Industrial and Systems Engineering Internship Story: Bank of America
Jett Davis
Industrial & Systems Engineering
What company did you intern with and where are they located?
I interned with Bank of America at their headquarters in Charlotte, NC.
How did you identify and apply for your internship? Are there any specific resources you used to find the opportunity (i.e. Handshake, career fairs, other recruitment events)?
I first found a similar opportunity on Handshake. This led me to the BofA careers site where I found this specific internship.
What was the application process like?
The application process was pretty standard. The first round was an asynchronous video interview that was about 10 minutes long and consisted of behavior questions, such as greatest strength or a teamwork story. I didn’t hear anything until about a month later. The final round was a Superday of 3 phone calls, each 30 minutes long. These conversations were experience-based questions, usually relating back to something on my resume.
Tell us about your internship experience. What types of tasks and projects did you engage in? Was there a particular project or part of the experience you learned the most from?
The internship program was 10 weeks long, with the first week being orientation. I worked in the Mortgage Servicing division in the Global Operations line of business. My specific internship project dealt with analyzing bank interaction data to find cases where customers were receiving inaccurate or confusing information about their mortgages. I also got to work with other interns on smaller projects like planning a volunteer event for bank employees. We were able to provide over 100 meals for families of sick children.
Another key feature of the internship program is the emphasis on networking. As an engineer, this was a new and intimidating concept to me. However, once you start, the benefits are seen quickly. Being able to meet countless new people from a wide array of backgrounds and working in different areas of the bank was one of the highlights of the program.
In what ways did this internship help you prepare for your next destination after Auburn?
Getting experience in a large company like Bank of America is so valuable for anybody starting their career. As previously mentioned, getting to learn from so many different people allowed me to grow and get clarity on what direction I want my career to go.
In what ways did your coursework or other experiences at Auburn prepare you for your internships? Are there specific topics or skills you learned from classes that you put into practice on the job?
Having a great understanding of statistical concepts gave me an advantage over other interns primarily coming from a financial or business administration background. I think the leadership experiences I’ve gotten at Auburn prepared me more than anything for the internship. My project didn’t utilize as much of my coursework as I would have liked, however, I was able to talk to several other industrial engineers to see how they apply industrial engineering concepts in their work.
Do you have any advice for other students looking for internships like yours?
Get your foot in the door by taking advantage of any connections you have. After that, start networking early and often.