The Search for Internships

Got a verbal offer from Banc of America Securities this morning. The recruiter from New York called me to convey the good news. A formal letter will arrive in my mailbox by the end of this week. I'm given till Feb 28 to decide whether I'll take the offer or not.

BoA flew me in to New York on Thursday evening. I was put up in a boutique business hotel along 57th St steps away from their NYC headquarters. Room was awesome as it has a view of Central Park. Steps away are Trump's Tower, where The Apprentice is shot, and the Plaza Hotel, where Home Alone 2 was shot. I spent the entire Friday morning interview by 7-8 VPs, one or two associates and a managing director. Every half hour, a VP walks in, asks me either technical or behavorial questions. Since Ali Basah as my surname brings me to the top of the list alphabetically, I got to have the 32nd floor conference room.

We had a tour of the trading floor too. Occupies floors 2 and 3 ENTIRELY. Nearly wall-less. Bullpen as they call it I think. Traders sit around 8-9 monitors with a Bloomberg terminal as its main machine. Phones kept ringing. Every two rows of desks, a huge LCD TV hangs showing market news.

The search is still going but I'm very impressed with BoA especially on how technology dominates trading. Analytics are important part of Sales and Trading. Will be flying to NYC for another day of interviews with Credit Suisse this Wednesday. Two first rounds on campus and a career fair.