This week Dreamando had the opportunity to interview Marta Morellato – a politics, philosophy, and economics undergraduate student who is currently reading a master’s in International Affairs, with a specialisation track in international trade and finance.
Next to her studies, she is currently doing a traineeship at the European Banking Federation (EBF). We thus took the chance to ask her what working for the EBF looks like.
First, what is the EBF?
The EBF is a trade union (lobby) representing the interests of the banking sector in European institutions. The EBF is composed of European Members’ national banking associations (i.e., French banking association, Italian banking association, Spanish banking association, etc.).
The EBF, through its advocacy and lobbying activities, represents the interests of its Members in European Institutions. Moreover, every team has its director: team members are either senior policy advisors, policy advisors, or trainees.
The EBF’s priorities are topics like financing sustainable growth, innovation and cybersecurity, prudential policy and supervision, and financial education.
How does the EBF promote diversity?
The EBF is highly active on the topic of diversity and inclusion. It does not only have a very internally diverse staff, but it is also actively engaged in the organization of events to promote diversity and inclusion in the banking sector. Different teams within the EBF are currently transversally collaborating to develop guidelines aimed at supporting the banking sectors in implementing diversity and inclusion rules at all levels.
Being a trainee at the EBF
As a trainee in the Financing Sustainable Growth Team of the EBF, working in a lobby implies having several meetings with the Members (national banking associations) of the EBF to collect their inputs on regulations and consultations to then draft a common position paper to share with the EU Commission and/or MEPs.
Since she started, she has been working on files concerning sustainable finance (EU green bonds, ESG ratings, Taxonomy…), export credit, and more generally, secondary markets with a closer focus on investors’ protection. Her daily duties vary very much and range from working on consultations to supporting the organisation of events.
Tips by Ms. Morellato
What makes a CV distinguish?
1) Motivation to undertake the role and the duties to it associated;
2) Soft skills, experiences, and voluntary activities over hard skills, and experience;
3) Ability to work in a team;
4) Show that the experiences you have and the things you have done, in some way match what is requested in the offer.
Which advice would you give to students in their 20s?
To travel and exit their comfort zone by studying or doing an internship abroad, to challenge themselves to learn foreign languages, and explore as many sectors as possible.
It is a mistake to only look for things strictly related to what you have studied: having interdisciplinary skills and knowledge is becoming more and more important and it is fundamental to be open-minded and ready to collocate ourselves in environments that are not comfortable for us. There is always space to learn.
When asked about her best skill she stated:
Meticulousness – being precise and serious in what we do is of fundamental importance – both during your studies or while working/doing an internship.
She found out about it in her early studies, and she is now discovering it even more while doing her internship. To have exchanges with European institutions representatives requires a high level of professionality (as all work duties do, by the way) and she is glad she has this trait in her character.
To sum up:
The EBF is a great environment to grow, and the CEO and the leadership team as a whole firmly believe in investing time and efforts in allowing a person to grow and learn. They privileged character and willingness to learn from expertise: the former cannot be taught, while the latter can.
The internship at the EBF along with projects of applied research that Ms. Morellato did during her master’s for the World Trade Organization have been the most challenging yet rewarding experiences she did so far.
These experiences not only helped her improve her research and teamwork skills but also her ability to work under strict deadlines and meticulous supervision. If you also would like to work in an international and stimulating environment keep an eye on the EBF website, Stage4EU, and LinkedIn, the three platforms on which you can find all the open positions.
Make your way inside the European Banking Federation!