Name: Miles Howell

CFS Concentration & Year: Business Field Studies (Winter 2011)

Internship: Public Finance Investment Banking Intern, Loop Capital Markets

Major: Economics

Graduation Year: 2012

Current Position: Business Analyst – Ad Ops, Advertising.com

Describe your CFS experience

The CFS program guided me along every step of the internship search process, helping me build my resume, providing interview practice with actionable feedback, using the program’s connections to get interviews, and working with me throughout my internship to help me understand how to best zero in on the intersection of what I was good at and what I enjoyed doing. Six months after submitting my application, I was a stronger, more confident candidate with knowledge of how to best proceed as my career developed.

Describe your internship

I had a great experience at Loop. While there, I was exposed to every step of the process that goes into the funding of public entities, such as city and state governments, through municipal bonds. These ranged from my primary role of analyzing debt vs income in the request for proposal stage, to the underwriting and sale of the bonds.

Did you see it as a future career when you took the internship?

I wasn’t sure, but I knew that was excited by the analytical tasks I’d be performing and felt good about what I had seen of the company culture from the interview process. No matter what, it was going to be a learning experience.

Please briefly explain what you are doing now

I’m a business analyst for advertising.com, which is an ad network that leverages data and unsold website inventory to help match clients’ advertisements with the right person, on the right site, at the right time. I act as a consultant for dozens of advertisers, providing guidance on how to be both competitive and efficient in the digital advertising economy and driving campaign development through manipulating delivery settings based on available data. Before that, I interned with the targeting and analytics team for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Is there a link between your CFS experience and what you are doing now?

My CFS experience helped me find my passion for big data and analytics, and just as important, gave me the mindset necessary to forge a rewarding career after college.

What advice do you have for students at NU considering the program?

CFS has several characteristics that set it apart from the rest. It’s a one stop shop for jump starting your career, which provides a more intimate and personalized career development experience than you will receive elsewhere within the university. Additionally, you have a much higher chance of being “the intern,” rather than “an intern,” if you intern during the school year and/or at a smaller/niche company, both of which are hard to do without the help provided by the program.

How can CFS students make the most of their experience?

Learn as much as you can from Karen Allen – she is the ultimate resource for a young, career minded individual.