Alum of the Month
Vatika Mahajan
July 2015
New York Program
March 2013 Intake
What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
I graduated from University of Delhi, India with Bachelor in Commerce, majoring in Finance and Accountancy. Before joining Mountbatten, I was working with Ernst & Young, LLP in India.
What made you apply for the Mountbatten programme?
Working within a company is often an eye-opening experience and it is almost impossible to fully understand the realities of your chosen career without doing one. Mountbatten Internship Programme was a great way to try out my chosen field to make sure I liked it before I could commit to it on a more permanent basis.
Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I worked with Barclays as a Risk & Control Analyst. I was responsible for developing Risk and Control framework for Americas Post Trade Services team by implementation of CFTC & DODD FRANK and EMIR requirements.
What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
I got the opportunity to work with three different teams within Barclays within a time span of 1 year which turned out to be quite an enriching experience for me to see professionals in action and provided me with some glowing references that put me one step ahead of the competition.
What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
Sky diving experience in Atlanta, my trip to Puerto Rico with my fellow classmate where we ended up making friends from Mexico and later went for a rain forest trek with them and of course a birthday well spent at Niagara Falls.
Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship.
Taking an internship overseas involves a certain amount of culture shock. Not only will you need to adjust to the culture of the country you have travelled to, but you will also have to accustom yourself to the different working cultures in your new workplace. Mountbatten experience gave me a unique perspective, showing me how things are done in different cultures and allowed me to learn from this.
Naturally being abroad offers a fantastic opportunity to broaden your horizons, to undergo a process of self-development that will leave you a better and more open-minded person. As a member of the local community, a worker and a friend, you will see your chosen destination through new eyes – those of a local. It was an experience that I am sure to remember for rest of my life.
If you could change anything about your internship, what would it be?
Surprisingly nothing!
What happened after completing the year - what did you do next?
I joined a start-up consulting firm engaged in Risk Analysis and Corporate Fraud Investigations.
Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
I have recently quit my job as a Management Consultant and plan to take a break before I move on to my next gig with Deloitte US as a Solutions Advisor for Enterprise Risk Services.
Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
My future plans include another move within or outside Deloitte to another region or possibly back to US, at this stage it could be anywhere!
Is there any other information that you would like to be included?
Mountbatten Programme promises to be a memorable and enjoyable experience but more than that it offers you the chance to impress potential employers by proving your abilities in a real working environment and rising above the challenges that leaving everything you know behind creates. Undoubtedly, an international work experience is more impressive to employers than one taken at home and if you’re planning to seek work abroad… well it might be just the start you need!