04 December 2017

Seamus Conwell is the Associate Producer for CNBC International’s flagship show Squawk Box. He graduated from Dublin City University in 2012 with a BA in Economics, Politics and Law before partaking in freelance radio work. Looking to move to London, he applied for an internship at CNBC. Recalling the application process, Seamus says:

Christmas time in London invokes feelings of nostalgia for me. The sharp winter air and bright, festive lights bring me back to my internship interview at CNBC in December 2013.

I was living and working in Dublin at the time and although I enjoyed the freelance radio work I had been undertaking, it wasn’t enough to continue paying the not-so-cheap rent in the Irish capital. Not being from Dublin made staying there without regular work difficult – especially in an economy still recovering from a harsh crash. I turned my attention to London for job opportunities, attracted by the larger media companies and news organisations operating there. After many rejected applications and not much feedback, I very clearly remember getting an email response from CNBC and being almost stunned with excitement by the prospect of an interview to become one of their newsroom interns.

I spent a considerable amount of time that evening searching online, watching videos and checking out pictures of the place. My research of the organisation was driven by excitement rather than feeling obliged to research, which is certainly a good sign if you’re hoping for a job there! Some generosity from friends already living in London made it possible to fly from Dublin and create a base the night before the interview—something I will be forever grateful for.

On closer inspection of the email from CNBC, it was an invitation to what they called an ‘open day.’ It consisted of about 9 or 10 candidates, who would get a tour of the studio, catch some of the early show and then get given a short test to complete. After this, the individual interviews would begin. Before coming in that day, candidates were asked to outline whether it was the digital writing or the TV broadcast side of the newsroom that most interested them. Being the enterprising type and following some sage advice from my wiser elders, I chose both. Why limit your options? Of course, that meant I had to do two interviews—one with each team and double the stress!

The test was handed out on arrival in the lobby and if memory serves me correctly it had about 10 questions. I had no idea what to expect from it, but I did spend as much time as possible in the lead-up reading and watching every piece of financial journalism I could get my hands on. There was definitely a wide range of difficulty to the questions, but none were mathematical in nature, which came to the relief of not just a few of us. Specific test questions included:

Who is the President of the ECB?

What is the current share price of Apple?

What is the current price of Oil?

What country is Philips from?

What type of company is Siemens?

What does GDP stand for?

Most could be answered if you had read the CNBC website or any other well-respected business media publication that week, while others were a bit more specific, like what is the share price of a well-known stock or commodity. I guessed that one, and looking back now it’s embarrassing how far off I was.

Afterwards, we had the chance to hear from some of the current interns and they talked us through their day and what they got up to. One now happens to be a very good friend of mine!

The interview for TV was mainly focused on my previous career experiences and how I would fit in at CNBC. I remember that the digital interview also focussed on relevant skills and experiences but also involved questions about my current use of social media and consumption habits. Both interviews were relatively quick and I was back out in the big, bad world in no time. I wasn’t sure how it all went when people inevitably asked. I was just glad for the experience and the opportunity to check out an actual television studio – a feeling of awe that never really fades, even to this day.

I guess the proximity to Christmas meant the process was sped up because the next afternoon I got a call to ask me to do a second interview with the TV team. The recruiter almost pre-empted my upcoming question and said, “Don’t worry, you can do it over the phone – we don’t expect you to get another flight!”

I had the telephone interview the next morning with two of the CNBC producers but not before I got up nice and early and watched the channel – even managing to get a question I’d sent in read out on air. The phone call interview itself was really nice and we had a good conversation with the only tough question being what my headlines that day would have been. It was definitely a good thing that I’d just spent the previous five hours watching the channel!

It was only one day later that the call came to tell me I was being offered a paid internship role starting in January. What a whirlwind adventure it was – the first daunting task being moving from Dublin to London over Christmas! I want to make clear that this was a paid internship and that was definitely a defining criteria for any role I applied for. While unpaid work is an often touted route into our industry, it does serve to limit certain groups from making it in media.

Four years on and I’ve been to some amazing events and places and met some of the world’s most interesting people. Most of the time it doesn’t even feel like work and it doesn’t get much better than that. I’ve been with CNBC ever since and I’m now the Associate Producer for Squawk Box. As with any job, there are days that don’t go so well and you just wish you hadn’t gotten out of bed. However, when I stop to think and get a chance to look back at all the amazing experiences I have had working for CNBC, I wouldn’t change a thing.