- Yi Ke Cao did her first internship at a hedge fund when she was 16 years old.
- Cao says the two-week stay, though short, was a pivotal moment in her career development.
- In addition to confirming her interest in finance, the internship motivated her to attend business school.
This essay as stated is based on a conversation with Yi Ke Cao20, a sophomore at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Cao began her internship journey in high school when she interned at a hedge fund. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her education and employment history.
Both my parents worked in finance. When I was much younger, like most kids, I didn’t have much of an idea of what my path in the working world would look like. But my people told me stories about corporate finance and what it was like to be part of the industry. This piqued my interest in the field.
I won’t lie. Money was one of the main attractions of the sector, although for me, it wasn’t the only thing that mattered.
When it came to looking for a job, I knew I wanted to work for an employer that could give me a positive work-life balance and hopefully a place with a good environment and great colleagues.
That said, I wasn’t set on working in finance from the start. I didn’t have any practical experience then, but I was keen to explore what a career in finance would look like.
Joining a hedge fund as their newest intern
Suddenly, an opportunity to intern at a hedge fund came my way when I was 16 years old.
I was still a high school student when I received a list of internship opportunities from my school as part of their work experience program.
That’s when I happened to have a two-week stint with a Singapore-based hedge fund, Modular Asset Management.
This was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so most of the internships listed were remote positions. But the position with Modular Asset Management was different – it was held in place.
I figured it would be a great opportunity for me to gain some industry exposure and expand my network.
As part of my application, I sent my resume and a video presentation. I managed to secure the internship after being shortlisted and passing an interview with my future mentor and supervisor.
To be honest, I don’t think I had the best resume out of the 10 other candidates I was competing with. For example, I didn’t have that many achievements on paper. However, my mentor said she decided to take a chance on me because I seemed curious and willing to learn.
I started my internship in December 2020 and was the youngest intern there.
Overcoming my impostor syndrome
Cao spent two weeks interning at Modular Asset Management, a hedge fund in Singapore. Yi Ke Cao
The first few days of my internship were terrible.
I felt overwhelmed by the new environment. I didn’t know what my colleagues expected of me because I had no prior knowledge or technical skills to offer.
I did my best to contribute to the team. I had a basic knowledge of Excel, but the learning curve was steep. I had to pick up advanced Excel techniques in a matter of days so I could help my supervisor compile profit and loss sheets.
This experience has benefited me to this day – I use the Excel techniques I learned in my business school internship now.
And although I didn’t contribute to major projects at the hedge fund, I was still able to better understand how its various departments worked together.
I got to sit in on strategic discussions between departments and witness part of their decision-making process as marketers. I began to see how meticulous and demanding you have to be if you want to be a good portfolio manager.
The internship at the fund as a 16-year-old was a key moment in my career development
Looking back, interning at the hedge fund was a pivotal moment in my life.
In addition to giving me early exposure to a professional work environment, it helped confirm my interest in a finance career and solidified my decision to go to business school.
If I could turn back the clock, I would have done more internships as a teenager. Although the scope of the job was likely limited, it would still have been good exposure for me.
Most people don’t know what they want to do for a living at 16. But by interning earlier, I think one can understand the corporate world better.