Below is an experience from one of our recent 100 Black Interns, Giselle Gyampoh, who was an intern here at Bruin for 6 weeks to gain crucial experience and training within industry.
‘I interned this summer at Bruin Financial as part of the 100 Black Interns Scheme. I initially did not know what the world of recruitment entailed but thought I would give the experience my best shot.
Through the 6 weeks alongside another intern, I worked across several desks such as Temporary Operations, Investments & Front Office, Broking, Underwriting and Claims as well as Bruin’s Region Desk with the team in Manchester. I quickly realised how slightly different the recruitment process was for each of these teams, some job roles and specifications would cater to candidates with a broad background of experience and other roles would require candidates with specific expertise that would result in a ‘headhunt’.
Working on these different types of roles made me realise that what’s important in recruitment is the type of skills you can gain from your experiences and that there is never one direct path to your ‘dream job’. This said dream job may not even be what you first think of.
This conclusion was exemplified when I began speaking to candidates for job roles across different desks. It was interesting to hear their motivations for wanting a new role- whether contract or permanent. Alongside speaking to candidates, I wrote job adverts for many leading financial institutions which were published on the Bruin website. I also performed candidate searches using Boolean searches on recruitment websites such as LinkedIn Recruiter, City Jobs, E-Financial Careers and Reed. On the client side, I observed client calls and began to understand the importance of building strong rapport with contacts at these leading firms due to the fast turnover of candidates when new jobs are released. This was very insightful as prior to this experience I did not know how instrumental companies such as Bruin were in finding ideal roles for graduates and professionals, the only route I knew was applying on the company website. Additionally, I’ve become more aware of how much information employers can access about potential employees- something I can keep in mind for my next steps after university.
It was also very fulfilling to be able to provide input and work with the Internal Marketing team on how to develop the Bruin careers website and how Bruin could expand their diversity- disability diversity- in the recruitment industry. I appreciated this experience as I felt as if my opinions were valued and I was more than a student with an idea!
In terms of the future, this internship with Bruin has definitely shaped my next steps. I began with a limited view on what I wanted to do in the future- Investment Banking- and less confidence about my future and speaking to other professionals. Upon discovering my skills and interests through shadowing different desks and speaking to candidates I am now actively pursuing roles in the Operations division within financial services firms as I reach my last year of my undergraduate degree. Alongside this, I am more aware and open to the opportunities of working in another country and since the internship, I’ve made the decision to completing my final semester of university abroad, something I may not have considered without this internship.
I’d like to thank everyone at Bruin who made my summer an insightful and inspiration one and I will use the insight and knowledge I gained to shape the next steps of my professional and personal journey.
-Giselle Gyampoh’