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Michael Miller ’10 (Princeton, N.J.) is majoring in economics and business. Over the interim session, he spent five days with Paul Lanna ’99, vice president of investment banking at EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., as part of the externship program offered by Career Services. The following is a first-hand account of Miller’s experiences with the externship.
This past month, I participated in an externship at EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., a boutique investment bank in New York City. As an economics & business major at Lafayette, I am intensely interested in pursuing a career in finance, namely in investment banking. On all accounts, I found the externship to be a fulfilling and enriching experience and I believe that it has made me significantly more marketable with respect to my internship/job search going forward.
My favorite part of the experience was that I was able to tailor my work day to include the aspects of investment banking that I wanted to learn about and observe. My host, Mr. Paul Lanna, made a concerted effort to involve me in every stage of the planning process; we traded e-mails and phone calls preceding the externship and talked extensively throughout my four days at the firm about my goals for the week, business interests, and career aspirations. I know that he wanted to ensure that I not only enjoyed the experience, but that I also gained critical skills and meaningful exposure to investment banking.
Mr. Lanna spent a considerable portion of each day teaching me about EarlyBirdCapital’s unique business model and product offerings, as well as the IPO process, company valuation techniques, and financial modeling, among other topics. Over the course of the week, I observed the analysis of financial data from corporate 10-Q, 10-K, and 8-K filings, the spreading of historical deal financials in MS Excel, and the preparation of sales force memorandums. In addition, I had the opportunity to sit in on deal team meetings and attend a client “road show.” My host also offered invaluable personal insight and guidance regarding interview preparation, business school selection, networking, and the lifestyle of investment banking.
Overall, I believe that the externship program provided me with an exceptional, one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain industry knowledge and experience, build my resume, network with professionals, and cultivate relationships with alumni. I am enthusiastic about participating in the program again next year.