Q: Why do you think Morgan Stanley retained you and provided you a full-time offer after your internship?
A: Probably because I’m hard-working, as I used to be at SAIF.
Though out of our expectation, Qing WANG’s response explained something.
As a graduate of SAIF MF 2017, Qing WANG successfully joined Morgan Stanley with two of her classmates thanks to her outstanding performance, in addition to a summer offer as early as in the year of her enrollment. Today, we will listen to her story.
Qing WANG, SAIF MF Graduation Class of 2017
Memorable Days at SAIF
Prior to SAIF, Qing WANG graduated from School of Economics of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, with double degrees major in Quantitative Economics and Mathematics.
Since Qing WANG preferred professional applications to academic research, she applied for SAIF’s Summer Recruitment Camp in her junior year. "All the participants were outstanding. The overall atmosphere of learning, innovative curriculum design and alumni activities were appealing.” Thus, Qing "fell in love” with SAIF at her first sight, who abandoned the opportunities from other schools and focused on SAIF.
Qing WANG at SAIF MF Summer Camp (first from the right)
"Studying at SAIF is everything but relaxation.” Mathematics and quantification weighed heavily in SAIF MF Program. In spite of her four-year foundation of quantitative economics during her undergraduate program, Qing was still somewhat overwhelmed by the fast-moving and intensive schedule in SAIF MF. In addition, the online applications and interviews for summer internship concentrated on the period from October to December of the first semester, which made her feel overloaded to prepare over 10 interview packages.
'During that period, I slept 5 hours a day and it was extremely stressful. Fortunately, I have some academic background in mathematics, not to mention other classmates major in disciplines other than economics,” Qing WANG marveled when looking back, "I think most of the participants who joined SAIF are highly resistant to pressure and self-disciplined.”
In the intensive curriculum, the courses taught by three female professors, namely "Corporate Finance” and "Merger & Acquisition” by Prof. Zhan JIANG, "Accounting” by Prof. Lei ZHU and "Principles of Finance” by Prof. Xiaomeng LU, impressed Qing the most. "No matter you deal with primary or secondary markets, the fundamentals of a company are all explained by three statements, that is, balance sheet, cash flow statement and income statement. Prof. Lei ZHU’s Accounting is intelligible and practical.”
Prof. ZHU and MF students in class
According to Qing, there are a lot of items and rules in accounting, which are hard to memorize purely in class. However, after theoretical lectures, Prof. ZHU often left half a session for exercises and hands-on practices. "These exercises helped us better review reports and statements during our internship. I hope that SAIF would introduce more pragmatism-oriented courses in the future, completed by in-depth expertise and insights,” suggested Qing.
Of course, she also believes theories are necessary. Though practices may change from time to time, theories provide a basic framework and scope.
rare leisure time
If You Can Deal with SAIF, You Will Be Able to Work in Investment Banking
In the summer before SAIF, Qing WANG worked as an intern at Rothschild, which introduced her to the role and business model of an investment bank. Again, she beat the keen competition of interview and joined Morgan Stanley’s IBD along with two other SAIF graduates.
Though somewhat prepared to the busy schedule in the business of investment banking, Qing was surprised by the fanatical pace at the very beginning. As her team focuses on the Chinese market, her internship coincided with the critical stage of a Chinese company seeking for IPO in Hong Kong. Therefore, after the first week of orientation, she followed the project over the next 9 weeks, compiling and preparing a variety of IPO documentations, working on due diligence, traveling to different cities, and communicating with legal, audit and accounting teams. Under the circumstance of tight schedule and extensive workload, every day was a battle to her. She slept 5-6 hours a day and never took a two-day weekend, which made her lose 5 kilograms after the internship.
Good friendship
In addition to diligence, Qing WANG described herself as good at learning, detail oriented and proactive in communicating with team leaders and members. Once she submitted a presentation to her boss at 2AM, which was a version after numerous rounds of review and revision at different levels. However, her boss pointed out that the borders of a table wasn’t consistent with the background of the template. Though it was barely invisible, he still asked her to eliminate the concern. Eventually, the result of the printout convinced her that it deserved the effort. "It may be regarded as the obsession of investment bankers, who seek for precision and perfection, free of defect.”
The involvement in this project also benefitted Qing a lot, "It was the first time I dealt with an IPO project, which revealed all related processes and steps. For an investment banking professional, from documentation to filing, every detail calls for attention.”
Given their professionalism, diligence and efforts, Qing and other SAIF graduates are highly recognized by both team members and leaders, who complimented their distinctive adaptability compared to other recent interns. Such remarkable results also led to high retention rate. For example, three of four SAIF MF graduates of 2017 received the final offers from Morgan Stanley.
Yoga time
Though Qing WANG doesn’t have a clear idea about her future yet, she understands that the opportunity to enter a leading international investment bank at the very beginning of her career path will significantly expand and improve her vision, experience and capabilities. She expressed her appreciation for this "tough” journey, which raised the curtain for a valuable starting point and a promising future.
