Meet Pietro, an intern in the Capital Markets division at Mizuho EMEA. We asked him to describe a typical day in his life as an intern, how he relaxes after work and his advice for future interns.
I wake up…
My alarm goes off at 05:51, 06:01 and 06:05. The extra minute of proper sleep is key.
My morning routine…
I make myself a coffee with my family’s Illy machine, brush my teeth, get dressed and leave at 06:34 to take the 06:41 train.
I catch up on newsletters and any emails or morning headlines while on my commute.
The first thing I do when I get into the office…
I arrive at the office at 07:15, in time to leisurely set myself up for the 07:25 Global Markets call. I open Bloomberg and Reuters while listening to the call to write up the latest market-moving news for our market update newsletter sent to clients. At 08:00 we have our internal Syndicate team call as we start the day.
My role involves…
I work in the EMEA Capital Markets division, rotating across Debt Capital Markets, Equity Capital Markets, Derivatives Risk Solutions and Loan Capital Markets. We start early, but not as early as our Global Markets colleagues.
Right now, I’m working on…
I am writing up a weekly update and outlook on the EUR/USD rates market for a client with specific needs for their business. For internal needs, I am also updating our bond-tracking spreadsheet and assisting the team with their pricing models, all while working on pitch books and company research.
I chose Mizuho because…
I wanted to work at a systemically important bank with growing capabilities and credentials in capital markets. Mizuho fitted this criteria during my job search in the summer and autumn of 2022; now in the summer of 2023, we have broken into the top 10 global corporate & investment banks with an impressive 22% growth rate YTD, the largest of any bank in the top 10.
For lunch I…
I go out for lunch with others once or twice per week, sometimes meeting with friends interning at companies nearby. The other days of the week I will eat a sandwich or pot noodle alongside some Greggs or Maccies at my desk.
The thing I am enjoying most about my internship…
Aside from meeting people, I am enjoying the exposure to different parts of the Capital Markets division that I did not know much about before starting the internship, such as loans and derivatives. I also very much enjoy learning how to actually use Bloomberg, which I had access to at university but without a clue of how it works.
The hardest part of my internship…
Keeping up with everything the team is teaching me. I have filled three notebooks with learnings I would not get from the internet or university.
At university I’m studying…
I am studying BSc Management in a London university, which is more focused on microeconomics and corporate strategy, but I became interested in macroeconomics after some extra classes in the subject and prior work experience.
In 10 years’ time I’d like to be…
I would like to still be in the investment banking industry, though perhaps working outside of London after a few years, which is an opportunity that Mizuho has the platform to provide.
After work…
I go out to eat and socialise with friends that are also in London, attend social events with the team or go home to work on my university society’s business podcast where I interview C-suite executives from F500 companies.
One piece of advice to future interns…
Keep track of your work, questions and learnings in order to set yourself effective and meaningful goals to strive for. And always say “yes” to any opportunity.