Post summer internship thoughts

Reflecting upon my internship this summer, I’m proud of my experience. Going in, I did not know what to expect as I had never gained exposure to finance or insurance. Coming out of it, I gained insights into one of the most secretly cool industries.I also enjoyed the balance of structured work and independent work throughout the internship. While my supervisor had a few long-term projects as well as day-to-day tasks, I also had the freedom to choose what I most desired to learn. Because of that combination, I took initiative to learn VBA, conduct discounted cash flow analyses (one way of valuing the company and its segments, essentially), understand the various commercial insurance products along with their market sizes, and help create visuals for the company’s second quarter annual report. Certainly, there were other fun tasks involved (double-checking numbers with verbiage in the operating review document three times or screening about 230 resumes), but I learned something from all of them.

I’m grateful for the CFO/SVP of the US finance group, who as a Columbia alum supported me the whole way. He even scheduled a separate session at the end of my internship to go through my resume with me and give me advice on the interview process. The chance he gave me this summer is one like no other, and I hope to one day be an inspiring mentor just like he is.

Knowing the people I'd like to work with

The favorite part of my summer experience at Argo is the people I met. Their down-to-earth yet ambitious, outside-the-box mindset continue to inspire me.

Take one of our several lunch meetings, for instance. During our walk through SoHo, they would debate the merits or problems of existing insurance products merely for fun and for pure, intellectual discussion. Where will the big business of the future be in insurance, and why? How can insurance products be modified to prepare for a new influx of coverages stemming from modern issues? As opposed to bragging about the huge deal or client they were working on, I loved how my colleagues were genuinely interested in such discussions for their own enrichment.

Moreover, they showed me how important the people are to me wherever I eventually work. I may end up spending every day and all day with my colleagues - we might grab meals together, visit Starbucks together during break, potentially work weekends together, and maybe some days wind down after work together. The people I worked with this summer collectively demonstrated an environment not dissimilar to one I’d like to be in.

After my last day, I ended up visiting the office a couple times afterwards to say hi to the team and discuss non-work related items. One of them even chatted about mobile app ideas over lunch with me, with others pitching in what they’d like to see. I realize that these post-work visits really say something in terms of the kind of people I look up to, and I hope to keep in touch with them for a long time to come.

Researching is like going to the gym: highly rewarding afterwards

The last week of my internship at Argo, I was tasked with covering four insurance competitors and creating two-page summaries for each. That week turned out to be one of the busiest but best weeks of the summer for me. Throughout the past two months, I had done plenty of research on specific insurance products, market sizes, and competitive landscapes. But the last project made me apply all the techniques previously used to create my final deliverables - concise company snapshots.

The tasks appear simple - look up a company, find a list of numerical data, create graphs, and put them nicely together on one page. But I have since learned that sifting through piles of information for a single number can take hours. From combing through SEC filings to navigating databases (Capital IQ, SNL Financial, Moody’s) to searching the 59th page of Google, I now have a better idea of what research can truly entail.

The second most time-consuming component of the project was formatting the deliverable.* All four main sections - along with their separate headers, pasted charts, key financials - had to be pixel perfect, with every element formatted with official company colors. A page with five pie charts had to have exactly the same margins with the font sizes just clear enough; and all the sizes of these items would be completely different for a page with a pasted Excel sheet and just three pie charts. Anyhow, because of all of this, I now silently admit my newfound love for Powerpoint.

At the end, I felt satisfied from these accomplishments (and yes, I did feel proud of those four pages). That last week made me appreciate what being detail-oriented really meant, and I hope to continue with that mindset when working on future projects. There were certainly grueling moments, but through it all, I highly enjoyed the process.

*Have I mentioned that keyboard shortcuts in Powerpoint (and not just Excel) are amazing?