Helen Chen

Experience Prior To The Program

Prior to the program, I had done the Investor Training Program with Duke Investment Club, where I learned about the fundamentals of valuation, the financial markets, and investing. However, I did not have a lot of financial modeling experience, and that was something I wanted to add to my toolbox. I joined the Analyst Prep Program with Romero Mentoring because I wanted to develop my skills, meet like-minded people, and better understand what it would be like to work as an analyst in the financial services industry.

Training Experience

The training was valuable because it was very interactive. Not only would Mr. Romero walk you through how to build a financial model step-by-step (and you could follow by filling out your own Excel spreadsheet), but he would also talk about why we perform certain functions and explain the important line items. I found this to be very useful and it helped me understand the material even better.

The one-on-one mentorship was probably my favorite part of the program. During the one-on-one sessions with Mr. Romero, I could ask questions about the training material, get feedback on my work, and get advice on my own finance journey.

Internship Experience

The internship was a great opportunity for me to employ the skills I developed through the training experience to analyze actual companies. I really enjoyed understanding the intricacies of the businesses and industries and developing my own investment recommendations. During the training, Mr. Romero went through a case study where he went through the entire process of building an investment presentation. This helped me understand the amount of thought and research that goes into building a strong and professional presentation deck; it really gave me a good idea of all the things I should consider when developing my own investment recommendations and presentations. I also found that as I completed more internship projects, I became a lot faster at building the models and presentations, so this experience definitely helped me solidify my skills and knowledge.

Mentorship

The one-on-one mentorship was probably my favorite part of the program. During the one-on-one sessions with Mr. Romero, I could ask questions about the training material, get feedback on my work, and get advice on my own finance journey. I especially appreciated the mentorship during the internship experience, as I was able to present my investment ideas to Mr. Romero, get feedback, and learn how to effectively back my own theses.

Career Development

Prior to the program, I did not have a lot of experience working with Excel. However, after the program, I feel a lot more comfortable working with the many functions on Excel and understanding the shortcuts I could use. Mr. Romero taught financial modeling in a very beginner-friendly way, so even if you have never worked in Excel before, you can still participate and follow along! I also really appreciated Mr. Romero’s feedback and guidance on making professional resumes.