Start early - that's the advice from an Economics student who had an interview for a Spring Week internship with a leading global investment bank before he'd been to his first lecture.
As a result, Ryan Clarke was offered a role as Goldman Sachs' campus ambassador just before returning to De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) this autumn.
The 19-year-old has also secured a summer 2017 internship at the company's London office, leaving him free to concentrate on his second-year studies.
Ryan said: "It makes it so much easier when you know exactly what you want to do. I've done the applications and tests and they are out of the way.
"I can concentrate on university now as I have my summer internship sorted.
"My advice is to apply for a Spring Week if you're interested in finance, even before you start university, and keep up to date with the market."
Economics is a vocation for Ryan, sparking his interest from a young age. He said: "When George Osborne talked about the budget I knew I wanted to work in finance."
Originally from Bedfordshire, Ryan chose DMU because of the content of the course.
He said: "I got quite a few offers but the course here focuses more on theory, which I was interested in, and when I came to an Open Day I knew this was it."
But before starting at DMU, Ryan began researching investment banking careers.
He said: "I looked at every bank website and applied for every single Spring Week."
So named because they usually last a week, Spring Weeks are aimed at giving first-year students an insight into a career with the company. Ryan was thrilled to take up an invitation with Goldman Sachs in April.
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He said: "I was in the technology division and our group of seven had to build an application and present it to fellow students, representatives from HR and the MDs.
"Then I had two rounds of interviews and they asked me to come back over summer 2017 for three months. The fact I study Economics is a big help and I spoke about a project I did here.
"I'll be based in the technology division again and will work on a specific project. After that I'll be assessed and interviewed for a graduate job the following year."
Meanwhile Ryan's role as campus ambassador is to promote the company to his fellow classmates and host events.
He said: "Students would rather have someone their own age to speak to and at Goldman Sachs it is seen as the responsibility of all employees to be involved in the hiring process to keep the strong firm culture.
"I have spoken to anyone interested in the company and liaised with the Placement Team."
He combines this with part-time work and running a society.
Ryan said: "This year I am chairman of Start-Up DMU, a technology-focused business society. We have events and bring in guest speakers with the ultimate goal to bring Silicon Valley start-up culture to university."
Posted on Wednesday 23 November 2016