Internship season marks the beginning of one of the most crucial periods in a student’s life. It would not be an understatement to say that it was a tumultuous time for all, but it just so happened to work out well in the end. The three of us (Sarthak, Akshara and Jigyasa) interned at Wells Fargo for the summer of 2022. Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company and is the third largest (asset- wise according to the data from the Federal Reserve) bank in the United States. WF does not have any banking branches in India. WF did not offer its internship program prior to 2021. Therefore, we were not aware of exactly what we were getting into.

Getting the Intern

The internship process included one test, one round of technical interview (In the intern talk there was a mention of a senior manager round as well which did not happen) and one HR phone call.

Test: The test was divided into several sections like Mathematical Aptitude, English Language Assessment, Quant Ability, Data Interpretation and Competitive Programming (Typically Interview Bit Level 3). The questions were simple and were distributed in the topics of Geometry, Probability, Permutations and Combinations, sequences and series. The questions were basic and standard. Speed and accuracy were critical parameters. One can refer to CAT papers for aptitude, brush up probability, basic calculus and PnC.

Interview

Sarthak: After multiple rejections from ITC, Amex, etc. I was very tense regarding this interview. I re-listened to the Pre-Internship campus talk (Make notes from those or record those) and it reiterated that this interview is about leveraging your strengths. Hence, I went prepared with an in depth understanding of every pointer in my resume and a comprehensive introduction that opens up directions of questioning for the interviewers. I was asked a guesstimate, “Number of marriages occurring in a particular month in India”. I was asked several questions about a personal project of Data Science in my resume about the choice and methods of choosing the data to be fed in the model. I was asked how I planned to bridge the knowledge gaps I have in concerns with Machine Learning. I was also asked some general questions that tested my people management skills in the interview. It went on for 35 minutes with them telling me that they enjoyed interacting with me. Something, painstakingly missing in my previous interviews.

Akshara: It had been a painstakingly long week with a multitude of tests and interviews lined up. To add to the misery I got through till the last round of ITC and then got rejected. My Wells Fargo interview was scheduled for the day after I got my ITC rejection and I was determined to make something of it. I went through my resume thoroughly in an attempt to completely absorb every aspect of the projects and internships I had done. The beginning of the interview sets the tone for the rest of the process and I left no stone unturned in preparing a proper introduction. The key was to show I am much more than what my resume makes me out to be. I went through some guesstimates and puzzles that are frequently asked in interviews and tried to gauge how to best approach these kinds of questions. My interview was a breath of fresh air that came at a time I needed it most after battling the evils of intern season. The interviewers were very keen in understanding my background and my interests outside academics. I was grilled on my projects and one Data Analytics internship I had done at Maruti Suzuki. They also asked me for a guesstimate, they were more interested in how systematically I could solve the question. The most interesting part of my interview was when they asked me to solve a societal issue using data and analytical tools, they gave me the time and space required to think and were very open to ideas and conversation. I was all smiles after my interview, I had gotten that much needed boost of serotonin.

Jigyasa: Wells Fargo was the third company I interviewed for. After facing rejections from AmEx and GS, I was slightly under confident and felt the need to up my interview game. I prepared a nice introduction. I pored over my resume. I made sure I knew every essential (and non-essential) detail. Despite all of this, I had mixed feelings about my interview when I was done with it. This was mainly because it had been an extremely short interview, and surprisingly, I wasn’t asked a single technical question. I had only been asked to introduce myself and answer a puzzle or two. When the interview ended, I received positive feedback from the interviewer but that did nothing to calm my nerves.

The HR phone call basically discussed if the location for this internship is alright along with other typical HR related questions.

Basic Details

Some high-level details are mentioned here:

Profile: Analyst

Location: Bangalore (Offline)

Duration: 9 weeks

Stipend: Rs. 80,000 per month + Rs. 10,000 one-time relocation amount (Free Transportation to the office, airline tickets to Bangalore)

It was increased to Rs. 90,000 this year

Projects

Sarthak

In the first week, we had induction and training in Python, SQL and SAS. I got a solo project where I had to use Machine Learning to develop a framework to generate business insights from customer review text data. I was allotted a mentor and a manager who helped me extensively throughout the project. The deadlines were relaxed and the work culture was positive and constructive. There were mid-term and end-term presentations for the evaluation of the project.

Akshara

Our intern started with a week for basic training sessions and onboarding seminars. Interacting with students of other colleges was the best thing that came out of that otherwise mundane week. I completed a total of two projects in the entirety of my internship. My first project dealt with end to end automation of a credit risk report and in the second one I was tasked with making a model using Machine Learning to calculate the risk a customer poses in the Mortgage Lending process done by banks. The team I worked in had extremely knowledgeable and kind people, most of them with 15+ years experience in various prominent banks like GS, JPMC and HSBC. My mentor took business sessions to help me understand the business side alongside the technical work we were doing. This really helped me approach my problem statements from a broader perspective and that showed in the midterm and end term evaluations I had. I didn’t shy away from asking a plethora of questions and giving my mentor regular updates to make sure I wasn’t steering away from what was expected of me. The atmosphere in the office enabled me to enjoy and learn endlessly.

Jigyasa: Wells Fargo started us off with a bunch of training sessions in our first week. A lot of time was spent on giving us a background of the company and its culture. I remember spending a while trying to figure out the dress code and exploring the office. I also spent a lot of time by the coffee machine. My project was centered around credit risk. While most of the modeling elements were familiar to me, the financial terminology was not. My mentor brought me up to speed and was always available to answer any questions that I had. She was extremely friendly and approachable. She constantly made sure that my project partner and I were having fun at our internship, while also getting our work done. I also constantly received support from the rest of my team, who helped me navigate my way through mundane, administrative procedures.

When we were not in front of our screens:

Wells Fargo had a plethora of internal cultural activities which served their purpose well of bonding the employees together. Some of the activities that we distinctly remember:

• PAM-O-Rama: It was the annual cultural festival of the entirety of the Analytics and Product horizontal in the company. All three of us were a part of it. Akshara and Sarthak anchored the show while hosting the Quiz as Quiz masters. Jigyasa performed an amazing slam poetry piece. Akshara and Sarthak also conducted a musical quiz which included singing songs and making the audience answer.

• Visit to a Government School: We were sent out as volunteers to a local school where we interacted with small children in classes 1-7. The activity was conducted in collaboration with an NGO and included us playing with the kids and talking to them about STEM education, career, art, etc.

• Leader’s Connect: We used to have bi-weekly meetings with a person with a high leadership position in the organization. The leader explained in-depth the functions of the bank in that particular vertical and the overall high-level picture of the operations. These were very insightful and interactive.

• Pride Month Celebration: Pride month involved a day where we were given the chance to get our face painted with symbols and flags celebrating people from diverse genders and sexuality. There were also several workshops disseminating knowledge about the LGBTQIA+ community to make the workspace a more inclusive space. Though most of the efforts were concentrated to address the systemic bias instead of the ever-pervading social bias, this was a step in the right direction.

• Bonding Activities: Several bonding activities like the guess the employee game where you are given clues to guess which person is being referred to or musical chairs were held from time to time for creating an environment of congeniality. Several email quizzes are held as well.

Bangalore Experience

Sarthak: This internship was for me a long-needed break from the constant ambush of multiple parallely running projects, people, campus group work and academics. Such a form of linearity and desirable work was something I was really looking forward to.

Bangalore is a warm (figuratively) city which offers you a lot regardless of what you need. It has stand-up shows, niche music concerts, special literary events for the book connoisseurs, sporting events and what not. Every weekend is an opportunity to get experiences that you might not have had till now, unless you are a Bangalorean yourself.

Akshara: What this internship did expertly was help me understand the concept of weekends. After sweating away in a corporate atmosphere for 5 long days, what I most craved was just stepping out during the weekends. It would be an understatement if I said I had to step out of my comfort zone to enjoy things.

I attended a few concerts, went to mind numbingly cool cafes, pretended I liked to party till late night in clubs and visited the most amazing bookstores. The eerily nice weather and the invigorating events that happen in and around the city always left me wanting more.

Jigyasa: I live in Bangalore. I hated (and loved) that everyone I knew was in Bangalore. During this internship, I got to experience my city all over again with new people. It’s surprising how much difference this can make to the same old places you’ve known as a child.

I spent a lot of time meeting up with friends and catching up with people. I attended open mics and shopped at thrift bookstores. I tried to find the best dosa in town. The highlight of my summer was when I traded books with a stranger that I had met on a public bus.

Conclusion

All three of us ended up getting a Pre-Placement Offer at Wells Fargo which we accepted. The positive company culture helped us a lot in making that decision. For all of us the experience was truly transformative professionally and personally. 8 weeks of fun, new friends, new skills and challenges had finally come to an end. We had completed our internship at a Fortune 500 company and the last day brought about a whirlwind of emotions.