PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center has compiled a list of suggestions to help you build marketable skills that enhance your resume, in the absence of formal internship experience. Combine different opportunities from the below list to show employers that you are motivated and creative. Position yourself for success for the next recruiting season!
Micro-Internships are short-term, paid, professional assignments that are similar to those given to new hires or interns. These projects enable Career Launchers to demonstrate skills, explore career paths, and build their networks as they seek the right full-time role. Unlike traditional internships, Micro-Internships can take place year-round, typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work, and are due between one week and one month after kick-off. MicroInternships are used by companies ranging from those in the Fortune 100 to emerging start-ups, and go across departments including sales, marketing, technology, HR, and finance.
Micro-Internships are facilitated via the Parker Dewey platform, which connects Career Launchers with companies in need of support. Learn more on CareerEdge, or click here to sign up.
Forage is an open access platform designed to unlock exciting careers for students by connecting them with our company-endorsed Virtual Work Experience Programs. Virtual Work Experience Programs are online programs built and endorsed by leading companies that contain a series of resources and tasks designed to simulate the real-world experience of starting a career. Virtual internships are completely free, and you can attempt any of the virtual internships with no prior work experience. You can also do them regardless of your visa or work status.
Volunteering for a local organization in need of help is a great way to boost your morale and help you feel like you’re making an impact this summer. While many organizations need help on the front lines, some also need help in the areas of finance, accounting, or marketing.
Need additional motivation? A recent survey by Deloitte found that 82% of interviewers prefer applicants with volunteer experience, and 92% say volunteer activities build leadership skills.
Check out VolunteerMatch to find opportunities near you. You can also search by Cause Areas, including Advocacy & Human Rights, Animals, Children & Youth, Education & Literacy, Disaster Relief, Environment, Hunger, People with Disabilities, Sports & Recreation and more. There’s something for everyone!
Or, check out Points of Light Engage Points of Light Engage pulls volunteer opportunities from sites around the web to provide the most comprehensive database of volunteer opportunities around the world.
LinkedIn Learning is an online educational platform that helps you discover and develop business, technologyrelated, and creative skills through expert-led course videos. With more than 5,000 courses and personalized recommendations, you can discover, complete, and track courses related to your field and interests. You can also choose to add these courses and related skills to your LinkedIn profile once you've completed them. Explore subjects such as: Business Analysis and Strategy, Finance and Accounting, Professional Development, Excel, Python, SQL and much more! Access LinkedIn Learning via MyBentley
Coursera offers free courses covering a wide array of topics, from technical skills to personal development, providing accessible education for career advancement or individual learning goals with no cost. Click here to learn more.
The Trading Room provides firsthand exposure to financial concepts such as trading, portfolio construction, corporate finance concepts and risk management through an unrivaled collection of data feeds and analytical tools, many of which are available remotely. Click here for a description of each application. Take advantage of the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the programs that are relevant to your career interests.
Actively follow the markets! Regardless of what specific area within finance you’re most interested in, having a strong understanding of the markets will always work in your favor. Here are a few sites to check out, but note there are many more:
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Bentley University students have free access to The Wall Street Journal website. Learn how to register here.
▪ MoneyBeat: A pre-markets primer packed with market updates, insights and must-read news links. Macro Horizons. WSJ editors analyze the overnight economic and political events affecting global markets.
▪ Bloomberg: Bloomberg delivers business and markets news, data, analysis, and video to the world, featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News.
▪ MarketWatch: MarketWatch provides the latest stock market, financial and business news. Get stock market quotes, personal finance advice, company news and more.
▪ MorningBrew: The daily email newsletter covering the latest news from Wall St. to Silicon Valley. Informative, witty, and everything you need to start your day.
READ! The world of finance is a source of endless material for writers and has resulted in fascinating stories. Check out this list of the Top 20 Best & Most Recommended Finance Books:
1. The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing | Benjamin Graham and Jason Zweig
2. Think and Grow Rich | Napoleon Hill
3. One Up On Wall Street | Peter Lynch
4. Security Analysis | Benjamin Graham and David Dodd
5. Rich Dad Poor Dad | Robert T. Kiyosaki
6. The Theory of Investment Value | John Burr Williams
7. The Millionaire Next Door | Thomas Stanley and William Danko
8. The Investment Answer | Daniel C. Goldie, CFA, CFP and Gordon S. Murray
9. A Random Walk Down Wall Street | Burton Malkiel
10. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk | Peter L. Bernstein
11. The Richest Man in Babylon | George S. Clason
12. Market Wizards | Jack D. Schwager
13. Common Sense on Mutual Funds | John Bogle
14. Your Money or Your Life | Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
15. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds | Charles Mackay
16. Barbarians at the Gate | Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
17. Liar’s Poker | Michael Lewis
18. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings | Philip A. Fisher
19. The Alchemy of Finance | George Soros
20. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management | Roger Lowenstein
And this list of the Top 5 Best Business Books, as recommended by some of the most prestigious MBA programs in the country:
1. The Lean Startup | by Eric Ries
2. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game | by Michael Lewis
3. How to Win Friends and Influence People | by Dale Carnegie
4. Good to Great | by Jim Collins
5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things | by Ben Horowitz
Build your professional network! No matter what stage you’re at in your career, having a strong professional network will pay major dividends.
Not sure what area of finance interests you most? Conduct informational interviews with professionals in a variety of areas to learn more about the day-to-day responsibilities, work-life balance, career path, company culture, and more.
Know exactly what you’re looking to do? Conduct informational interviews with professionals working in your target roles / at your target companies. They may be willing to keep you posted about future open positions or refer you.
Joining a professional association is a great way to boost your networking efforts! Many professional organizations offer a free or reduced membership cost for students. Membership in a professional organization may include access to the following benefits:
▪ Career Resources
▪ Networking Events
▪ Educational Events
▪ Scholarship Programs
▪ Mentorship Programs
▪ Membership Directory
Here are some finance-related professional associations to consider:
▪ CFA Society Boston
▪ The Risk Management Association (RMA)
▪ National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)
▪ Financial Planning Association ® (FPA®)
▪ National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)
▪ Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM)
▪ NAIOP – Commercial Real Estate Development Association
▪ The Real Estate Finance Association (REFA)
▪ Financial Women’s Association
▪ Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA)
▪ Job Opportunities
▪ Private LinkedIn Groups
▪ Newsletters / Other Publications
Job shadowing is an activity where you can “shadow”, observe, and follow someone in your potential field of interest while the professional is at work This is the time to observe the career’s culture, explore, and ask questions. It is important to understand that job shadowing is different (and much shorter) than an internship. You most likely will not be “hands on” and you won’t be gaining any career experience. Job shadowing is solely to understand what the professional does in their day-to-day activities.
What are some of the benefits of job shadowing? To name a few – it allows you to gain insight into the day-to-day responsibilities of a position and the company culture. Not to mention, job shadowing expands your network and helps you make additional professional contacts
Ask family, friends of the family, or other professionals that you’ve connected with if they’d be willing to let you spend a day or part of a day job shadowing them.
Learn more about relevant industry exams / certifications / designations that you may want to pursue; consider starting to study, if possible at the undergraduate level, and if it makes sense based on your career goals and personal situation. Here is a list of some of the top finance certifications:
▪ Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam: The Securities Industry Essentials® (SIE®) Exam is a new FINRA exam for prospective securities industry professionals. This introductory-level exam assesses a candidate’s knowledge of basic securities industry information including concepts fundamental to working in the industry, such as types of products and their risks; the structure of the securities industry markets, regulatory agencies and their functions; and prohibited practices. Learn more here
▪ Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) Certification: The CFA® designation is highly sought after by finance professionals around the world. It consists of three levels and takes an average of about four years to complete all three levels. It is widely regarded as one of the top finance certifications. The main focus of this finance certification is on portfolio management and investment analysis. The main exam topics include ethical and professional standards, quantitative methods, economics, financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, portfolio management, equity, fixed income, derivatives, and alternative investments. Some Bentley students sit for the exam in December of their senior year or June following graduation. Learn more about Level I CFA® here
▪ Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®) Designation: The CAIA® certification is focused on alternative investments and geared toward professionals in the asset management and hedge fund industries. The main topics covered in the CAIA® are ethics, hedge funds, private equity, real assets, structured products, asset allocation, and risk management. CAIA® is one of the top finance certifications. Learn more here
▪ Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Certification: Earning a CFP® designation can be a great path for anyone looking at a career in investment or wealth management. As the name implies, it’s focused on financial planning, which is the retail or high net worth segment of investment management. CFP® is one of the top finance certifications for anyone who wants to manage high net worth clients. Learn more here
▪ Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) Certification: The FRM® certification is designed for professionals pursuing careers as risk officers, risk analysts, and other positions in risk management. Learn more here.
▪ Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA) ® Certification: A new and increasingly popular option for corporate finance professionals is to obtain a financial modeling certification from an institute such as CFI. Course topics range from how to build a financial model to advanced valuation techniques and sensitivity analysis, all using practical applications in Excel. Learn more here.
For a helpful comparison of the CFA, CAIA, CFA, FRM and FVMA designations, including timing, cost, duration and focus, click here and scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
Please note the following:
▪ While working towards these credentials as an undergraduate student may give you an advantage over other candidates, it does not guarantee employment.
▪ You may wind up working for an employer that would be willing to pay for the exam and/or study materials, instead of paying out-of-pocket.
▪ In most cases, relevant full-time work experience is required to officially earn the certification / designation.
▪ Consult with your Career Coach and/or industry professionals before making any firm decisions.
Any type of work experience that you’re able to have over the summer can be beneficial as far as developing transferrable skills, even if it’s not directly related to your major and/or long-term career goals.
Whether you’re lifeguarding, providing childcare services, or working in retail, food services, landscaping or construction, you’re honing skills such as customer service, communication, teamwork, multi-tasking and prioritizing, to name a few. All of these skills are in high demand from employers.
Consider looking for temporary jobs through a staffing agency. Temporary jobs can be a great way to gain professional experience and boost your resume, and you can find temp jobs in almost any industry Check out this helpful Guide for Using a Temp Agency to Find Work from The Balance Careers
So now that you’ve had a really productive summer, how can you convey that on your resume? Below is a suggestion.
SUMMER 2024 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Completed a 10-hour micro-internship through Parker Dewey; built financial model to accurately forecast and assess potential risks for a start-up phamaceutical company
• Committed approximately 20 hours per week to studying for CFA Level I; sitting for exam in February 2025
• Developed and enhanced techical skills and finance knowledge through various LinkedIn Learning modules: Excel: Advanced Formulas and Functions, Excel for Investment Professionals, Behavioral Finance Foundations, and Economic Indicators
• Explored the various features and functionality of FactSet and Capital IQ via the Bentley Trading Room; spent approximately 10 hours of time learning each program
• Conducted informational interviews with three professionals in the investment management industry to better understand day-to-day responsibilities, career paths, and company culture
Next fall, if you were in the shoes of a recruiter, wouldn’t you be impressed by a candidate who took this kind of initiative over the summer?!