Vishva Shah is an analyst at Morgan Stanley. She graduated from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in the year 2020 with a degree in accounting and finance. She also completed the first level of CFA along with college and scored a 90+ percentile. H.R. College gave her an amazing opportunity by introducing her to the Indian School of Business through a seminar. And it made her familiar and aware of the ‘young leader’s programme’. During her second year of college, she started preparing to get into ISB - which is one of the top business schools in the world. She was thrilled when she passed all the hurdles and got into the best business school in India. Her hobbies include reading books, playing basketball matches and watching tv shows.
How did you get this job? Can you tell me about the selection process?
Morgan Stanley came to H.R. College for campus placements. They explained to us the culture of the company, their work ethics and the various roles which they are hiring. The department we would be working in would be informed after the selection.
At first, there was an aptitude test conducted to test our basic knowledge in finance and since I had completed my first level of CFA it was pretty easy for me. The test was easy for people across various courses as the company didn’t expect us to have in-depth knowledge since we hadn’t even graduated yet. The test did not involve tough technical questions as they just wanted to analyze our basic knowledge in the financial field.
Moreover, communication skills were an important part of this process as in the future we would have to interact and negotiate with stakeholders from all across the world. We were also required to submit our resumes and about 35 people were shortlisted for the second round after the aptitude test. After this, we were called on campus (Morgan Stanley) for interviews which included two rounds.
The first round tested our basic technical skills which included basic accounting concepts and knowledge about basic financial instruments like bonds and derivatives. The next round was a regular HR interview where they would analyze if you are a good fit for the culture of the organization.
How did you get selected for the Indian School of Business? What made your profile stand out?
In the first round, they checked our academics, extracurriculars and any ventures that we had (small businesses). I had started a project which aimed at saving water from tankers. My product was innovative rubber plugs which were designed to fulfil that aim and prevent wastage of water. They also test my leadership and communication skills, looked at my overall resume and got a sense that I stood apart from the crowd. The youth leaders programme gives you an entry into the flagship MBA equivalent PGP programme as it is a flagship event wherein you would compete with people your own age rather than people from all age groups so I went ahead with this path.
After the first-round selection, they checked our GMAT scores and expected it to be top-notch as it is the best business school in India. We also had to write an essay to test our writing and creative skills and get a recommendation letter from our professors.
The final round was an in-person interview which was a great experience for me. They try to make you feel comfortable and observe if you would be the right fit for the school as it would be challenging to maintain the standard of good grades.
What is your title and responsibility at Morgan Stanley? What are your day-to-day tasks?
I am an analyst and I work in the financial service shares department. Basically, we have to work with financial data, analyze profit and loss reports, and balance sheets, also to interact with people from all over the world. I have the privilege of being a part of such a large company at such a ground level. We work closely with the business heads and commercial finance team by providing operational support for key decision making. The main goal is to allow each business division to focus its limited resources on activities that support the division’s business goals.
What were some of the challenges that you faced? How did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges that I faced initially was being a graduate with no work experience as everyone around me had a lot of experience and understanding of how the company worked whereas I had just begun my professional journey. Even though I studied excel in college, applying it practically is completely different and I didn’t know all the shortcuts which would speed up the process which is when the management decided to give us more technical training. They were very supportive and the learning curve has been really steep for me as they helped us understand the corporate culture and provided a great working atmosphere.
We interact with people from different backgrounds and I learnt something new from everyone so for me the key is communicating problems and learning more as you grow. Another challenge that I faced was trying to balance CFA along with work.
Do you recommend students take up internships?
Yes, I do. In my opinion, if I had taken more finance internships I would have been more exposed to the Corporate world. Since I had to manage college exams, ISB preparations and CFA it was difficult for me to take out time for internships. Internships give you a glimpse into the practical world and you learn different ways of analyzing statements quickly and efficiently.