MBA Internships: A Focus on Finance

TopMBA.com explores some of the internships in finance that are currently on offer to MBA students.

Many business students still opt for an MBA internship in finance either during, or after their management degree in order to get a foot in the door, or simply to put the skills they learnt at business school into practice.

The practice of MBA students completing internships during their program is widely considered to be the main benefit of opting for a two-year MBA degree.

All too often, MBA employers fear that graduates re-enter the workforce with an idealized view of management, having not had the opportunity to exercise what they've learnt at school in a working environment.

However, an MBA internship spanning just a few months can easily dispel these fears, and, quite frequently, impressive interns are offered jobs at the same company.

Finance management MBA internship

As a global household name, an MBA internship in finance management at Microsoft would certainly look impressive on a recent MBA graduates résumé.

Add to that the idea that the 36-year-old company is currently going through one of its most influential periods of re-development yet; the shift from traditional desktop based computer programs to fit into an internet obsessed world.

Here, the methods and tactics involved in turning a profit from an as yet uncharted business area would certainly offer an MBA intern in finance the opportunity to immerse themselves into their chosen career.

As Microsoft's internship advert explains: "there's never been a better time for finance pros to do challenging work at Microsoft.

"Our traditional businesses are looking to build on top of a huge base business, and our newer products and services are still looking for the 'profit zone.'"

An MBA internship in international finance

Head quartered in New York in the USA, Coach produce luxury goods for consumers all around the world.

Clearly, an MBA finance intern working for the company would need to have a healthy interest in the luxury goods sector, however in return the company claims to offer "excellent career growth opportunities, competitive salaries and great benefits within a dynamic work environment."

In fact, with a long history of hiring MBA graduates, an MBA internship in finance at Coach could have genuine potential to build into a career at the company;

"Many of our employees and leaders hold MBAs, and we value the well-rounded global business perspective and structured approach to strategic thinking provided by a business school education.

We see hiring talented, dedicated and versatile business school graduates as critical to the long term success of our company."

Senior financial analyst MBA internship

As one of the largest web-based firms in existence, the opportunities associated with enrolling on an MBA internship program in finance at Amazon speak for themselves.

However, with the company exploring new revenue earning areas through products such as its Kindle e-book reader and the Amazon Appstore for Android, joining a company that has such emphasis on evolving with modern technology could reap rewards for a career in financial management.

With the successful interns put to work on projects such as forecasting models, metrics automation, variable cost modelling, and international cost allocation determination, Amazon is looking to find an MBA with the ability to report complex financial reports to high-level management within the company.

"Each Intern will have exposure to upper level management (including vice presidents, directors and financial controllers) and the opportunity to apply general business and financial analysis skills to support successful execution of corporate strategies."

Manufacturing MBA internships in finance

As part of their student internship program, 3M, one of the largest manufacturing firms in the world, is seeking to fill various MBA internship positions in finance.

Due to start in June 2012, the company doesn't specify the areas of the financial department in which the interns will be required to work, however the advert lists some projects and assignments as examples.

For instance, an intern in the company's business finance department may take on "responsibility for a business segment, product line, plant, or staff organization to provide business counsel, analysis and financial recommendations."

An intern assigned to the financial accounting center on the other hand will likely take on "projects to improve global financial accounting processes or assigned responsibility for a business segment and/or process to provide accurate, efficient and timely financial reporting and analysis."

The MBA internships in finance featured here are just a small handful of the total currently being advertised around the world.

For those interested in enrolling on an internship program, the general advice is that it's never too soon to apply, as some of the most popular MBA internships in finance will receive hundreds of applications from MBA students at some of the world's top business schools.