Summer Internship Spotlight: Brian Word-Sims (MSF’23): HSBC

Each year, Georgetown McDonough students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. Meet a few of our graduate and undergraduate students in our 2022 Summer Internship Spotlight series.

Tell us about your summer internship.

I am an investment banking summer analyst with HSBC. I’m located in New York City and I’m on the Advisory and Investment Banking Coverage team. We are generalists, covering six sectors (M&A, TMT, consumer, industrials, chemicals, and financial sponsors group).

How did your internship relate to your professional or personal interests? 

My goal is to go into investment banking and I am interested in getting as much broad experience as possible. The generalist program was perfect for me because it gave me exposure to the different segments. I also chose HSBC because of its renowned commitment to ESG principles, serving as the number one bank in Asia and Europe for ESG.

How did you find the internship? 

I found the internship online while searching for investment banking opportunities. I applied on the company’s website and went through the recruitment process. 

What’s the most interesting or impactful thing you worked on during your internship?

I was able to work on a few projects that were really cool – the companies were very interesting to me and aligned with the values that I was interested in. Although I cannot provide names or details, they were environmentally-focused and based around clean energy. I also got to work on an acquisition related to electric vehicles and was able to sit in on a client meeting where the executives of the company flew in from Europe to meet with us. 

What did a typical day look like? 

I am in the office five days a week, but I have the option to work remotely. Usually, I go in around 8:45 or 9 a.m. Prior to that, I read any emails that I need to catch up on before heading into the office. Work typically consists of updating decks, models, creating slide decks, marketing, company profiles, DCF’s, and LBO’s. 

Each team is different and has their own way they like the work to be done. There is constant communication across all teams and with members working on projects. Everyone is happy to help and assist. 

I take a break for lunch with my coworkers and then I work until dinner. We then have the option to either go home and log on remotely, if needed, or we can work from the office for as long as necessary. 

What advice do you have for other students? 

Stay relentless, keep applying, perfect your resume and cover letter, as well as your intro pitch and ‘why’ statements. Become comfortable with interviews and digital assessments and always align your responses with the company’s values. 

Be prepared for behavioral and technical questions, and always have a way to link your answer back to your strengths, experiences, or something you’re currently doing.