Citigroup has good news for its future interns freaking out over whether their summer plans have changed: Upon graduation, they will receive full-time job offers from the firm.
A spokesperson for Citi said via email Thursday that due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, the firm had to delay its internship start date until July 6.
As long as interns meet “minimum requirements” of the abbreviated internship program, interns in Citi’s New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo programs will receive full-time offers.
This accounts for 75 percent of Citi’s summer interns. The remaining 25 percent — outside of those locations — will be considered for full-time roles once the program is complete, according to the spokesperson’s email.
“They are thrilled,” said Diane Arber, institutional client group head of human resources at Citi by phone. “They can’t believe it.”
“We know that it is an especially trying time for you right now, as you work to finish the semester away from school, removed from your friends and on-campus experiences, and think about the economy and job market you’ll find yourself in after graduation,” an email Citi sent to its future interns said. “With that in mind, we have made some adjustments to the internship program to remove as much uncertainty as possible for you.”
What’s more, Citi interns will be paid for the full ten weeks they expected to work this summer.
In addition to these changes, Citigroup is considering taking its internship virtual, according to the spokesperson’s email.
According to Arber, her team is meeting next week to consider what a virtual internship experience would look like.
“Our main goal is making sure that interns can have a positive experience that’s comparable, if possible, to the regular program,” Arber said.
Less than a month ago, Citigroup, along with several other big banks, told Institutional Investor that it planned to move ahead with internships as expected. However, as the pandemic worsened, changes to the program had to be made.
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For the first time, half of Citigroup’s global intern class is made up of women, according to the spokesperson. In the United States, 52 percent of the intern class identifies as women, up from 47 percent in 2019, the firm’s spokesperson said via email.
Under-represented minorities make up 27 percent of this year’s class, according to an email from the firm’s spokesperson.
