Meet Adela, a management trainee in China

Meet Adela, one of our talented and charismatic internship alumnae. Read about her experience starting her career and all of her tips to succeed.

Adela successfully completed the undergraduate program at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management in 2014, and from the graduate program at Peking University’s HSBC Business School in 2017. She also received a Master’s degree in Financial Engineering from the National University of Singapore. She joined UBS as an intern and later started on the management training program in China.

Journey of self-discovery: from intern to management trainee

”In 2016, I joined UBS through the internship program. The biggest benefit of the internship was developing my professional traits. I believe that responsibility, rapid learning and communication skills are all equally important to investment banking as professional knowledge.

Even though it was an internship, I had many opportunities to learn and grow. This greatly assisted my future career development. During the ten-week program, UBS also provided comprehensive and structured training. This included an overview of the company, the business, the products, and instructions on how to use various important tools. This not only helped with the learning curve, but also allowed everyone to explore investment banking as a whole.

Teams here are highly efficient, passionate, and collaborative, so the internship only confirmed my expectations of UBS.

After completing the internship here, I then joined fulltime on the management training program in China. After becoming a UBS management trainee, I was honored to become a member of the stock capital market team. While I was acquiring professional knowledge about capital markets, the thing that made the greatest impression on me was the precious opportunity to grow. I took part in enriching training, such as going to London to learn new professional skills and business etiquette, having cross-department exchanges, etc. It gave a newcomer, like me, a solid footing.

Here, you get to be on a global stage, moving forward together with a passionate team. So come and join us, too!”

Adela's tips:

First step in your career path: set a clear objective.

”I majored in finance, and I also hoped to go into a related field. Starting from my first internship, I kept my sights on investment banking and gained relevant experience in different positions. My contacts and efforts during the internship process made me feel more confident about my choice.”

The key to success during the recruitment process: be fully prepared.

”I had to go through a few stages in my selection process: an online application, online test, video interview, telephone interview, and finally, a panel interview. I took the time to prepare for each step and gain confidence – it really helped!

Your initial application: first, carefully polish your CV. Adapt the content based on the company characteristics and the position you want to apply for. Remember, online applications need to be submitted early. So don’t leave it until the last minute!

Online assessment: practice is key for the online tests. It consists of two parts, the NRT (numerical reasoning test) and the SJT (situational judgment test). As far as the SJT is concerned, you need to understand our culture and values. You can read about them here. Before the NRT, take the practice texts to increase your familiarity with the assessment format and the types of questions.

The interviews: our video interviews are conducted in English, so take the time to practice in advance. Don’t forget that suitable attire and body language are also very important.

Preparation for investment banking interviews involves both behavioral and technical aspects. For the behavioral, before the interview I’d make a detailed list of my own school and internship experience. Then, I’d write everything out, and then repeatedly, revise, polish, and highlight the key items that I want the interviewer to spot. I would ask myself in advance: Why choose UBS? Why choose investment banking?

For the technical parts, you will be asked some professional questions during the panel and phone interviews. To help prepare properly, you can revise common topics from finance forums (covering areas like corporate finance, valuation, accounting, etc.). Pay attention to investment banking related websites, plus macro-economic and capital market trends. Prepare yourself fully and be able to talk extensively on any related point.”