Name: Girish Sankar ‘13
Title: Finance Associate
Employer: Clutter
Majors: Economics & Finance
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
Clutter is a startup – the first one I’ve worked for. My prior roles were in management consulting and private equity, which were much more structured, and had processes already in place for most of the initiatives we were working on. The biggest difference: There are no right answers at Clutter, and my boss (the VP of finance) relies on me to figure out the best way forward in each new strategic decision we make.
What is a typical day like in your position?
I work as almost an internal strategy consultant within the business. Every time we make a change, generally my team is focused on analyzing it and choosing the right decision. Project examples I have completed:
- Determined the right revenue share agreement for a marketing partnership;
- Helped plan the transition to a new office;
- Modeled the cashflows from a new real estate decision;
- Analyzed which of our search engine marketing campaigns give us the most clicks.
Which undergraduate experiences did you find most helpful in preparing you for your current position?
The biggest experiences I still use from my undergraduate experience today are those classes that required me to use strategic, logical thinking. A lot of my work doesn’t necessarily use economic concepts, but the same math and logic we used in micro/macroeconomics, as well as public finance (a class I really enjoyed that Melissa Kearney teaches) is applicable. I had internships each summer, which helped me land a good full-time position, and my position as president of the finance club helped with networking and landing my first job.
How has your coursework helped you in your current position?
The two most important parts of my job are clear verbal and written communication, and high quality quantitative analysis. Any class that encourages you to use both of these, which include all the intermediate economics classes, and classes which encourage public speaking and presenting, are very valuable.
Any job or internship advice?
Working at Clutter is my third position. Each experience I had prior has been very valuable to acquiring the right skills, such as being able to do analysis, make presentations for our investors, and assist our executives in making the right strategic decisions for the business. So think about each step you take in your career – what do you actually want to do? If this isn’t it, will it help you get there?
Final piece of advice?
Network! I got my current role through a Maryland graduate ten years older than me, who I met in New York four years ago. Meet as many people as you can, and keep your connections strong. You’ll never know when you will need to use them!
