Summer Intern Profile Series: Meet Daniel!

In last week’s Summer Intern Profile Series, you were introduced to Grace McDonald, J.Jill’s Merchandising Intern. In this week’s profile, we’re bringing you along to meet Daniel Gutierrez, J.Jill’s Finance Intern.

Daniel is attending Emmanuel College and majoring in Finance with a minor in Economics. While at J.Jill, his main projects have consisted of rebuilding the historic capital file, performing ad hoc analysis, and assisting the team related to rolling cash flow and covenant reporting.

So, what interested Daniel in interning within Finance at J.Jill? “The opportunity to present a cross-functional project to J.Jill’s executive leadership team and learn more about retail finance,” Daniel said. Having previous retail experience, he further shared he has a curiosity about retail “behind the scenes” and how it is managed, specifically from a financial perspective.

What’s it been like for Daniel interning at J.Jill for a month? “My typical day as a Finance intern consists of training on planning and analytics on Maestro – a tool used to organize complex data into a simpler analysis – and categorizing data, such as year-to-year sales, and comparing growth rate percentage and CAGR to the average store sales,” Daniel explained.

During our interview, Daniel shared that he is always looking forward to acquiring new knowledge, whether it be about his colleagues or J.Jill generally through networking events within the company.

While at J.Jill, Daniel shared that he hopes to gain a deeper understanding of Finance, specifically in financial planning and analysis, and further his skill set in collecting and organizing data in Excel. He explained, “this will give me a deeper understanding of companies’ financials and their target goals.”

When I asked Daniel about the best career advice he has received so far, he said, “always ask questions, as doing so allows clarification in grey areas and shows that you care.” He went on to explain that questions can lead to better communication skills and advance your emotional intelligence. For those looking to pursue a career in Finance, Daniel suggested, “Find interests that best suit you and set weekly and monthly goals. Doing so can influence your choices and ultimately determine your career path.”

In our next internship profile, we’ll hear from Analise Colon, J.Jill’s Design Intern, to learn more about her interests and the work she’s done so far at J.Jill. Stay tuned!