Exceeding expectations - What a joy! The internship comes highly recommended by our summer interns
25-08-2023 15:36
(DK #3) What a blast! For our interns and for us, to hear that they’ve had a great time with us at the trading floor in Copenhagen during the summer – on many levels, professionally and socially. “Markets is a wonderful place to work”. “The internship has ticked every box. It’s a great opportunity, in every way”. Read the last blog in the series by our diverse summer interns 2023 and hear about their learnings, wins and challenges, recommendations and tips for future applicants.
By Milton, Johan, Théodore, Louise, Morten and Ida
Milton doing a presentation for Markets managers and fellow interns.
The internship has been a positive learning experience. My colleagues have all been very kind and helpful, and the atmosphere has been inviting and appreciative. For example, no matter whom I ask for help, no one is ever dismissive but instead gladly helps and teaches you things along the way.
The best part of the internship, for me personally, has been the possibility to learn about Nordea in general and about my area in particular. I have been working as a back-end java developer, and I have mostly worked on a monitor which monitors the status of different Nordea applications. Doing this, I have learned a bunch about how servers interact, internet communication, websites and about how the back-end of a modern bank looks like.
Challenges
The most challenging part has been trying to explore and get used to the vast number of applications, tools, servers, rules and more which are necessary to utilize in order to accomplish anything in the back-end. Also, my background is not within development – I study Industrial management and engineering - so I have been forced to learn a lot in order for me to contribute with anything. The internship has been a mix of a crash course and learn-to-fly-after-being-kicked-out-of-the-nest in terms of need for learning. I have appreciated every second.
Expectations
Mostly, I had hoped to see what life is at a bank and learn as much as possible. I feel I have accomplished this. My main goal was to contribute with something in return for the learning experience. The monitor, I mentioned, is my main contribution, and according to my driver/main contact it will be put to good use, which makes me feel like I hit that goal also.
Would I recommend the internship?
Yes. There is no need to have a prior interest in finance to work at a bank – there are so many different areas within Nordea that you’ll be sure to find something you will like. People's backgrounds also differ. This year, the summer interns were a mix of different engineering fields (management, data, math) and business or economics. The co-workers have interests outside of finance as well, meaning you can talk about anything with your co-workers. As described, the atmosphere at Nordea is inviting, and I feel it has allowed me every possibility to grow.
Overall, my internship at Nordea Markets has been an incredibly valuable experience. The best parts have been the opportunity to work on real life projects and collaborate with a talented team. My own projects have included creating ad-hoc tools using SQL, doing a deep dive into the inflation risk area as well as conducting market risk analysis for a number of different banks. Working on projects like these has taught me a lot about the financial markets, trading strategies and risk management.
The most challenging aspect of the internship has been adapting to the fast-paced environment and the complexity of financial markets. However, it’s been a great learning opportunity and has pushed me to enhance my analytical and problem-solving skills.
In terms of meeting expectations, I can confidently say that my internship has exceeded them. I set out to gain practical knowledge in the financial markets and develop relevant skills, both of which I’ve achieved through hands-on projects and mentorship.
The supportive work culture and the emphasis on learning make it a great opportunity for growth.
I would absolutely recommend this internship. The exposure to real trading scenarios and the chance to learn from experts in the field is invaluable. The supportive work culture and the emphasis on learning make it a great opportunity for growth. The primary tip I have for other students considering applying for an internship is to just do it! To make the most out of the internship, I would recommend not being afraid to ask questions and be curious.
The weeks have really flown by at the desk. Working with the Systematic Market Making & Automation team at the trading floor in Copenhagen has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about financial markets in general and FX in particular. The insight I have gained into how coding and quantitative methods can be applied to this space is great considering the short duration of the internship.
During these weeks at Markets, I have also visited a lot of other desks at the trading floor to learn about their work. This, along with the varied nature of my work, has helped paint a fair picture of life at Nordea Markets. A main takeaway is that everyone is very helpful and welcoming.
Along the way, I have spent time with my team, having great fun both at work and outside. Also, the social gatherings with the other interns and Simon, our internship coordinator, has been a nice part of the internship.
Most challenging
Working with quantitative trading is challenging in the sense that you need to have a good understanding of a broad set of varied subjects and tools. Naturally, this is challenging but of course also exciting.
Has the internship met my expectations?
In the first blog post, I mentioned that my expectations were to learn a lot and enjoy the summer in Copenhagen. Although the weather hasn’t been the best, it has been a special summer with many new experiences, learnings – and faces.
Would I recommend the internship?
Yes, without a doubt. The balanced mix of learning and working with the team, having fun with the other interns and getting the general idea of working at the trading floor of a large bank means that the internship has ticked every box. It’s a great opportunity, in every way.
The internship has ticked every box. It’s a great opportunity, in every way.
Tips for future applicants
Be sure to know what desk you are interested in before applying. Read about the work that the different desks do, and what skillset and personality they are looking for. Finally, I think it’s important to emphasize that if there is one skill that is truly valuable; to have an aptitude and eagerness for learning.
My summer at Nordea has been great! My main task has been to migrate the search functionality of a tool used by sales, to a dashboard. Basically, I have created a whole new dashboard and implemented the same functionality that was already in the other tool – and then improved it. Apart from that, I have done some bug fixes and made small additions requested by the traders, to an existing dashboard. Essentially, I have been coding all summer.
From my experience, Markets is a wonderful place to work. The atmosphere is fairly relaxed, it is way calmer on the trading floor than I had expected, and the co-workers are very friendly. I have felt very welcome in my team, and felt like a part of the team, and everyone has been really helpful. It has felt great to be able to contribute for real and create something that will actually be used.
All the other summer interns, and Simon (the intern coordinator), being such lovely people, has for sure also contributed to my time here being so enjoyable.
The most challenging?
I am not great at asking questions and asking for help, so having to do that has been a little challenging for me. However, I feel I got better at it during the course of the summer. As per usual with coding, figuring out where some kind of crazy behaviour is coming from (and fix it) has also been a bit challenging.
Has the internship met my expectations?
In most ways the internship has definitely met my expectations. I have learnt less about the financial market than I had hoped but apart from that I am very satisfied. As I will be staying on as a student and writing my thesis here during the fall, there is still time for that. One of my expectations was to find out whether finance is a good fit for me, and even though I have mostly been coding, I can definitely see myself staying in this field. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and learnt a lot, which I think is what matters the most.
Would I recommend the internship?
I would most certainly recommend this internship. It is a great way to experience how it is to work on the trading floor. We have had “intro sessions” to all the teams that us interns belong to, in order to learn more about the different parts of the trading floor, which have been very insightful.
The social aspect has also been great; our intern coordinator, Simon, has been kind enough to organize several AWs (after-work happenings) for us summer interns in Markets, which have all been a lot of fun, e.g. minigolf, a boat ride through the canals of Copenhagen, as well as boule to mention some activities. We have even also organized a few get-togethers on our own.
I have had the opportunity to contribute to three different projects in FX, which was more than I expected I’d be able to in two months. I am quite happy with that, as I learned a lot from it, and from previous student jobs, I have experienced that it is hard to contribute substantially to projects due to the short amount of time that you are able to spend in the office.
Has the internship met my expectations?
My plan for this internship was to get an overview of the banking industry in order to determine if I could see myself working there. While I did not fully achieve this as the industry encompasses more areas than I could imagine, I still learned a lot, as I was exposed to a variety of tasks being performed on the trading floor.
Would I recommend the internship?
As mentioned, I wanted to experience the banking sector to determine if I wanted to work there in the future. Now that the internship is coming to an end, I can definitely say that it allows you to do that as you will be exposed to so many different areas of the banking sector via the trading floor. So, I would recommend anyone that is interested in the banking sector to apply for the internship.
Tips for students considering to apply for an internship at Markets
I think it is important to allow yourself to be a bit overwhelmed in the beginning as there is so much going on at the trading floor and you will not necessarily know everything when joining. So rather than stressing over it in the beginning, just know that you will figure it out eventually – cause everyone is keen to provide you with answers to your questions.
I rotated between four teams; Nordea Research, Risk Solutions, FX Sales, and Derivatives Coverage and had the opportunity to get my hands on various different projects in each team. Besides my own projects, I got to follow everything the professionals had on their templates. This varied from attending several customer meetings, executing trades, pricing swaps and caps, and making deeper risk management analyses for customers.
The social aspect
The social aspect of the internship has been a blast! It has been fun to have six peers – and now friends – during the summer to share my thoughts and feelings about work and hear about their interests, and what their teams work with. It has likewise been valuable to tap out of work-related stuff with them, and just be seven young people enjoying the various activities Copenhagen has to offer during summer after work hours.
Has the internship met my expectations?
It has definitely met my expectations and I would even say that it has exceeded them. I have also been positively surprised by how people outside the teams I joined, have been so open to give me introductions to their areas in the bank, and welcoming all questions I might have, even though they do not take in summer interns.
Besides working in the four teams, I also sat down with people in FX spot trading, DKK bonds trading, US Swap trading, Fixed income sales and Private banking. This has given me an even broader perspective of the multiple career opportunities Nordea has to offer.
Check out our "Meet our talents" blog for inspiration and insight to the work life at Nordea LC&I and the wide range of career opportunities offered.
Interested in a career at Nordea Markets LC&I?
Nordea Markets LC&I (Large Corporates & Institutions) is the leading international capital operator and investment banking partner in the Nordic region. Let some of our student interns, graduates as well as experienced professionals explain it to you; how it works, what we do, and about the many career opportunities we can offer you.
