Interns bring a fresh perspective and new ideas
In 2020, Stonehage Fleming joined over 700 companies in the UK to participate in the 10,000 Black Interns programme. The initiative aims to help young adults kick start their career and improve diversity in the City for the long term. In June, our Investment Strategy & Research team welcomed student, Bella Smith, for a six-week placement. We caught up with Director, Tristan Dolphin, to find out more.
The recruitment process for the internship placement was thorough. We did several rounds of interviews and talked to a wide range of candidates. Bella really stood out – she showed a lot of passion and her extra-curricular groups and interests demonstrated a hunger for learning. We don’t expect prior knowledge or experience of financial services but enthusiasm is a must.
Interns bring a fresh perspective and new ideas. When you’ve been working in the same team for a long time you get used to doing things a certain way – that can include approach, team structure or processes. It’s refreshing when interns come in with lots of questions. They often have new ideas and challenge existing ways of doing things.
Internship programmes are a crucial training ground for top talent. They give firms like Stonehage Fleming the opportunity to demonstrate to young people, early on in their tertiary education, that careers in financial services are a good proposition for them. A more diverse internship pool will ultimately translate into greater entry-level diversity too.
Despite the additional challenges from Covid, Bella had a fantastic attitude. Meeting people for the first time and working over video conference it can be difficult to build rapport and gain the same level of exposure you would in an office environment. Bella coped with all that very well. She was always on the front foot, prepared with questions and not afraid to speak up.
My advice to interns? Don’t be shy. Those that aren’t afraid to ask questions get the most out of these programmes.
Tristan is a Director within the Investment Strategy & Research team, focusing primarily on equity research and manager selection, as well as providing support to the client team.
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash