'Take Vacancies Seriously': Maksim Babikov on His Master's Studies, Internship at 'Gazprombank' and Work at Alfa-Bank
Maksim Babikov graduated from the programme 'International Business and Management' in 2024. When he was a student, Maksim started actively building his career: he undertook internships in product management and HR spheres and then took an interest in analytics. For a year, the graduate has been working as a risk analyst at 'Alfa-Bank' and continued his education in the Master's programme 'Data Analytics for Business and Economics'. Read about the importance of education and first career steps in the article.
Impressions of the bachelor's degree and admissions to the master's programme
I chose 'International Business and Management' because this programme opened vast prospects for finding yourself and professional development. We had basic humanitarian courses like philosophy or law, economics and finance, and ever programming. Due to a vast variety of disciplines, we managed to realise in practice which ones we liked more. For instance, it turned out that accounting is not my cup of tea. Then, I opened analytics at the junction of consulting. This is the sphere in which I started developing and building my career.
I continued studying data analytics in the master's programme. I was choosing between several universities and programmes but opted for 'Data Analytics for Business and Economics' at HSE University-St Petersburg. It strikes the perfect balance between analytics and management, which was important for me.
The master's programme provides deeper and more complicated material. We study analytics in various spheres of economics and new ways to process data, for instance, defining the meaning of a text with the help of a model, like GPT. I especially like that I can adapt my studies to my needs and choose a track: marketing, personnel management or economics. I'm planning to stay in economics: it is the closest sphere for me and very useful in work.
Extracurricular Life at HSE University
At HSE University, during the academic year, I have been coordinating an interactive lecture hall for prospective students 'HSE Lite'. We prepare school students for the Olympiads and hold additional classes on economics, political science and law. We held a lot of amazing classes and even a trial olympiad. The project is living further with other heads but I am very grateful to the team, professors and students for this experience.
My extracurricular life was not only interesting but also useful: I became more brave and creative in solving tasks. All of these are thanks to the events and the supervisor's experience!
Thanks to my extracurricular life, I gained contacts and learnt how to communicate efficiently in the working environment. Now, I realise how to organise a team, distribute tasks and maintain motivation in a team. It will be helpful in any project.
Career Start
In the third year, I wanted some practice, so I started looking for internships. The first one was at the company 'Edinstvo' of the group 'Nornickel' as a product intern. I was working on the concept of a service for booking private parkings in St Petersburg. Before starting the development, we had to analyse the potential and relevance of the product. I called around private parkings to understand how interesting our service was for them, talked to car owners and created a business model.
Later, I engaged in analysing the HR services of 'Gazprombank'. I applied for the internship, was selected and after exciting anticipation got an offer. The supervisor highlighted my strong mathematical and analytical skills.
During the internship, I studied users' experiences and analysed how to involve more employees in feedback services. Besides, I managed to try myself in qualitative research: I carried out interviews, and then collected and presented the results.
The internship at 'Gazprombank' taught me to approach the work more strictly. I started taking responsibility for tasks and finishing them, taking the difficulties easier, and these are important qualities to which many companies pay attention.
Work as a Risk Analyst
In my last bachelor's year, I decided to change the direction. Around this time, I came across the vacancy of a leading risk analyst at 'Alfa Bank'. The selection process was difficult and long. I told about my skills in a questionnaire, completed a test assignment and passed an interview. The supervisor wanted to know how well I knew bank products, statistics and programming. For instance, I didn't know SQL at first—I learnt it especially for this position. Fortunately, I received the main knowledge required for this job in the bachelor's programme.
It's been a year since I started working in the team of capital assessment. Together with other analysts, we calculate and forecast the amount of money which would provide stable work and the bank's profitability.
I also assess how new products, the country's economy and other factors influence capital consumption. I have to analyse large amounts of data, visualise the results and track which risks the bank bears and how we can control them.
I like the work of a risk analyst because I can watch financial indexes and figure out what lies behind them. These are the tasks which I expected from my job.
The work of an analyst might seem routine but it is not entirely true. Even if you prepare a simple monthly report, you still have to track the changes, make corrections and improve the received data. Such an approach really motivates me to develop and move forward.
Advice for Students
Pay attention to the courses which can come in handy in your profession. Now, my career also requires knowledge of finance and statistics, so I am trying to spend more time on courses at HSE University. I also recommend focusing not only on the professor's requirements. Study additional materials on your own. These efforts will pay off and help in your future career.
Take vacancies seriously. Do not apply for everything and anything. Ask those who already work in this sphere and look for additional information. Contemplate whether it all suits you or not. Moreover, it's important to learn about the employer, their brand and rivals. It will also help you feel more confident in the interview.
To get more useful advice from alumni or share your career story, join HSE Alumni Network. In November, the project held an offline event 'Alumni Network Meeting' where HSE alumni from the companies SPIKS tech, MAXIMUM Education, 'Mam, kupi!', 'AIKIdesign', LLC 'Lenta' and Team Spirit told students about their professional experience. More than 40 participants discussed how to choose educational programmes, how to pass the selection to companies and which tasks one can face in their workplaces. Alumni Network is open to students and alumni of all programmes.