Intern of the Week: Sehar Zaheer for Financial Economics!

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:06:30 -0400
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Name: Sehar Zaheer

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Moss Adams

Position Title: GPS Operational Intern

Major or Program: Major: B.S in Financial Economics | Minor: Information Systems

Current Class Level: Junior

Work Term: Summer 2021

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

During Summer 2021, I was given an opportunity by Moss Adams (MA) to intern within their Portland, Oregon Office. Moss Adams is an accounting firm based on the West Coast with 25 offices in total. During my time with the MA Portland Office, I was able to shadow the Tax, Audit, and Consulting departments as well as work on operational projects with other interns. The shadowing experience was 3 weeks long, with 1 week in each department. This process allowed me to narrow down which department I wanted to work in as a full-time employee. Furthermore, the operational projects allowed me to be creative and develop my leadership skills.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

During the Spring 2021 semester, I found this opportunity on LinkedIn, however I narrowed my search to specifically opportunities within the Washington and Oregon states. Before applying for this internship, I thoroughly looked through the Moss Adams website to get as many details as I could about the company. In addition, I used platforms such Glassdoor to read reviews about the company from employees and previous interns. After I was confident in the company and had adequate information for my specific internship, I applied. The application process was done through the Moss Adams website. A week after applying, I heard back from a recruiter for my first round interview (mostly relating to technical questions). After doing this interview, I received an email saying that I was through to the second round interview (I generally chatted with 2 Manager/Director level employees). Soon after the second interview, I received an offer!

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

From reading about it in reviews and articles to experiencing it first hand, the best part about Moss Adams has to be the culture! Everyone is friendly and willing to help you in any way possible. I'll give a quick example: for a project during the internship, I had to reach out to different people within my office (of my choice). I decided to reach out to 2 firm partners. You would think their schedule is too packed to be able to sit down for a chat, but they made time. Thus, there are a lot of opportunities to network!

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I made an impact at Moss Adams through the charity fundraiser project. My team and I were able to raise $10,000 over 2 weeks time for the Oregon Parks Forever Charity. Our campaign was about replanting trees after the wildfires that happened in Oregon. $1 = 1 tree replanted, thus we replanted 10,000 trees!

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Do your research! Never apply without all the appropriate knowledge on the company, especially for interviews. And if you can, talk to current or recent employees/interns from the company you want to work at. People are the best resource!

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.

Know what you want out of the internship.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!