AXA ADVISORS
Julian DiDonato Class of 2008
UCF Alumnus
Job Title: Financial Advisor
Location: Melville, Long Island, New York
UCF Graduation Date: May 2008
UCF Major: Finance
UCF Minor: Real Estate
How did you find out about AXA?
I picked up a list, located in the Finance department, of companies that typically hire UCF students for internships. I then contacted the AXA office in Orlando. The management was really impressed with my involvement in the Financial Management Association and they brought me on as an intern immediately in January 2008. After being an intern for several months, I started looking for a permanent position, for after I graduated. I was offered a job at the office here in Orlando, but since most of my family lives in New York, I decided to try and get in touch with the AXA office up there. Because of my internship in Orlando, I was able to skip much of the formal interviewing process and signed on with their Long Island office.
What attracted you to AXA Advisors?
With AXA being such a large company, there were many different places to go with a career in finance. After interning in their financial advising line of business, I was drawn in to what they had to offer me as a recent college graduate. For my internship, I interned in the Retirement Benefit Group here in Orlando. This part of the business allows advisors to go into an established market. This market, which is contracted to our company, gave me a great point to launch my career from.
What are the positives and negatives about working in your field and company?
Positives:
My office has a specific market in which we base our business. This allows me to begin a challenging career with a helping hand. Also, everyone that I have met at AXA is friendly and giving. They all want me to suc-ceed and offer assistance whenever necessary.
Negatives:
Being a financial advisor, who is fresh out of college, can be troublesome. You have to prove that you have a good amount of knowledge because your age doesn?t show your "years of experience." The transition from the college lifestyle to the working lifestyle has been difficult. With my particular, we meet with clients at their convenience, which can often mean as early as 6:00 a.m. or as late as they require. There are no set hours, which may not work for some people who like 9 to 5 jobs.
What are the major differences between your internship and your job?
There weren‘t that many differences. As an intern, I was mostly shadowing the financial advisors. Now I am in their shoes.
Do you have any tips for job searching/interviewing?
Start job searching during your junior year! I started my senior year and felt so lost. It takes a while to really get into the groove of what you need to do and this time can?t be wasted during your senior year. A lot of com-panies like to see people early. By the time the career fair came around in the fall, they were already scheduling interviews. You should be doing all your preparations the summer before your senior year. I started late and was panicking from January through April because I didn‘t have a job lined up, nor did I have any career plans. I highly suggest everyone takes advantage of the free mock interviews offered by Career Services. Also, try to interview with as many companies as possible. I interviewed for several companies /positions that I never even thought about working for. I actually ended up being interested in a couple of the positions. Most students know that they should "network," but they don‘t know where to start. Start by joining organizations within the College of Business. A lot of A lot of organizations have a similar format to the Financial Management Association, where they bring in speakers from different companies and then you get to meet with these speakers and ask them questions. It‘s a good time to pick up business cards and submit resumes.
What do you think was the most beneficial thing on your resume which helped you get your internship/job?
When I was getting the internship, the best thing on my resume was the leadership role with the Financial Management Association. A lot of my interview questions pertained to what I did with that position, how I did it, and how I was a leader.
When it came time to getting a job, they were interested in my internship and leadership experience. "Anyone can have an internship," I was told in one of my interviews. They wanted to see that I had an internship that actually taught me something about the job I was going for. It turned out that my internship at AXA taught me a lot of things AXA teaches their new hires.
Do you have any tips for students who would like to work/ intern for AXA?
AXA wants interns who are ready to get their hands dirty. They want interns who have a genuine interest in the field of financial advising. If that‘s what interests you, then send them an email or call them up. They are always eager to hear from college students. They are flexible around school schedules. They want you to learn, so if you have the desire…SHOW IT.
