Ever wonder what it’s like to intern at Capital One? We know that the best way to learn about a company is to hear from the people who’ve actually worked there. That’s why we asked four former Capital One interns—with four different backgrounds and majors—to share their experiences.
Samantha Segall, Emory University
Major: Physics and Economics
Capital One Department: Upmarket Credit Card
What was the most exciting project you worked on during your internship?
I was given the opportunity to design online tests to optimize one of the terms on some of our credit cards.
How did your project experience help you grow professionally?
Owning the development of online tests largely from start to finish gave me the opportunity to experience and use lots different skills. At the same time, I learned a ton about the different digital channels Capital One uses and about Capital One in general.
What advice do you have for current (and future) Capital One interns?
One of the most important things I got from the summer was the relationships I formed over those 10 weeks. Though I now work in Capital One’s bank division and interned in Capital One’s credit card division, I know people in all parts of Capital One, which is really good for getting a broader sense of what is going on all across the company and understanding areas where we can work together.
Kelsey McLeland, Texas A&M University
Major: Business Management
Capital One Department: Card Technology
What was the most exciting project you worked on during your internship?
I was tasked with analyzing each phase of the professional hire talent acquisition process and identifying areas of improvement. A colleague and I did a site visit to one of our Power Days (on-site interviews) in Northern Virginia. I then made a proposal of changes that could be implemented to better show what an exciting career at Capital One would look like.
How did your project experience help you grow professionally?
My project really taught me to take initiative and speak up when I see something that can be improved. As an intern at Capital One, they truly value your opinion and fresh perspective. “This is the way we’ve always done it” is not a statement you will hear often at Capital One, and I appreciate that. I felt like I made a true impact on our candidate experience, which had the potential to increase our number of Card Technology hires.
What advice do you have for current (and future) Capital One interns?
1) Seek areas that you can add value in; 2) Network and meet as many people across the company as you can (strategically of course); 3) Ask questions and speak up. Capital One values their interns and wants to know what they see and hear. As cliché as it sounds, you will get as much out of this internship as you put into it.
Austin Osborne, MIT
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Capital One Department: Home Loans
What was the most exciting project you worked on during your internship?
I worked on a case competition with four other interns. The goal was to create a product pitch for Capital One to help our customers understand money better.
How did your project experience help you grow professionally?
It really helped me learn about how business decisions are made and understand how to develop technical specifications and requirements. We also needed to pitch our product at the end of the summer, which was valuable presentation experience.
What advice do you have for current (and future) Capital One interns?
Take advantage of every opportunity presented to you, even if it seems like you’re busy. I’ve found that you never know what an opportunity may become if you give it a chance, and that mentality has led to a lot of career success for me.
Nathan Crow, Virginia Tech
Major: Electrical Engineering
Capital One Department: Capital Markets (Finance)
What was the most exciting project you worked on during your internship?
I worked on a project optimizing the hedging of our mortgage servicing rights portfolio.
How did your project experience help you grow professionally?
It required the expertise of various members both on my direct team and otherwise, which taught me the importance of leveraging those around you to complete challenging projects.
What advice do you have for current (and future) Capital One interns?
Focus on networking as much as possible and stay in contact with all of the people you meet over the summer; those connections will be incredibly helpful in both the short and long term.
Want to follow in Samantha’s, Kelsey’s, Austin’s and Nathan’s footsteps? Head on over to WayUp to learn more about Capital One.
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The Unexpected Way One Recent Grad Found Her Way to Capital One
