AIG Interview Prep

Talk about a time when you had to work closely with someone whose personality was different from yours.

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What do you think is happening in the market right now?

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Why Investments?

I am interested in being a summer intern at AIG to learn more about asset management and gain a better understanding of what day-to-day operations look like in this field. This program specifically would also provide a wide range of experiences in different divisions. When I was talking to Rebecca she said there was a push to learn more about the other teams and to network with them. In addition, AIG provides a global perspective on asset management by being listed on both the New York Stock Exchange as well as the Toyko Stock Exchange. This program uses interactive learning as well as a mentorship aspect to the internship

Why should we hire you?

I see myself as a great asset to the AIG team because of my ability to adapt quickly and absorb information. I also believe that we share similar values in terms of the focus on diversity of thought and culture. I have some relevant coursework in terms of my financial accounting class and the fundamentals of finance class that I am taking currently. Overall, I want to join AIG because of the amazing learning opportunities and supportive culture.

Tell me about yourself

I'm currently a sophomore at Boston College in the Carrol School of Management co-centrating in finance and marketing. On-campus I am a general member of the Women's Innovators Network as well as in their mentorship program. In terms of leadership, I am also involved at our campus publication the Gavel. On the Gavel, I am on the business team where I organize marketing campaigns and the publication's finances. This past summer I had the opportunity to be a marketing intern for the Local Moms Network where I worked on selling strategies for a new product we teamed up with. Now I want to turn my focus towards finance and learn more about the day to day operations and apply what I have learned in the business school so far.

Describe a time you made a mistake and had to own up to it

In my business statistics class my freshman year, we had a group project where we practiced some of the regressions we had learned in class. It was a short project with two other students. We split up the sections and I had to make decision on how the regression was made. One of my other group members told me my work looked off and she suggested I was wrong. I thought I was right and continued with my way of doing things and we turned it in the next day. When we got it back I realized that she was right and we got points off because of my work. I felt super guilty but it taught me an important lesson. From then on I made sure to take into account what other people were saying because it was their grade on the line as well.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

My strengths are my adaptability. I have learned from my various experiences working in customer service and retail jobs that I am able to adapt to the culture and environment of my workplace quickly. I pick up the nuances and details of the companies work environment. Another one of my strengths is my organization skills. I am great at time management and am always able to turn in deliverables on time. My weaknesses are not being able to ask for help, although I always remind myself and know that diversity in thought provides a stronger solution, at times I might see it as a form of weakness and inability to be independent. Another weakness of mine is a getting nervous when taking risks when not all the information is available. There are always time when you will not have all the information and have to make a decision. In those moments I try to ask for advice and try to work with feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Tell me about a time when your responsibilities got a little overwhelming. What did you do?

The week before finals is always some of the most stressful times at BC. All your professors are trying to get in last minute assignments and projects at the same time. This was this past December. I had my theatre project, accounting project, Econ exam and my Accounting Exam. I felt completely overwhelmed and my econ and accounting classes were the two most informationally dense classes and I knew that I would need a whole week for preparation. I also knew that I had projects due throughout the week as well as everyday homework from my classes. In those situations I break down each aspect of each assignment. For example for my accounting exam I would break them down by chapters or for my theatre project I would memorize my script one day and do half of the written portion the next day. I made a week schedule organizing these smaller tasks so I could hit each mark and get everything done.

Tell me a time you worked in a team

This past semester in my financial accounting class we had a final project that involved looking at two companies that were competitors and comparing their 10-K statements to make a report. It was a time-consuming project that had several parts including a section on ratios which was the most challenging part because we had not learned many of them. I split up the work in order to be more efficient making sure everyone got the same amount of difficulty. In the last few days leading up to the due date, we all went over each other's sections to make sure the report sounding cohesive. As I was looking through the ratios I noticed one looked a bit off, so I double-checked the numbers and it was completely wrong. I checked more and they were also wrong. I had to figure out how to bring this up and fix it in a respectable way. I let my team member know the errors and offered to help her re-do them and hopefully understand them more fully. I knew those ratios were difficult to understand so as a team I knew we had to provide more support.

Why AIG?

AIG seems to have a clear focus on being accessible to many people and making the financial services and insurance more streamlined. This was clear to me through their participation in Blue Marble Microinsurance. Their commitment to accessibility is also noted in their diversity and sustainability plans. For example their new implementation of a Chief Sustainability Officer in 2019

Tell me about a time you showed leadership

At my job at Francesca's, which is a clothing boutique store by BC, I had a leadership role there. I worked as Keyholder which meant if the manager was not there I was meant to be acting manager. I had just started there and was going through training which meant I was always working with the manager. Eventually I had to be left there alone. It was my first shift being the acting manager and I had still not met everyone working at francescas. My manager had told me that the person I was working with today often forgets to do a couple of tasks and that I should actively remind her. This was a difficult moment for me because she was much older than me but I had to tell her what she should do. As we were closing I noticed that she did not bring out the vacuum or inside trash bags and I decided to help lead by example as well as remind her to do what needed to be done. She did end up doing the work and closing the store went smoothly.

Where do you see yourself in five years

Currently, I am definitely more in the exploration portion of my career journey. What I do know is that I want to continue with finance. I am not entirely sure what path I want to take in this large field but I believe that in joining AIG and being apart of this program I can get those answers. You guys do a great job of providing a plethora of information that will help me in knowing where my career could go.

Describe a time you had to make a decision quickly with little information

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Tell me about a time when you had a conflict within a team. How did you fix the conflict?

Freshman year in my business statistics class we had a project that involved analyzing a data set on any topic of our choosing. We decided to look at what drives NCAA Division 1 schools spending. I had two other students working on the team with me. Our moment of conflict came on how to start our step wise regression and which variables it made most sense to take out. I wanted to look more at how overall men and womens spending differed while my partner wanted to focus the attention towards head coach spending. We were able to come to a solid conclusion because we had open conversation. We attempted both ways to see what would push our project forward and make more sense in the end. I think that our group ended up working through conflict really well because we were willing to try everything and then decide from there what worked best.

Any questions?

How do you quantify the success of the interns? What will the day to day look like in this program? What is your favorite thing about AIG? (work/life balance is great, upward mobility) What is the most challenging aspect of the internship? Follow up, what are the best ways for interns to face those challenges? What types of projects will the interns be doing on the day to day? Are there any long-term/final projects that interns will do? How will the internship look different due to corona? What are the next steps in the application process?

Why Finance?

I wanted to do finance especially front office because I want to use both my qualitative and quantitative skills. I have always had an interest in math since I was young so I wanted to apply that passion towards a career that used it in application. I also wanted to interact with others and use more interpersonal attributes.