Which finance internship should I choose?

[bluef0x]

1. "Financial Advisor Internship" Looks like it's a small group of people that operate under the Lincoln Financial Group name. http://briggsmatsko.com is the site.

The Job Responsibilities -
-Prepare individual Account Reviews for clients in preparation of them visiting our office.
-Create existing client portfolios using Morningstar reporting software. The reports will allow you to determine clients current risk tolerance, asset allocation and find potential deficiencies in their portfolios.
-Prepare targeted marketing projects for our firm¡¦s best clients.
-Run financial planning and insurance illustrations for client meetings.
-Handle customer service forms, investment/insurance applications and follow them through the pipeline of processing.
-Schedule appointments for advisors by contacting existing clients only, no cold-calling.
-Create great-looking documents in Word, Excel and PowerPoint


2. Is a government internship for students only. It's "Sustainability Program Financial Assistance Division" for the board on integrated waste management.

Under direction of the Staff Loan Officer Supervisor, the student will be responsible for:
-Responding to internal and external requests for program data and maintaining the databases
-Spread financial statements using a computerized spreadsheet program
-Assisting with special projects to evaluate program goals and objectives
-Assisting loan staff with various administrative functions
-Conduct research


Which one would look better on a resume? The first job listing states that they will work throughout multiple semesters and maybe even have a job opening at time of graduation, etc. With the second job, you can only work there a certain amount of time. Also, are there any sites that have examples of morningstar/excel being used?

I'd gladly appreciate ANY piece of advice.

[bluef0x]

I just found a 3rd option- http://www.plannedsolutions.com

"We are looking for an intern with good math and computer skills as they will be asked to use excel to update our investment model on a weekly basis as well as work with myself and other staff members in the creation of financial plans."

EDIT: and a 4th from Northwestern Mutual "Financial Representative interns with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network have the same opportunities to build their careers as our full-time representatives" They are apparently ranked in the top 10 internships by some magazine or something. Although, it feels like I'd basically be a sales person- which I don't want to be. Not sure, I don't know much about Northwestern Mutual.

Can someone rank the 4 internships? Also, it looks like I will really need to brush up on my Excel skills.

[scott1]

You've been offered these internships already?

[bluef0x]

[ QUOTE ]
You've been offered these internships already?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. I have interviews scheduled with 1 & 2 already, but I'm not sure which I should choose if both offer a job. I really have no clue which would look best. Pay isn't a problem since they all pay around $8-$11/hour. I'm only getting an internship so it doesn't look like I was a bum during school.

Can anyone help?

[scott1]

#1 will probably look better than #2 on a resume. Though I think there's a reasonable chance that #1 will involve a lot of this -

- Schedule appointments for advisors by contacting existing clients only, no cold-calling.

If I were in this position I'd use the interviews to get an idea how much real experience the roles would get me. I'd rather learn something, and get good talking points, and have some real experience to talk about for an interview that worry about what name is on the internship.

[bluef0x]

Good point. I want to avoid secretarial duties, I rather learn what it's like in the industry..

[catalyst]

I would avoid northwestern like the plague - from what I have heard about them, anyways. I interviewed at LFG for a rotational program, and it seemed like a pretty laid back company that was very good to their employees (in phili). Take that info FWIW. You will learn about these companies when you interview though, so making a decision now is silly - and you may not get offers from all of them. Go to each interview with the intention of getting the job, then compare your offers with the information you gained from the interview.

[LordBP]

catayst - Can you give a little more detail about what you heard about Northwestern? I was thinking about applying for their internship program in the Fall. Thanks

[catalyst]

[ QUOTE ]
catayst - Can you give a little more detail about what you heard about Northwestern? I was thinking about applying for their internship program in the Fall. Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure - I apologize for being so vague. I have a few friends/acquaintances that started working their during school and right after school in their insurance division. They hated/hate the company and hate selling life insurance all day. I guess if you like to sell life insurance it would work out well. I don't know anything about how their internships work - though OP mentioned it sounded like a sales job (selling financial plans though, rather than insurance).

So obviously I have very limited experience/knowledge of them - so take it FWIW (though I would avoid them like the plague!).


GL.

[bluef0x]

Also, they stated they would be giving interns $100/week for working 15-20 hours. So you would most likely be making less than minimum wage selling [censored]. If you wanted to do that, you might as well join a commission based sales job and have a shot at making more.