you will want to start prepping right away.
Below is a video where Owen West, son of famed Marine Bing West and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, and former Goldman Sachs executive talks about the value veterans bring to Goldman Sachs. FYI the video is about an hour-long, so maybe open in another tab and watch later.
J.P. Morgan Military Transition Program
J.P. Morgan used to have an Early Insights Program designed specifically for U.S. veterans. Unfortunately, the program no longer appears to be active.
If you still want to pursue an internship with J.P. Morgan and don’t mind living in merry ol’ England, they do have a Military Transition Program with cohorts in London and Bournemouth. Given that the program is most likely filled with British military you know you will have a great time because those Brits know how to get down. I could tell you of a Thanksgiving I spent at a British Army villa in the Middle East, but there’s not enough room on this post for the amount of Scotch involved in that tale.
Good news for you is that Wall Street really wants veterans. Seriously. In researching for this, I was blown away by the number of resources, programs, and initiatives that are out there to bring veterans into the banking. I take that as a strong sign that your skills and experience from the military are desired in this industry and that these firms really want you. These internships for veterans can be extremely helpful in your search.
Just don’t get cocky.
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