Hiba | Finance Internship at Absolute Internship

Hiba L.

Finance InternshipAbsolute Internship|ParisParis

Now studying Bachelor In Business Administration and Management, Concentration Finance and Minor in International Studies at AL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY

🎁 Start a conversation and get a €100 Euro discount on program fees using my promo code

Internship

FinanceMoroccoMorocco

Currently

Bachelor In Business Administration and Management, Concentration Finance and Minor in International Studies AL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY

Hi! I’m Hiba 👋 This summer, I swapped my usual routine for an internship in Paris at Les Maîtres Financeurs and learned so much, both professionally and personally. If you’re curious about the experience or just want to chat about it, feel free to reach out! ✨

Hiba is a former student and verified Absolute Internship ambassador

Why Hiba chose this path

“Stepping out of my comfort zone was the biggest pull. I wanted to see finance beyond the classroom, in an actual finance hub like Paris, and experience something completely new for two months. Call it curiosity mixed with ambition.”

How I got in

Absolute Internship offers so many options, which made the choice exciting. I picked Paris because it felt like the natural fit given my French background, but if I could do it again, I'd love to push myself even further and choose a country where the language barrier is a real challenge.

Top tips for getting accepted

Go in curious and open, ready to soak up everything, not just the work but the lifestyle around it too. Stay flexible with your personality so you can adapt to the different people and dynamics you'll meet in the workplace, and think about what you can offer, not just what you'll gain. Before you even start, set clear goals: skills you want to build, things you want to learn about yourself. What matters most is experiencing it fully and learning as much as you can, because interning abroad isn't an opportunity everyone gets.

Common mistakes to avoid

Honestly, I'd be more open and flexible. The fixed nine-to-five routine didn't suit my personality or how I'm used to living and studying, and it wore on me more than I expected. I was also too afraid of making language mistakes, when that fear was exactly what I needed to push through to actually improve. And I stayed a bit too closed off personality-wise instead of letting more of myself show at work. Looking back, I'd do it all differently, but discovering these blind spots was its own kind of growth. Now I know exactly what to work on.

What Hiba wishes they knew

Things I wish I knew before starting

I wish I'd known how much this internship would teach me about myself, not just finance. Go in expecting to learn about who you are under pressure, not just what's on the job description.

The hardest part

Honestly, the hardest part was the nine-to-five structure; it just didn't fit how I work best. I also struggled to adapt to the environment as much as I wanted to, and there were stretches where my tasks drifted away from finance into things outside my field, which was frustrating when I'd signed up for the hands-on financial experience.

The best decision I made

The best decision I made was learning to communicate, whether it was saying I didn't understand something, that I couldn't take on a task, or that I was already overloaded. Speaking up like that had a real, positive impact and gave me what I needed to keep going and finish the internship on a strong note.

What it's actually like

A typical day

A typical day started an hour or two before work: getting ready, both physically and mentally, for what was ahead. The metro ride in, headphones on, was honestly one of my favorite parts of the day. I'd arrive in the heart of Paris, surrounded by major firms and institutions, make myself a coffee, and map out what needed to get done that day versus what could wait. Mornings usually meant sending updates to my supervisor and diving into research or client work. For lunch, I'd take my homemade meal to a quiet spot near a church nearby, calling friends back home to fill them in on how things were going. Afternoons varied: sometimes presentations, sometimes heads-down work. Then it was back on the metro, home to my sister's place in Paris, where we'd either go out if we had the energy or just cook dinner together and watch a movie before starting it all again the next day.

Topics Hiba can help with

Workplace CultureWork-Life BalanceProfessional DevelopmentDay-to-Day LifeInterview Prep

Questions students ask Hiba

What does a typical day in your internship actually look like?
I'd get ready an hour or two before work since my commute was about a 45-minute metro ride. Once there, I'd work on my laptop, present to my supervisor when needed, grab a coffee, and take lunch in a quiet spot nearby. After finishing around five, I'd meet up with my sister or friends, either exploring new spots in Paris or having a movie night at home.
How did you land your internship - what did the application process involve?
The application process was smooth from start to finish. I discovered Absolute Internship through an Absolute Internship Alumni at my university, applied, and got accepted for the first step: a placement interview with Laura. It felt more like a genuine conversation than an interview; I talked about myself, what I wanted to learn, and where I saw myself heading, and she took it all in and matched it to something achievable. From there, I got my first offer, which turned out to be with the firm I ended up working with, and it lined up perfectly with what I wanted to do. The company interview was equally welcoming; they went through my CV, asked about fit and adaptability, and made the whole process feel easy.
What skills do you wish you had before starting that you'd tell others to prepare?
Honestly, I already had most of the skills going in, adaptability, communication, openness to new things, but this internship pushed me to sharpen all of them further. I'd tell others: you don't need to master these before you start, just be willing to grow them.

Ready to ask Hiba a question?

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