Best Buy Internships

I spent my summer at Best Buy in Minneapolis as a Senior Financial Analyst intern within the treasury group as one of twelve finance MBA interns. Within the treasury group, I worked on projects involving financial risk. More specifically, I conducted research and analysis around 3rd party risk. In my first few weeks on the job, I spent the bulk of my time getting up to speed on credit analysis, as it was something I was very unfamiliar with. Additionally, I attended a Standard and Poor's conference in Chicago called 'Developing a Corporate Credit Rationale.' This gave me a great context and information to work on my main summer project - evaluate 3rd party risk for Best Buy.

My summer at Best Buy definitely was not all work. We had numerous events set up by the University Relations team including luncheons, a boat cruise, the Minneapolis MBA Soiree, team BBQ's, a golf event and so on. Best Buy did an excellent job of showing the intern class what Best Buy and Minneapolis have to offer for finance MBAs. I would highly recommend the experience to any MBA student interested in finance and looking for an exciting and challenging summer experience.

Some people didn't like Minneapolis, but I did. Great place. And no, I didn't go to the huge mall.

Go into it with an open mind and ready to learn.

During our intern orientation we were introduced to the Best Buy values and culture. As we discussed the four key values printed on the back of our badges and talked about the Strengths Based Organization and the Results Only Work Environment, I have to admit that I was skeptical- how could such a large company really live up to these ideals? I was sure that we were getting fed the ‘company line’ and that once we hit the floor, we would get the real story. But I was wrong- this is a company that truly lives its values and ideals – from the very top to the newest intern. Refreshing.

Best Buy is not content to sit back and rest on past success. The company as a whole is actively engaged in developing and executing the business model of the future. I was in a unique position in Financial Services to see this in action. The Financial Services team supports Best Buy’s various financing and credit card products and is a key growth area for the company. As such, I was I was involved in sizing, pricing, and evaluating many of the growth initiatives in this space, and I am very excited to visit the Charlottesville store over the next year to see the new products!

At Best Buy, you can’t walk down the hallway without someone smiling and saying hello. Very rarely do you have one of those silently awkward elevator rides where everyone suddenly finds their shoes immensely interesting. These small gestures really emphasize the culture at Best Buy- people are friendly, collaborative, and dedicated to making it a positive place to work. The company really values the power of its people and it shows- I had a valued voice at the table, despite my intern status.

The more I learn about Best Buy, the more I realize the significant opportunity to explore within the company’s umbrella. Over the course of the summer, I was encouraged to set up informal coffee chats with people all over Best Buy. These chats were instrumental in my understanding of the business model, how we make money, and how the culture permeates throughout the company. But perhaps more illuminating was that each person I met with had followed a different path to their current position. There are so many areas to explore here – from Best Buy Capital to Financial Services to Supply Chain to Treasury to Computing… the list goes on and on! And you have the power to decide what is next in your path.

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Make sure to take advantage of grabbing a cup of coffee with employees from different business lines. Branch out.

Technical rebates

Lower pay

Network with people

- Extremely smart people at Best Buy.
- I worked on a merchandising/marketing project and it was unbelievably fun. Mixture or analytics and creativity.
- Able to participate in company guest speakers (they have a theater type speaker area).
- Cafeteria was delicious.

I thought I wasn't going to enjoy Minneapolis, but it's a cool spot. And yes, the Mall of America is huge.

Internships at Best Buy are difficult to get. If they come to your campus, go, if they don't try to find an employee on the inside to give you a referral.

- Outstanding company culture that is fast paced an full of innovation.
- I learned a ton about merchandising (something I knew little about) and it was fascinating. For example, sales per square foot and how different displays can impact sales.
- Best Buy sets up housing, baseball games, and other events for the intern class. I loved going to the Twins game and overall, Minneapolis was much more exciting that I thought it would be.
- The speaker series was really interesting and I'm thankful that they set that up for us.

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Best Buy doesn't really promote their internship program, but if you can, get in. It's amazing.