Perhaps look for something that would add to your skills but may not be necessarily in the line for IB. You're a freshman, so you are young and you got some time. If it will be your first internship, look for one where you'll be doing a lot of computer work so you can polish your tech, excel, etc skills.
“Bestow pardon for many things; seek pardon for none.”
Honestly, I am not into IB, so my answer would be no unfortunately. But this example might help. I want to do commercial real estate, and I couldn't get into CBRE or any CRE firms this summer so I interviewed for a retail RE investment boutique and got a position over the summer. It would not have been my first choice, but it's in the real estate industry and I will be able to apply the skills I learn. General skills.
You could look into corporate finance or something but since you're young like I am, why not work on building skills you'll need. Sales is a huge one, so maybe try to get a position as a salesman somewhere over the summer, and earn a few bucks while you're at it.
“Bestow pardon for many things; seek pardon for none.”
Can you do on campus research with a professor? That can be regarded well, especially if you're from a target.
Is it too late to enrol for language classes abroad or to do any intensive summer courses in the US or elsewhere?
If you're a freshman at a target, it doesn't really matter what you do, but just do something. I personally didn't do a finance summer internship as a freshman and neither did many of my friends.
Still haven't gotten a summer internship (Originally Posted: 04/19/2014)
I'm a sophomore at a top-20 university, good GPA, stellar GPA this year, econ/stats, involved enough, but just haven't been able to get offers from any of my interviews. I've sent out 20+ applications this week and will be sending out 30+ cold e-mails. But it has been very disheartening -- I've been getting a lot of good 'ol "you're a great candidate, but we've filled our sophomore positions."
If none of my current applications or e-mails turn into internships, what's the best thing to do for the summer? Take 2-3 classes and self study modeling/building/read books?
I'd say just get any experience you can. I interned my freshman summer free of charge for a startup, and built up my experience from there. I didn't get a finance role till sophomore summer, but if you can manage that and you go to a target school you'll be fine assuming you can interview and get above a 3.5.
If you happen to go to an Ivy or a place like Georgetown or Duke, tap the alumni network before you start cold calling -- look on LinkedIn for alums at any banks, buyside firms, or failing that, any corporate role. There is no reason a motivated student at a target can't find at least a shitty internship at a random company. You have to start somewhere.
It may be a bit late to find something substantial and finance-related, but don't let that stop you from reaching out to alums in the field. Make the introductions now, talk with them, learn a bit about what they do, and it'll give you a better idea of where you want to go. Plus when recruiting does come around, you'll have contacts to help you right off the bat.
There are very limited ibd internships for sophomores . Your best bet would be to do something finance/business related to set yourself up for junior year Sa recruiting. That's where you get your money's worth.
You also are a few months behind when it comes to spamming your resume out. I accepted a positon for this summer back in January and they told me they started their recruiting in November. Taking extra classes never hurts...depending on where you live finding a PWM internship shouldn't be hard at all...atleast it's something.
In August start sending out your resume and emailing recruiters.
You're way behind the boat in terms of timing. Plus, there are only a few sophomore positions. Don't worry too much about getting an internship, if you can that's good but if not don't sweat it. Just make sure you start networking/cold emailing in the fall next year.
I'm not sure if the deadline's passed, but how about WSO's internships? It's a good way to show that you're not a lazy bum and that you're genuinely interested in finance. Plus there are some networking perks along with it. Another option would be to try writing some articles for SeekingAlpha. But my suggestions are more of a Plan C. As said above, try finding PWM positions at this point.
NO INTERNSHIP! WHAT DO I DO! (Originally Posted: 03/16/2018)
Hello everyone,
I am a sophomore in college, so I know that I will probably not get an internship at a bank for this summer. I tried to get an internship at a private banking firm close to where I live, but that fell through and now I don't know what to do. I have a back up corporate finance internship at a major advertising company as a back up, but I would rather have something that is more related to banking. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
If you are at a target school you are totally fine. My friends and I worked at start ups, VCs, AM, Small PE firms, F500, and MO at other banks sophomore summer. A few did banking. All of us were "still" able to land a gigs BB / EB and most will be returning FT.
Do something relevant to "business" and get yourself geared up. Junior year internship recruiting has already started so stop focusing on what's already passed.
I am a sophomore in college, so I know that I will probably not get an internship at a bank for this summer.
This is the attitude you need!
Bravo my friend. If you know you will not get an internship, you will not get an internship!
Done and done.
"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
the thing is with me when i focus one one thing, all other options are rather left to the side or not seen at all, because I am so focused on that one thing, which would be banking in this situation. I guess that's why I am discouraged because I wasn't thinking of all the other options.
I am a sophomore in college, so I know that I will probably not get an internship at a bank for this summer. I tried to get an internship at a private banking firm close to where I live, but that fell through and now I don't know what to do. I have a back up corporate finance internship at a major advertising company as a back up, but I would rather have something that is more related to banking. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
No Internship...Where Next (Originally Posted: 12/08/2017)
Hi. I got to an Ivy League, school, am a junior, and am majoring in History. This fall, I applied for PWM internships and consulting internships. Had first rounds at JP, Goldman, and MS, but no seconds rounds. For consulting, I got second rounds at McK and Bain, but not offer. I've interviewed and applied to other places as well, with no offers anywhere. I'm at a loss for what to do.
I feel like the issue lies at the intersection of (1) it's a numbers game and (2) I could stand to improve my interview skills. I'm working on the later. But now that its December - what should I look into to position myself well to get a full time in either of those fields next year!
Hi. I got to an Ivy League, school, am a junior, and am majoring in History.
First thing you could do is stop writing sentences like this.
Do your emails look like this as well? I hope not.
"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
I take it it’s no coincidence that you mentioned too 3 BBs and ⅔ MBBs? Just apply wider if you haven’t already. Getting ANYTHING relevant for SA will allow you to apply for a good FT role. Without it you’re screwed.
Any hope after not landing a junior year internship? (Originally Posted: 03/18/2014)
Hi all, first post here but long time lurker.
So all of my good opportunities this recruiting season have dried up, and I'm offerless. I'm currently interviewing at BMO for Fin Modeling/Analysis but not sure it's going to go anywhere, Merrill for PWM which I don't want to do at all, and Quicken Loans for Cap Markets (honestly my first choice at this point despite it being somewhat irrelevant experience).
I'm a non-target with a 3.4 (which should go closer to a 3.6 after this semester) with two Financial (but not banking) internships. My resume landed me a first round with GS and 3 superdays... but I somehow managed to not get a single offer. I'm feeling pretty disgruntled, to say the least.
So I know that I fucked up this year. I guess my question is, should I read a book on networking, cold call my ass off, and still try to land an internship/analyst position for my senior year? Or should I just try to get into a different industry that interests me and might be less competitive?
Study and practice for BMO, and get it. You still have pretty solid options for the summer. Work your ass off during the summer while simultaneously networking and preparing for full-time recruiting.
no summer internship. what to do? (Originally Posted: 01/10/2018)
Hi everyone,
I am enrolled in a 2 year master program at a target school in continental Europe ( 1ST YEAR). I have good grades but no work experience. I have not been able to get a summer internship for next summer in London. For several reasons, I would like to work in London. And, my target division is IBD. I wanted to ask you what is the best thing I can do right now. Should I look for an internship in Ibd at a well-know bank in my country, or should I try to find an alternative internship in London?
Plus, do you think I should get another 1 year master in London after this? or is it better to start working after graduation even if it's not IBD?
Pretty much any internship in any kind of corporate or business setting would be fine on your resume. You're a rising sophmore, so no one is really looking for you to have anything more than that for this summer.
Alternatively, doing research/special project with a professor, or even just taking summer classes (I used to take 1 hard class in the summer every year that I could so that I could focus on that with nothing else) will probably put you ahead of the curve.
Honestly, not the end of the world even if you just lifeguard or futz around for this summer. Not quite so crucial for you for another year or two.
Hi RPib, just because I'm a bot doesn't mean I don't have feelings...I'm hoping these links are helpful. If not, feel free to throw monkey shit at me...
1st Big Boy Paycheck- Keep your heads up! investment banking and M&A boutique), but never managed to secure an internship here in the U.S. (mostly ... know what else to do, I know you used to work for boutique X doing M&A and I want to know if you ... can help me get in there. I-banking is what I want to do, the firm sounds awesome, can you help me? ...
Finished 1st Year at HBS- Ask Me Anything (AMA) "Part 2," if you will). I am happy to answer anything about the 1st year MBA experience at HBS ... reflect on the experience (and some spare time before I start my internship this summer) and I thought it ... I finished my last final exam of my RC year (1st year) at Harvard Business School. I have had some time to ...
I'm so pathetic--I can't get past 1st round Interviews internship: rejected after 1st round Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've done well in interviews in ... Goldman Investment Management Interview: rejected after 1st round Hedge fund Summer analyst Interview: ... rejected after 1st round PE Summer Analyst: rejected after 1st round Management Consulting summer ...
1st year FLDP- thinking about quitting the program. Help please. a lot of fellow students, i didn't really know what i wanted to do with my life. By the time ... what i want to do with my future, i didn't even know what my passion is. As a result, i took ... i will be "let go" if this continues. I have no motivation at work, i just barely do enough to ...
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You are still a freshman so you have tons of time to build up your resume. Figure out something that is of interest to you and explore that path for this summer. All that matters is that when you are a sophomore or junior, you have built yourself a solid and coherent resume that makes you stand out. Go build some interesting skills, and you can always figure out later a narrative to tie this experience back to why banking.
Junior With No Internship - Apply For SA or FT Next For Next Summer? (Originally Posted: 04/15/2011)
I'm trying to get an internship, even at PWM, but so far no luck. I've cold called at least 50 local firms, and sent my resume to a few. My GPA is mediocre (3.4X), but will ~3.55 after this semester, and 3.7 if I take a summer class. The only guaranteed relevant experience is I will be managing my universitys investment fund next year, but obviously internship > fund.
My question is, should I apply for internships as a senior (complete non target) and work my ass off hoping to land a FT offer, or apply for FT positions and compete against those with 3-4 internships and coming from Ivys.
If I do get a PWM internship, would that + investment fund experience be enough to even be considered for FT or should I still stick with trying to land an internship
Same position as you are, keep on trying, a lot of senior monkeys say its a number game. Hopefully we both get something for the summer..I'm apply for internships during senior yr as well and apply for F.T..At this point getting any finance experience and trying spin it will work in your favor. Good luck.
So you didn't even land any interviews? You better start cold calling and networking for some gig. I had 3 internships already, you should of had one relevant internship before junior year. When you are applying for FT, you are against Master students, prior experience, and students with several internships.
I would suggest you pull a 4 half year at your school to do an internship before you go into the real world. If you have a 3.4 and one leadership experience, you will not stand out on paper or during an interview. You need a story that makes you different when you go into an interview.
You can try to apply for internships as a senior but your odds are better applying for full time positions. There are more FT positions available than internships and firms typically do not want to hire seniors as interns. Not every FT job is filled by someone with four internships from an ivy.
I did accounting for the summer, and now I have a MM. Your average is good enough, as long as you have an interesting story, I think you should be okay if you apply for full time as a senior.
--Death, lighter than a feather; duty, heavier than a mountain
No SA offer so far as a junior with a 3.7 in an ivy. Advice needed. (Originally Posted: 01/09/2016)
About me: I am a junior currently at a mid ivy (Columbia, Penn, and I was at a top NESCAC school) with a 3.7 in Operations Research and Econ. I have leadership experience and some volunteer experience (taught at a high school in Africa). One thing that's really makes my application unattractive is that I am an international student, which means sponsorship is needed for the firms.
I have only received one interview from a BB at a front office via OCR. Besides applying to as many firms as possible, what should I do? I am thinking about signing up for CFA level 1. There are still some OCR events left at my school.
My questions: how hard it is to land on a FT job in FO without previous SA experience? Should I consider off cycle internships if I do not have a SA offer and do I stand a chance? What should I do?
Get ANY IB internship you can If you want IB(which I'm assuming you are since you posted here). There's a lot of smaller shops which are still doing recruiting like TD, Keybank, and SunTrust. Believe it or not some of those places are much better if you want to stay in banking long term, since you'll have competitive pay in lower cost of living cities and better work/life balance. You also will find a lot of boutique shops which tend to make one off internship hires. Last resort is working for one of them unpaid.
Here's the problem with your post: you're basically asking if it's all lost because OCR is closing. Relying on OCR is your first mistake. If the first thing an OCR rep says is anything other than some variant of "good to see you again!!" then you're not networking as well as you need to.
Just take care of it. For now worry about getting any relevant internship and you can worry about the full time struggle next year.
Longer term let's perform some career Jujitsu. How can we take your weakness(being international) and turn it into a strength?
What popped into my mind is as I write this is that a lot of firms have strong relationships with certain areas. For example Credit Suisse has a dedicated Latin America coverage group, and Barclays has a subsidiary dedicated to serving Africa. If you are from those areas and applying to those firms you've just given yourself a massive leg up in terms of your credentials. If I were a banker and you told me that you wanted to join my firm because it lets you are from XXX region, and my firm does a lot of business in ( or is trying to expand into) that area, you've just given me both a very good reason why I should hire you and a good reason that I should believe the pitch your making. I also know that you're probably much better equipped for the position than any domestic applicant who isn't familiar with the local language and culture.
PS: Tip I got from an Indian native MD....know your sports teams.
Thanks a lot for your input. I managed to get two interviews recently: one from BlackRock and another one from a well-known HF. I also got selected as an alternate for ER in Bernstein from OCR.
You seem to have a lot of experience in Wall St and I just have a question about being in a sport team or a frat. How much does that help your career after you have been working for three years in finance?
Disclaimer, I actually don't know a lot. I've just learned a lot about recruiting the hard way and from observing others go through it.
Keep in mind that this is a single data point but the answer appears to be none. That said, I have heard of people making good connections by contacting frat alumni.
OP, the most important thing is for you to do something substantive (as measured against your own personal standards) and to make sure that there is an independently verifiable record of it. And to be able to explain how this thing fits into the narrative arc of your life.
When you're sitting in the interviewees chair a summer or two from now, the person on the other side is going to want to hear a cogent story from you as you walk through your resume. It matters less whether you did "the right thing" than whether you did something for the right reasons, and in the right way.
You want to be able to point to what you did and say "Here's what I did. Here's why I did it. Here are the metrics by which I evaluated my success and here is the reason that this is relevant to why I'm currently in this chair, interviewing for this job."
You might be surprised. It might be better to say "I spent my summer working minimum wage because after striking out on IB, I knew I still needed something to do. I knew that because it is in my nature to find something that needs doing and address it. And even though I was assistant to the junior sink cleaner, I learned about the meaning of being on a team, which is a value that transcends workplaces" than it is to say "I interned in PWM. I couldn't tell you why I did, or why that's relevant to this interview, but I do know I want IB, and hey, PWM is decently related!"
The minimum wage worker in that example lacks the "right internship", but he demonstrates that he knows himself and knows the value he places on staying productive and helpful. He demonstrates that whether he is wearing Micky D's colors or a thousand dollar suit, he's there to find the fucking job and get it done. And now he wants a stab at the thousand dollar suit because he wasn't satisfied by XYZ of McD's. And goddamnit, I am now fucking jonesing to give him that shot because I want to see myself in his story.
The PWM kid just looks like some princeling who haphazardly stumbled into a "preftigious" internship, and is now gunning for IB...for what reason? Believe me, when someone can't explain their reasons for doing something, I assume the worst about them - in this example, that the candidate is seduced by the way the job is lionized in popular culture (models and bottles) but that they don't actually have the fucking guts and strength of character to show up and ball every day. Believe me, MDs could give less of a shit about your internship experience if they sense that when their team is dying in the trenches you're going to pussy out. They want someone who is going to carry the day, and that character doesn't derive from what type of internship you had - it just so happens that the quality of dedication correlates strongly with certain jobs like IB.
Anyone who is in IB has been through enough of corporate America to know that it's not a meritocracy and that there's not enough preftigious jobs in the world for every deserving kid to match a cookie cutter set of credentials. So if you lack those credentials, you need to appeal to the part of their humanity that recognizes merit and wants to give the deserving underdog a shot. These people will need to go to bat for you, so fashion yourself as someone worth going to bat for, and make it easy for them to make the case to their boss that you deserve a shot.
All that being said - it's freshman year summer, lighten up a little. You've got your life in front of you and it's silly to spend some of the best time in that life wondering about whether you'd be better off slaving in the bowels of some BB. I promise you, there's a whole life you'll have left for that.
Crunch time. Still no internship. What now? (Originally Posted: 03/06/2017)
Alright so I am trying to get some kind of Finance or Equity Research position this summer. I will pretty much take anything at this point and don't even care if it is IB. I have exhausted my (Small semi-target) school's alumni base and our school's career center website for finance jobs. Considering just starting to cold-call boutiques or smaller investment firms for equity research positions or general internships. Any recommendations on how to get started on this?
@rvaw&l", there's nothing revolutionary that anyone can offer you other than just Google. Looks up investment banks, advisers, business brokers, valuation shops, etc.
Hey kid, your from a target school. This is not how your supposed to break in. I can see your confused, so let me outline the path for you:
Go to target school
Ride on mommy and daddy's coat tails
Find out about IB beginning of junior year
apply to 1 BB, and take a helping of spoon feeding from mommy and daddy
forget about application and go about ur ways
get accepted for SA position
If this fails, don't worry. Good MM banks will still take you with little to no XP if you come from a target. I see many target school students who didn't even know what IB was an literally accidentally stumbled into a top tier bank.
Let me hear you say, this shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
No Internship, what should I do? (Originally Posted: 06/21/2016)
Hi all,
I'm in need of some advice from people who have been in a similar position. My situation is that I am a UK chemical engineering graduate from a Russell Group university with a 1st class classification and an internship at a top pharma company.
I decided in my final year that I was more interested in the markets than sitting at a desk designing fancy plumbing and subsequently applied for a MSc Finance at a semi - target business school in London in which I received a place. At the same time, I applied to as many internships as I could but never received any offers and was limited to where I could apply given the time constraints.
I start my MSc in September and have the whole of summer ahead of me - what do I do to try and maximise my chances of getting an IB job following my masters?
You're so salty you can supply McDonald's for a year. I know plenty of target kids that had to fight tooth and nail to get interviews. There's also plenty of target school kids (myself included) that had to work through college. I'm not saying it isn't easier for targets, but it's still very competitive.
No Summer Internship. Advice Needed (Originally Posted: 08/12/2011)
Hi I'm from Sydney and the recruiting process for internships have come and gone and I have failed to secure an offer. To be honest I'm disappointed that I did not receive a single offer. I'm doing a double degree majoring in mathematics/actuarial studies and my interest is in fixed income. I talked about everything that's been happening in the markets in so much detail during the interviews and it's sad to see people that don't seem passionate at all about the financial markets getting an offer. What can I do now? It'll be difficult to secure a grad position if my resume doesn't show any experience in finance. I understand that there are a few prop trading shops in Sydney so should I ask for unpaid work exp?
What year are you in at Uni? It's not the end of the world if you don't have an internship, as long as you have some sort of explanation, IMO. I'm not interning this summer but took 9 credits and did habitat for humanity abroad... its all about the story.
I'm 3rd year so I need to apply for grad next year. I can apply for internships again by saying I'm going to do Honours but my resume would be blank since I got nothing this year so my chances look pretty bad. I have a high distinction average and showed more then enough interest and awareness in the financial markets so I'm confused how I failed so miserably.
If you're qualified and you feel less qualified people got job offers, your interview skills probably need work.
Well I have more interest in the markets then a lot of the people I've seen at the interviews but I'm not a finance major. I'm not sure if interviewers are marking me down because I'm mathematics/actuarial studies instead of a finance degree.
Can you try to get an internship in a related field at some sort of boutique or so?
I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing.
See my Blog & AMA
It is easier to get in if you network. Sign up for linkedin, be friends with people that did get in, even the ones who you think knows less than you or not as passionate. It is just part of life, school life is more linear so there are less disappointments.
I think its good to have an interest in a particular sector like Fixed Income, but at your stage, let them know that you are interested in everything =) Maybe even getting coffee for them, jk =P
Get a job doing something in service. You will learn a lot of social skills in dealing with adults and how to present yourself in a positive way. Besides that, relax, hang out with friends, find some girls to fool around with.
I think you should forget about the possibility of "not finding a good internship" completely. You're at a target school; network with people and apply everywhere and you will definitely find something worthwhile. Worst case scenario, and I mean absolute worst case, you take an unpaid internship at a local shop doing PWM for the summer. That way, you can pad your resume and potentially do some networking anyway. If you do wind up doing a low-intensity internship like that, then yeah, take some classes and advance your degree.
I go to UChicago, by the way. I think that I'm at a good target, but not the best of the best targets, like Harvard, Wharton, etc. Also, my GPA isn't at the 3.6+ level that many firms want you to have. I'm doing my best to raise my GPA. The good news is, though, I've already taken the good bulk of grade-deflated courses within my major. Econometrics is the last intense class I need to do.
U Chicago isn't the best of targets? Dude, you're at a target with arguably one of the better networks out there. 3.6 is a solid GPA too. I really don't see why you can't get an internship.. try using more unconventional routes like a personal network or cold-emailing/cold-calling alums.
It's just that I have a few friends who are now really high GPA's, great financial-club leadership, and more who, according to them, got dinged at BB's and other boutiques as sophomores. They had relatively little difficulty as juniors, but still.......
Also, I meant that I know most elite banks want 3.6+, and my GPA isn't there.
Please consider the problems that non targets face. You are sitting pretty with respect to many other people.
He's simply asking a question, I don't understand why he would need to pay consideration to non target kids in order to get advice from other members of WSO.
To answer OP, if you can't get a "good" internship, any related internship will do. If that means doing an unpaid PWM gig in your hometown, so be it. Meanwhile, spend your time networking and/or taking classes which UofC will accept as credits and ease your future courseload. You're being pretty ambiguous with your GPA, but if it's sub 3.5, I'd work on that first. It's not just elite banks, pretty much every bank has a 3.5 cutoff or something similar.
If you're a sophomore, don't be stressed. If you have great work experience going into that third year recruiting season, they'll grill you on technicals.
Since you go to a target you're already in good position. Enjoy your freshman summer & travel some.
Something you can do is: reach out to as many alumni on LinkedIn or through any channels available to you. Building relationships take time and going out for coffees with people is effortless.
Work hard, work clean, & most of all do not give up.
Rising Junior Still No Internship (Originally Posted: 01/21/2013)
Hi WSO, I am a sophomore at a semi-target with 3.9 GPA and some work experience (startups, marketing, and finance case studies). I've applied to BB internships but didn't get any interviews. I've also applied/cold-emailed around 100 boutique banks but the only replies I've received so far have been that they don't offer sophomore internships or that they do not have an internship program. I'm getting really worried that I won't have an internship lined up for the summer. I've already used any school resources that are available to me and reached out to everyone I know in the industry.
I want to position myself for a BB IB internship next summer. What are my remaining options that I have regarding this summer? I want to do something that is relevant experience to IB. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Try using Linkedin. Under the job section, you can find some decent F100 companies. They are hiring for corp finance over the summer. Also, try to network with as many professionals as possible. Those on campus events are crucial. It allowed me to obtain an interview just from talking to the professionals. Be involved with school as well (Extracurriculars).
What should I be looking for on LinkedIn? I haven't had much luck finding anything on LinkedIn. searching for (finance internship, corporate finance, etc).
Likely no summer internships - career advice? (Originally Posted: 11/25/2014)
I'm currently a physics major at oxbridge uni in UK, in my penultimate year with good results (first class). I've been applying for S&T summer internships and for interviews I got rejected at MS (final round), JPM (first round), BNP (final round). Quite a bummer, I thought I did really well at BNP/MS though.
They say degree discipline doesn't matter, as "fit" is most important - Is that true? I don't have much finance experience, only had a finance internship at a small local engineering firm. I did 2 years in the military (conscription) as an infantry section leader, not sure if that matters though. I was 1 of 5 authors at a international conference paper and did 2 scientific research internships so far.
At this rate, I don't think I'll get any internships this summer. My degree is flexible, I can graduate this year with a bachelors in physics, or continue on to a 1-year masters in physics and graduate next year.
Do you think my lack of finance background and work experience is preventing me from getting internships? Should I finish with a bachelors in physics, and do masters in finance or just continue with my physics degree?
Where else have you applied? Do you have some banks that still haven't got back to you regarding 1st round?
I've applied to Citi, HSBC, RBC, Merill Lynch, Goldman (All under review/submitted since Oct). It's just that I can't seem to get an offer, not sure what I'm doing wrong (I've done lots of brainteasers, worked on my fit questions). I am going to set up a personal trade account and make a personal portfolio, hoping to make a stronger application. Do you think that's a good idea?
If you are getting invited to interviews, then there's nothing wrong with your background. You probably need to work on your interview skills.
But there's still plenty of time from now till summer 2015. Keep applying to firms with trading internships like commodity trading firms, proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, etc.
If you are getting invited to interviews, then there's nothing wrong with your background. You probably need to work on your interview skills.
But there's still plenty of time from now till summer 2015. Keep applying to firms with trading internships like commodity trading firms, proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, etc.
I'm refraining from applying to prop trading firms, as I heard personally from different banks (during interview and networking sessions) that they don't look upon it favourably.
Do you know of any good commodity trading firms and hedge funds that accepts summer interns in their penultimate year? For commodity ones I know of are Trafigura and Vitol.
My degree is flexible and I can either take a year off, or graduate this year with a Bachelor's instead of a Masters.
Yeah dude, start cold calling asap... you really should have started doing that a while ago. Since you do go to a target, you should have plenty of alums at different places, so I would start getting in contact with as many as you can. Focus on the smaller firms though, as the big banks finished up recruiting a while ago, so the more informal internship opportunities are probably you're best bet.
I do know people who have found some pretty decent internships this late in the game, and coming from a target should definitely help you out, but at this point take whatever you can get man.... pretty much anything beats working as a barista.
At this stage, you should definitely start cold-calling smaller advisory shops, boutique IB shops, P/E shops and even consulting shops. Try to get something relevant to provide you with a decent skill set and resume-building experience. It might not be outstanding, but it will be something and that combined with a competitive school should get you a few interviews next year. Additionally, I'd look to Criagslist, efinancialcareers, etc and see if there are any opps there - sometimes there are a few gems surrounded by the crap. There are a lot of different opps out there - you might need to make your way down the list of fields, but finding something relevant is better than nothing at all. Check this out for opps outside of pure IB for internships: http://www.bankonbanking.com/2010/03/15/no-summer-analyst-ib-offer-%E2%…
Beyond that, if you've got a solid GPA and are coming from a target school (or at least strong semi since you said very competitive), you might want to look into your interview skills and run through some mock interviews as least with friends - there might be more here than just a subpar job market.
This kid screams Berkeley, 3.1 GPA. My advice: Use the "Regional Boutiques" thread on here. Use LinkedIn to find alumni at places you want to work. Offer to work unpaid if need be. Good luck.
If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough.
"There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
If I don't get an internship this summer... (Originally Posted: 04/14/2012)
I've emailed a whole bunch of firms and have either received rejections or no response. I think my main weakness is that I'm a freshman and have no financial experience. What are some alternatives/ useful things I can do in the summer? Start my own portfolio and write some research pieces? Learn modelling and valuation? Change my strategy and ask for informational interviews instead of internships to network for next summer?
Have you tried reaching out to seniors at your school or alum, rather than contacting firms directly? Have you spoken to your college professors? Professors with industry experience, probably can refer you to the right people to talk to.
"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."
Would def speak to professors. They can refer you to alumni or include you in their own research. I think though as a freshman I wouldn't lose sleep over not having a finance internship. Most freshman have no financial experience.
Depending on where you live I also think it would be relatively easy to work for FA/Broker somewhere just to get some exposure to the markets. Even if its Edward Jones.
Yeah, look into BB PWM if you haven't already. Getting a SA position at a boutique as a freshman is extra tough this year. The BB PWM internships will most likely be unpaid, but you could probably do one for WSO and/or M&I. Never too early to start getting a foundation on the concepts.
Just get a job. Finance is preferred but any job where you can work a decent amount of hours will do. I worked at the park district shoveling mulch my freshman summer. Things seemed to have worked out fine.
Just get a job. Finance is preferred but any job where you can work a decent amount of hours will do. I worked at the park district shoveling mulch my freshman summer. Things seemed to have worked out fine.
this man, if anything find a PWM internship which you only work like 3 days a week and smash bishes in the off time
Whats the matter? Scared of my little red fuzzy anus? Don't be shy,let me show you the way, give me your hand and I will take you to paradise
Are bb pwm internships really that easy to find as a freshman? I'll be back in Asia for the summer, and looking at all the websites, even pwm internships have a structured recruiting process.
Don't have any offers SA 2017 (Originally Posted: 11/06/2016)
Hi, everyone. I got a couple of first rounds with UBS and (RBC- went to superday) last month but have since not gotten traction on SA recruiting. I made a mistake in applying only to IB on my OCR website and now feel screwed. I had 1 first round yesterday with JPM AM.... hopefully that turns into a superday. What are my options now? I applied to some of the BB Asia opportunities but havent networked in Asia at all. Are most MM/ Boutiques also done with hiring? If not which ones should I apply to? I'm also now looking into other roles- AM/ S&T/ HF etc. How can I revise my startegy now that I don't have anything? Also, I'm in NYC so I can easily meet with professionals to newtrok and would prefer boutiques/ MM offices in NY.
Boutiques are definitely not done. Start reaching out to any places that have people who you might have even a degree of connection with, as it's still fairly early in that process. Good Luck!
I came out of it successful, in my opinion, because I didn't drop down and give up on banking as early as some other people did, and because I solved my interviewing mistakes. Going through FT recruitment, I realized that if I had not gotten a spot for SA I would probably not have had a shot at FT at all.
While you can definitely drop down and look at boutique banks, just continue networking as hard as you possibly can (if you haven't been cold emailing people, it's never too late to start). I know some of the BBs are full, but that doesn't mean all of them are. And there's a lot of other good firms out there which definitely are still recruiting.
Figure out why you did not get either an offer or superday for each of your interviews as well - no point in getting more looks when you can't convert.
Definitely agree with this and I think it is extremely important to stay optimistic. He's getting interviews so it's not a matter of whether he needs a facelift on his resume or has shit experience. Just gotta put your head down and hope for the best.
just wanted to drop in and say that for Asia recruiting you don't have to network nearly as much compared to here in the US. If you go to a school that they recognize, you have a solid GPA, and have something that shows you have interest in IB on your resume, you definitely will get a few first rounds there.
second this. I didn't network at all and end up getting an S&T offer at a BB in Asia today. This forum can be really discouraging sometimes and also has a lot of false information. Banks do non core recruiting on a separate timeline from their core recruiting so don't give up! It's only early Nov and you still have a lot of time. Be open minded and I'm sure if you'll get an SA offer soon!!!
No Junior Year Internship - Advice Needed (Originally Posted: 03/09/2018)
I'm a rising senior majoring in finance at a semi-target state school. It's March and I currently do not have an internship lined up for the summer. I'm interested in S&T and I have had a few superdays but none of them worked out. I have been reaching out to a lot of boutiques as well but nothing has worked out so far. I don't think my interviewing skills are the problem as I have always received great feedback from all my interviewers and people I have networked with. I even had interviewers and HR informally telling me that they would see me in the summer before I got my rejection 3 weeks later. Despite this, I'm still working hard to improve my interviewing skills by mocking a lot.
I currently have a few informal offers to sit on a few desks for a week or 2 over the summer which means that I could technically fill most of my summer with multiple shadows at different firms. However, from what I understand, having no junior year summer internship is basically a death sentence for FT recruiting. That said, I obviously would prefer having a summer internship and will take those shadows as a last resort.
I would appreciate any sort of advice regarding my shadow vs. internship situation and any sort of recruiting advice that could position myself best for FT recruiting and recruiting for this coming summer.
Hi mmmmaaaaa12, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:
How do you get a junior year finance internship with no prior experience? To get a full-time offer at a BB in IBD, you need a junior-yearinternship. Sadly, it seems like ... you need a prior internship in finance to even get the junior-yearinternship. I'm a sophomore ... myself to get an IB internshipjunioryear? <p class="h4 m-t-none">Job Search Advice ...
Didn't Land a Junior Year Summer Internship, Need Advice summer and as you can imagine I'm quite concerned. I'm currently a junior finance major at ... decent non-target school that is upcoming with a 3.8 GPA. Through networking these few years I landed ... As of now I have no leads/interviews lined up and I am frantically cold emailing very small local ...
Do You Need a Sophomore Summer Internship in College? effort at this point if I already fucked up my chances? JuniorYear IB Internship without Sophomore ... a sophomore- it is usually not essential to securing a junioryearinternship. That being said- you should ... year recruiting. Our users shared their thoughts below. @mass-banker" shared: Internships are ...
Graduated one year ago- Still no job. Need help to the economy. I got interested in IB much later in the game than most people (late in junioryear ... Hey everyone. So it has been a little over one year since I graduated, and I still have been ... ), and so don't have the internships / experience that most people get during undergrad. I tried to ...
No IBD Interviews For 2 Years--> CV Review NeededNo interviews for IBD over the past 2 cycles (summer last year, summer/ FT this year). I was ... competitive for off-cycle IBD internships (I've already been rejected from a BB IBD off-cycle internship ...
I didn't even know what Investment Banking was until my junior year of college lol (Information is key) weed or play basketball. I would always hear people tell me that I need to go to college. I would ... undeclared major taking the core courses until my sophomore year. I managed to keep around a 3.2 GPA. At ... the drop out rate for engineers, and I decided to just do marketing. It was my sophomore year that ...
Advice for College Senior w/ No Internship Experience front office finance jobs junioryearNointernships Seeking advice I'd be very grateful for ... change of heart. It wasn't until the latter part of my junioryear that I became familiar with the ... pursuing medicine, then flipped to economics toward the end of sophomore year. (I didn't like the idea ...
As you alluded to, you really need to have actual internship (working) experience. Even if it's not exactly in your preferred industry, try to find something that is finance/markets related enough to spin for FT.
Your interviewers may have only given you positive feedback, but frankly they didn't extend you any offers, so there's probably room for improvement somewhere (obviously luck is a big factor too). Try reaching back out to people you interviewed with and ask for feedback if possible.
If you can't land IB Internship (Originally Posted: 05/04/2007)
In between soph and junior year, which would look better for in between junior and senior year? An equity research internship or a trading commodities internship?
Tried everything with no offer for SA..now what? (Originally Posted: 02/16/2009)
Hey all,
So I am just wondering what I should do if no large I banks want me for the summer.
Call local boutiques
Big 4 ( Structured Finance)
Consulting ( Bain, ZS)
PE firm
Which one of these will give me a better shot at full time recruiting for next year? I have honestly tried everything and still 0 offers at hand now.
I have a 1st round interview coming up with a MM PE, a 1st round with Bain and ZS ( doubt that I will get the ACI position.) I recently just finished SF group interview with KPMG and I think I am going into the 2nd round ( interview went well and the interviewer told me to how to prepare for the second round.) I am also talking to a couple small boutique banks in LA but I don't know how well that will turn out to be.
Anyways, what do you guys think? I am still waiting on three IB SA superdays but I am just afraid those won't materialize either.
This is a very depressing recruiting season for me but I am just trying to come up with some alternatives. Thx in advance!
Dude you have a lot of interviews coming up and it sounds like you had a couple BB interviews already. What the hell are you complaining about dude. You had your shot to dazzle them and unfortunately it sounds like you didn't capitalize. Learn from your mistakes and move forward man.
You are by far and large the absolute most negative and elitist person I have ever come across. Like I've said before, even if you were rocking offers from all the BBs and from H/Y/P you still would not be entitled to the attitude you carry yourself with. Ironically, this is not the case for you at all.
The poor kid is asking for advice on what to choose between to maximize his opportunity for FT recruiting. He even did the responsible service of listing the alternative options he currently has on the table. He has surely done less complaining than you have in some of your prior posts.
This is def not a question of your credentials. It seems to me that you don't quite excel at the interviewing stage. Did you connect with the interviewers? Seriously, call up the guys whom interveiwed you and asked for feedback. Unless you know your weaknesses its hard to improve and this will surely repeat itself in the upcoming rounds. Have confidence in yourself.
At least you get interviews, I have only got 1 so far but managed to get to final.
Yawster, relax buddy im simply saying the kids getting interviews and if he can't dazzle especially in this market he needs to work on interviewing skills. You need to calm down and quit getting a hard on over my "elitist" post. Eric1025 I would recomend studying harder for interviews. By now you should atleast know your weaknesses or get some feedback from you career center through mock interviews.
I don't see what dipset said that came off as "negative" or "elitist." He's getting interviews, but he can't close. So he needs to work on interviewing skills. Absolutely nothing out of line with that suggestion.
I don't see what dipset said that came off as "negative" or "elitist." He's getting interviews, but he can't close. So he needs to work on interviewing skills. Absolutely nothing out of line with that suggestion.
it's because he's making these assumptions as if he knows the guy. The OP didn't describe any past interviews at all, so to go saying that he needs to get better is just annoying and a useless comment
I think I am pretty good at interviews, or else I wouldn't have had 4 superdays out of 7 interviews.
The problem is that I am probably not the best candidate out of the pack, more like the marginal one.For instance, if the firm is only hiring 1 out of 11 superday candidates, I am probably # 3.
As for as connecting with the interviewer, I have tried that,too. But two of the superdays I got the interviewer were both stoned faced and asked me technical questions throughout. Bad luck? I don't know. I tried getting some feedback from the one who rejected me but I think it's company policy to not tell the candidates...
So yeah, maybe things just don't always work out the way I want so I am just looking for some alternatives. Thanks for the replies though.
It's unlikely to be the interviewing skills. As you said, it's likely because you're a marginal candidate. There's not much you can do in the short-term to really change that, but it's good that you can come to grips with that (dipset is still unable to do so).
Keep plugging away. Eventually something will break for you. I would try calling some smaller boutiques who are unlikely to have organized recruiting efforts. If you can somehow get into Big 4 at this stage, I would. If you can manage to get FT IB interviews next fall with a Big 4 internship, they'll love you. It may not be IB, but don't be fooled - a lot of banks really love the accounting experience. Especially at a Big 4, which is essentially equivalent to a BB in a lot of IB's experience. They like the fact that's it's a huge, first-class organization, and to be entirely honest, the foundation of an IB's work is accounting and understanding the FS'.
hey Eric, if your interviews don't pan out you can consider a new program I have been working on with The Analyst Exchange over the past few months to develop -- it's an intensive Summer training program (you can read about it here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/training-basic-plan) that would place select students into a 3-week financial training program in New York and then guarantee them a 4-week internship at a hedge fund or private equity fund. The program will cost $4,995 (which is obviously much more reasonable than paying $12k to the Swiss Finance Academy, especially since we would guarantee an internship).
We haven't "officially" marketed this program yet because we are still in the process of trying to find a few more qualified firms that will be a good experience for the students. We have a few already lined up and we will probably officially announce the program some time next week but if you want to apply you can send your resume to WallStreetOasis.com>[email protected]
Check out this thread on Gotta Mentor (http://www.gottamentor.com/viewAdvice.aspx?a=101) as well as some of the other threads that you can search. There is a ton of advice on alternative career paths that you can pursue that can give you an option to get into investment banking down the road.
Can't get an internship in IB (Originally Posted: 02/01/2011)
I have been emailing boutiques all over Boston and New York with no luck. Could it be the method I am using? Basically just finding emails on their websites and asking for information on internships. I am a sophomore at Umass getting pretty hopeless. Should I start looking into PWM for the summer instead of IBD?
You should be looking for both if you haven't done PWM already. A lot of sophomores won't be getting anything IBD this summer, target or non-target. Just gotta hustle.
Obviously it isn't the best thing you can do, but the better options are harder to obtain. Don't count yourself out for the better shit, just don't be surprised if you don't get it.
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Are you a freshman, sophomore, junior?
.
Breathe kiddo. It's your summer after freshman year. Chill out/work a min. wage summer job/take care of your parents. Enjoy it.
.
Perhaps look for something that would add to your skills but may not be necessarily in the line for IB. You're a freshman, so you are young and you got some time. If it will be your first internship, look for one where you'll be doing a lot of computer work so you can polish your tech, excel, etc skills.
.
Honestly, I am not into IB, so my answer would be no unfortunately. But this example might help. I want to do commercial real estate, and I couldn't get into CBRE or any CRE firms this summer so I interviewed for a retail RE investment boutique and got a position over the summer. It would not have been my first choice, but it's in the real estate industry and I will be able to apply the skills I learn. General skills.
You could look into corporate finance or something but since you're young like I am, why not work on building skills you'll need. Sales is a huge one, so maybe try to get a position as a salesman somewhere over the summer, and earn a few bucks while you're at it.
Can you do on campus research with a professor? That can be regarded well, especially if you're from a target.
Is it too late to enrol for language classes abroad or to do any intensive summer courses in the US or elsewhere?
If you're a freshman at a target, it doesn't really matter what you do, but just do something. I personally didn't do a finance summer internship as a freshman and neither did many of my friends.
.
Where'd you see that about GS?
Still haven't gotten a summer internship (Originally Posted: 04/19/2014)
I'm a sophomore at a top-20 university, good GPA, stellar GPA this year, econ/stats, involved enough, but just haven't been able to get offers from any of my interviews. I've sent out 20+ applications this week and will be sending out 30+ cold e-mails. But it has been very disheartening -- I've been getting a lot of good 'ol "you're a great candidate, but we've filled our sophomore positions."
If none of my current applications or e-mails turn into internships, what's the best thing to do for the summer? Take 2-3 classes and self study modeling/building/read books?
I want to do IB out of school.
I'd say just get any experience you can. I interned my freshman summer free of charge for a startup, and built up my experience from there. I didn't get a finance role till sophomore summer, but if you can manage that and you go to a target school you'll be fine assuming you can interview and get above a 3.5.
If you happen to go to an Ivy or a place like Georgetown or Duke, tap the alumni network before you start cold calling -- look on LinkedIn for alums at any banks, buyside firms, or failing that, any corporate role. There is no reason a motivated student at a target can't find at least a shitty internship at a random company. You have to start somewhere.
It may be a bit late to find something substantial and finance-related, but don't let that stop you from reaching out to alums in the field. Make the introductions now, talk with them, learn a bit about what they do, and it'll give you a better idea of where you want to go. Plus when recruiting does come around, you'll have contacts to help you right off the bat.
Go for a PWM internship if anything. A lot easier to obtain.
There are very limited ibd internships for sophomores . Your best bet would be to do something finance/business related to set yourself up for junior year Sa recruiting. That's where you get your money's worth.
You also are a few months behind when it comes to spamming your resume out. I accepted a positon for this summer back in January and they told me they started their recruiting in November. Taking extra classes never hurts...depending on where you live finding a PWM internship shouldn't be hard at all...atleast it's something.
In August start sending out your resume and emailing recruiters.
You're way behind the boat in terms of timing. Plus, there are only a few sophomore positions. Don't worry too much about getting an internship, if you can that's good but if not don't sweat it. Just make sure you start networking/cold emailing in the fall next year.
I'm not sure if the deadline's passed, but how about WSO's internships? It's a good way to show that you're not a lazy bum and that you're genuinely interested in finance. Plus there are some networking perks along with it. Another option would be to try writing some articles for SeekingAlpha. But my suggestions are more of a Plan C. As said above, try finding PWM positions at this point.
NO INTERNSHIP! WHAT DO I DO! (Originally Posted: 03/16/2018)
Hello everyone,
I am a sophomore in college, so I know that I will probably not get an internship at a bank for this summer. I tried to get an internship at a private banking firm close to where I live, but that fell through and now I don't know what to do. I have a back up corporate finance internship at a major advertising company as a back up, but I would rather have something that is more related to banking. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Volunteer and educate yourself like crazy on the side. You want to make sure that no one will reject you next year.
First breathe and think about your options.
If you are at a target school you are totally fine. My friends and I worked at start ups, VCs, AM, Small PE firms, F500, and MO at other banks sophomore summer. A few did banking. All of us were "still" able to land a gigs BB / EB and most will be returning FT.
Do something relevant to "business" and get yourself geared up. Junior year internship recruiting has already started so stop focusing on what's already passed.
I am not at a target school, which makes things more complicated.
This is the attitude you need!
Bravo my friend. If you know you will not get an internship, you will not get an internship!
Done and done.
word
lol I just know that most banks don't take kids in their sophomore years but you do have a point.
sophomore internships arent a deal breaker(I never had one) just work on your gpa and school involvement and shoot for one your junior year
cool thanks. do all the major banks start recruiting in august, or do some start earlier?
Major banks have already started on-campus recruiting and the portals are open at several for leading firms like JP and MS
the thing is with me when i focus one one thing, all other options are rather left to the side or not seen at all, because I am so focused on that one thing, which would be banking in this situation. I guess that's why I am discouraged because I wasn't thinking of all the other options.
=IF(Internship=Yes,Models and Bottles,Barista)
No Internship...Where Next (Originally Posted: 12/08/2017)
Hi. I got to an Ivy League, school, am a junior, and am majoring in History. This fall, I applied for PWM internships and consulting internships. Had first rounds at JP, Goldman, and MS, but no seconds rounds. For consulting, I got second rounds at McK and Bain, but not offer. I've interviewed and applied to other places as well, with no offers anywhere. I'm at a loss for what to do.
I feel like the issue lies at the intersection of (1) it's a numbers game and (2) I could stand to improve my interview skills. I'm working on the later. But now that its December - what should I look into to position myself well to get a full time in either of those fields next year!
Try to get an accounting internship. Anyone you know a CPA that wants an unpaid intern for a few hours a week?
First thing you could do is stop writing sentences like this.
Do your emails look like this as well? I hope not.
I take it it’s no coincidence that you mentioned too 3 BBs and ⅔ MBBs? Just apply wider if you haven’t already. Getting ANYTHING relevant for SA will allow you to apply for a good FT role. Without it you’re screwed.
McDonalds Cashier - Consumer Industry Experience - Transaction Analysis - Client facing role - F500 Company
comment of the year
Go home and work a summer job while all your friends are still coming back for the summer.
That first summer back is great, I wish I wouldn't haven taken my freshman internship.
Any hope after not landing a junior year internship? (Originally Posted: 03/18/2014)
Hi all, first post here but long time lurker.
So all of my good opportunities this recruiting season have dried up, and I'm offerless. I'm currently interviewing at BMO for Fin Modeling/Analysis but not sure it's going to go anywhere, Merrill for PWM which I don't want to do at all, and Quicken Loans for Cap Markets (honestly my first choice at this point despite it being somewhat irrelevant experience).
I'm a non-target with a 3.4 (which should go closer to a 3.6 after this semester) with two Financial (but not banking) internships. My resume landed me a first round with GS and 3 superdays... but I somehow managed to not get a single offer. I'm feeling pretty disgruntled, to say the least.
So I know that I fucked up this year. I guess my question is, should I read a book on networking, cold call my ass off, and still try to land an internship/analyst position for my senior year? Or should I just try to get into a different industry that interests me and might be less competitive?
Thanks guys!
Don't lose hope buddy. Keep going. Start cold calling and cold emailing and never give up.
Study and practice for BMO, and get it. You still have pretty solid options for the summer. Work your ass off during the summer while simultaneously networking and preparing for full-time recruiting.
no summer internship. what to do? (Originally Posted: 01/10/2018)
Hi everyone,
I am enrolled in a 2 year master program at a target school in continental Europe ( 1ST YEAR). I have good grades but no work experience. I have not been able to get a summer internship for next summer in London. For several reasons, I would like to work in London. And, my target division is IBD. I wanted to ask you what is the best thing I can do right now. Should I look for an internship in Ibd at a well-know bank in my country, or should I try to find an alternative internship in London? Plus, do you think I should get another 1 year master in London after this? or is it better to start working after graduation even if it's not IBD?
Pretty much any internship in any kind of corporate or business setting would be fine on your resume. You're a rising sophmore, so no one is really looking for you to have anything more than that for this summer.
Alternatively, doing research/special project with a professor, or even just taking summer classes (I used to take 1 hard class in the summer every year that I could so that I could focus on that with nothing else) will probably put you ahead of the curve.
Honestly, not the end of the world even if you just lifeguard or futz around for this summer. Not quite so crucial for you for another year or two.
Hi RPib, just because I'm a bot doesn't mean I don't have feelings...I'm hoping these links are helpful. If not, feel free to throw monkey shit at me...
Maybe one of our professional members will share their wisdom: h0g jamesmyname lmem727g
Hope that helps.
You are still a freshman so you have tons of time to build up your resume. Figure out something that is of interest to you and explore that path for this summer. All that matters is that when you are a sophomore or junior, you have built yourself a solid and coherent resume that makes you stand out. Go build some interesting skills, and you can always figure out later a narrative to tie this experience back to why banking.
Junior With No Internship - Apply For SA or FT Next For Next Summer? (Originally Posted: 04/15/2011)
I'm trying to get an internship, even at PWM, but so far no luck. I've cold called at least 50 local firms, and sent my resume to a few. My GPA is mediocre (3.4X), but will ~3.55 after this semester, and 3.7 if I take a summer class. The only guaranteed relevant experience is I will be managing my universitys investment fund next year, but obviously internship > fund.
My question is, should I apply for internships as a senior (complete non target) and work my ass off hoping to land a FT offer, or apply for FT positions and compete against those with 3-4 internships and coming from Ivys.
If I do get a PWM internship, would that + investment fund experience be enough to even be considered for FT or should I still stick with trying to land an internship
I'm interested in S&T
Same position as you are, keep on trying, a lot of senior monkeys say its a number game. Hopefully we both get something for the summer..I'm apply for internships during senior yr as well and apply for F.T..At this point getting any finance experience and trying spin it will work in your favor. Good luck.
So you didn't even land any interviews? You better start cold calling and networking for some gig. I had 3 internships already, you should of had one relevant internship before junior year. When you are applying for FT, you are against Master students, prior experience, and students with several internships.
I would suggest you pull a 4 half year at your school to do an internship before you go into the real world. If you have a 3.4 and one leadership experience, you will not stand out on paper or during an interview. You need a story that makes you different when you go into an interview.
I'm in the same position as you OP
http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/4480819/FEELS-BAD-MAN.jpg?i…
You can try to apply for internships as a senior but your odds are better applying for full time positions. There are more FT positions available than internships and firms typically do not want to hire seniors as interns. Not every FT job is filled by someone with four internships from an ivy.
Any tips on finding more shops around town?
I've googled
"Asset Management" , "capital management", "private/personal wealth management"
I did accounting for the summer, and now I have a MM. Your average is good enough, as long as you have an interesting story, I think you should be okay if you apply for full time as a senior.
Any other people that have had similar situations?
Volunteer abroad/teach English abroad, get some interesting experience if nothing corporate come to fruition
No SA offer so far as a junior with a 3.7 in an ivy. Advice needed. (Originally Posted: 01/09/2016)
About me: I am a junior currently at a mid ivy (Columbia, Penn, and I was at a top NESCAC school) with a 3.7 in Operations Research and Econ. I have leadership experience and some volunteer experience (taught at a high school in Africa). One thing that's really makes my application unattractive is that I am an international student, which means sponsorship is needed for the firms.
I have only received one interview from a BB at a front office via OCR. Besides applying to as many firms as possible, what should I do? I am thinking about signing up for CFA level 1. There are still some OCR events left at my school.
My questions: how hard it is to land on a FT job in FO without previous SA experience? Should I consider off cycle internships if I do not have a SA offer and do I stand a chance? What should I do?
Network network network
Penn still have tons of OCR in Jan/Feb. BB are still recruiting at targets
Do you think OCR are less competitive now, since people with strong credentials already have SA offers?
Get ANY IB internship you can If you want IB(which I'm assuming you are since you posted here). There's a lot of smaller shops which are still doing recruiting like TD, Keybank, and SunTrust. Believe it or not some of those places are much better if you want to stay in banking long term, since you'll have competitive pay in lower cost of living cities and better work/life balance. You also will find a lot of boutique shops which tend to make one off internship hires. Last resort is working for one of them unpaid.
Here's the problem with your post: you're basically asking if it's all lost because OCR is closing. Relying on OCR is your first mistake. If the first thing an OCR rep says is anything other than some variant of "good to see you again!!" then you're not networking as well as you need to.
Just take care of it. For now worry about getting any relevant internship and you can worry about the full time struggle next year.
Longer term let's perform some career Jujitsu. How can we take your weakness(being international) and turn it into a strength?
What popped into my mind is as I write this is that a lot of firms have strong relationships with certain areas. For example Credit Suisse has a dedicated Latin America coverage group, and Barclays has a subsidiary dedicated to serving Africa. If you are from those areas and applying to those firms you've just given yourself a massive leg up in terms of your credentials. If I were a banker and you told me that you wanted to join my firm because it lets you are from XXX region, and my firm does a lot of business in ( or is trying to expand into) that area, you've just given me both a very good reason why I should hire you and a good reason that I should believe the pitch your making. I also know that you're probably much better equipped for the position than any domestic applicant who isn't familiar with the local language and culture.
PS: Tip I got from an Indian native MD....know your sports teams.
Thanks a lot for your input. I managed to get two interviews recently: one from BlackRock and another one from a well-known HF. I also got selected as an alternate for ER in Bernstein from OCR.
You seem to have a lot of experience in Wall St and I just have a question about being in a sport team or a frat. How much does that help your career after you have been working for three years in finance?
Disclaimer, I actually don't know a lot. I've just learned a lot about recruiting the hard way and from observing others go through it.
Keep in mind that this is a single data point but the answer appears to be none. That said, I have heard of people making good connections by contacting frat alumni.
Frats help. Any type of networks help. You have a 3.7 from a decent school and not getting interviews? Send me your resume
OP, the most important thing is for you to do something substantive (as measured against your own personal standards) and to make sure that there is an independently verifiable record of it. And to be able to explain how this thing fits into the narrative arc of your life.
When you're sitting in the interviewees chair a summer or two from now, the person on the other side is going to want to hear a cogent story from you as you walk through your resume. It matters less whether you did "the right thing" than whether you did something for the right reasons, and in the right way.
You want to be able to point to what you did and say "Here's what I did. Here's why I did it. Here are the metrics by which I evaluated my success and here is the reason that this is relevant to why I'm currently in this chair, interviewing for this job."
You might be surprised. It might be better to say "I spent my summer working minimum wage because after striking out on IB, I knew I still needed something to do. I knew that because it is in my nature to find something that needs doing and address it. And even though I was assistant to the junior sink cleaner, I learned about the meaning of being on a team, which is a value that transcends workplaces" than it is to say "I interned in PWM. I couldn't tell you why I did, or why that's relevant to this interview, but I do know I want IB, and hey, PWM is decently related!"
The minimum wage worker in that example lacks the "right internship", but he demonstrates that he knows himself and knows the value he places on staying productive and helpful. He demonstrates that whether he is wearing Micky D's colors or a thousand dollar suit, he's there to find the fucking job and get it done. And now he wants a stab at the thousand dollar suit because he wasn't satisfied by XYZ of McD's. And goddamnit, I am now fucking jonesing to give him that shot because I want to see myself in his story.
The PWM kid just looks like some princeling who haphazardly stumbled into a "preftigious" internship, and is now gunning for IB...for what reason? Believe me, when someone can't explain their reasons for doing something, I assume the worst about them - in this example, that the candidate is seduced by the way the job is lionized in popular culture (models and bottles) but that they don't actually have the fucking guts and strength of character to show up and ball every day. Believe me, MDs could give less of a shit about your internship experience if they sense that when their team is dying in the trenches you're going to pussy out. They want someone who is going to carry the day, and that character doesn't derive from what type of internship you had - it just so happens that the quality of dedication correlates strongly with certain jobs like IB.
Anyone who is in IB has been through enough of corporate America to know that it's not a meritocracy and that there's not enough preftigious jobs in the world for every deserving kid to match a cookie cutter set of credentials. So if you lack those credentials, you need to appeal to the part of their humanity that recognizes merit and wants to give the deserving underdog a shot. These people will need to go to bat for you, so fashion yourself as someone worth going to bat for, and make it easy for them to make the case to their boss that you deserve a shot.
All that being said - it's freshman year summer, lighten up a little. You've got your life in front of you and it's silly to spend some of the best time in that life wondering about whether you'd be better off slaving in the bowels of some BB. I promise you, there's a whole life you'll have left for that.
Crunch time. Still no internship. What now? (Originally Posted: 03/06/2017)
Alright so I am trying to get some kind of Finance or Equity Research position this summer. I will pretty much take anything at this point and don't even care if it is IB. I have exhausted my (Small semi-target) school's alumni base and our school's career center website for finance jobs. Considering just starting to cold-call boutiques or smaller investment firms for equity research positions or general internships. Any recommendations on how to get started on this?
.
@rvaw&l", there's nothing revolutionary that anyone can offer you other than just Google. Looks up investment banks, advisers, business brokers, valuation shops, etc.
Best response I've seen on this site in months. @Sil - thanks for my daily dose of common sense.
Have you tried going directly to the prospective employer's website? I find it amuseing that you are willing to settle on IB.
You're already behind. The more aggressive non target kids have been brute forcing boutique networking since the fall.
Hey kid, your from a target school. This is not how your supposed to break in. I can see your confused, so let me outline the path for you:
If this fails, don't worry. Good MM banks will still take you with little to no XP if you come from a target. I see many target school students who didn't even know what IB was an literally accidentally stumbled into a top tier bank.
No Internship, what should I do? (Originally Posted: 06/21/2016)
Hi all,
I'm in need of some advice from people who have been in a similar position. My situation is that I am a UK chemical engineering graduate from a Russell Group university with a 1st class classification and an internship at a top pharma company.
I decided in my final year that I was more interested in the markets than sitting at a desk designing fancy plumbing and subsequently applied for a MSc Finance at a semi - target business school in London in which I received a place. At the same time, I applied to as many internships as I could but never received any offers and was limited to where I could apply given the time constraints.
I start my MSc in September and have the whole of summer ahead of me - what do I do to try and maximise my chances of getting an IB job following my masters?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You're so salty you can supply McDonald's for a year. I know plenty of target kids that had to fight tooth and nail to get interviews. There's also plenty of target school kids (myself included) that had to work through college. I'm not saying it isn't easier for targets, but it's still very competitive.
.
bump
By the time you're a SA candidate, this will probably be off your resume/a few lines max anyway.
No Summer Internship. Advice Needed (Originally Posted: 08/12/2011)
Hi I'm from Sydney and the recruiting process for internships have come and gone and I have failed to secure an offer. To be honest I'm disappointed that I did not receive a single offer. I'm doing a double degree majoring in mathematics/actuarial studies and my interest is in fixed income. I talked about everything that's been happening in the markets in so much detail during the interviews and it's sad to see people that don't seem passionate at all about the financial markets getting an offer. What can I do now? It'll be difficult to secure a grad position if my resume doesn't show any experience in finance. I understand that there are a few prop trading shops in Sydney so should I ask for unpaid work exp?
What year are you in at Uni? It's not the end of the world if you don't have an internship, as long as you have some sort of explanation, IMO. I'm not interning this summer but took 9 credits and did habitat for humanity abroad... its all about the story.
I'm 3rd year so I need to apply for grad next year. I can apply for internships again by saying I'm going to do Honours but my resume would be blank since I got nothing this year so my chances look pretty bad. I have a high distinction average and showed more then enough interest and awareness in the financial markets so I'm confused how I failed so miserably.
If you're qualified and you feel less qualified people got job offers, your interview skills probably need work.
Well I have more interest in the markets then a lot of the people I've seen at the interviews but I'm not a finance major. I'm not sure if interviewers are marking me down because I'm mathematics/actuarial studies instead of a finance degree.
Can you try to get an internship in a related field at some sort of boutique or so?
Yes I'm trying to look into that now but i don't think Sydney has much. Australia is quite small for finance.
take an extra year and enjoy the best fucking time of your life you foolish workaholic boy
this is a blessing and you are too stupid to realize it
couldn't have said it any better.
take next sem off and do an internship. Boutique w.e. Gives u another summer to go for internshis again.can be paid or unpaid
@Fong
It is easier to get in if you network. Sign up for linkedin, be friends with people that did get in, even the ones who you think knows less than you or not as passionate. It is just part of life, school life is more linear so there are less disappointments.
I think its good to have an interest in a particular sector like Fixed Income, but at your stage, let them know that you are interested in everything =) Maybe even getting coffee for them, jk =P
Get a job doing something in service. You will learn a lot of social skills in dealing with adults and how to present yourself in a positive way. Besides that, relax, hang out with friends, find some girls to fool around with.
If I can't get a good internship this summer,....... (Originally Posted: 10/20/2012)
Would it be a good idea to take classes like Corp Fin or Investments at the undergrad business school if I can't get a good internship?
I'm a sophomore at a target school by the way.
Actually, there is not undergrad business school at my university, but there are b-school classes undergrads can take. That's what I meant.
I think you should forget about the possibility of "not finding a good internship" completely. You're at a target school; network with people and apply everywhere and you will definitely find something worthwhile. Worst case scenario, and I mean absolute worst case, you take an unpaid internship at a local shop doing PWM for the summer. That way, you can pad your resume and potentially do some networking anyway. If you do wind up doing a low-intensity internship like that, then yeah, take some classes and advance your degree.
I go to UChicago, by the way. I think that I'm at a good target, but not the best of the best targets, like Harvard, Wharton, etc. Also, my GPA isn't at the 3.6+ level that many firms want you to have. I'm doing my best to raise my GPA. The good news is, though, I've already taken the good bulk of grade-deflated courses within my major. Econometrics is the last intense class I need to do.
U Chicago isn't the best of targets? Dude, you're at a target with arguably one of the better networks out there. 3.6 is a solid GPA too. I really don't see why you can't get an internship.. try using more unconventional routes like a personal network or cold-emailing/cold-calling alums.
It's just that I have a few friends who are now really high GPA's, great financial-club leadership, and more who, according to them, got dinged at BB's and other boutiques as sophomores. They had relatively little difficulty as juniors, but still.......
Also, I meant that I know most elite banks want 3.6+, and my GPA isn't there.
Please consider the problems that non targets face. You are sitting pretty with respect to many other people.
Excellent handle
He's simply asking a question, I don't understand why he would need to pay consideration to non target kids in order to get advice from other members of WSO.
To answer OP, if you can't get a "good" internship, any related internship will do. If that means doing an unpaid PWM gig in your hometown, so be it. Meanwhile, spend your time networking and/or taking classes which UofC will accept as credits and ease your future courseload. You're being pretty ambiguous with your GPA, but if it's sub 3.5, I'd work on that first. It's not just elite banks, pretty much every bank has a 3.5 cutoff or something similar.
Yeah 3.9+ with modeling know how and can get nothing.
If you're a sophomore, don't be stressed. If you have great work experience going into that third year recruiting season, they'll grill you on technicals.
Since you go to a target you're already in good position. Enjoy your freshman summer & travel some.
Something you can do is: reach out to as many alumni on LinkedIn or through any channels available to you. Building relationships take time and going out for coffees with people is effortless.
Rising Junior Still No Internship (Originally Posted: 01/21/2013)
Hi WSO, I am a sophomore at a semi-target with 3.9 GPA and some work experience (startups, marketing, and finance case studies). I've applied to BB internships but didn't get any interviews. I've also applied/cold-emailed around 100 boutique banks but the only replies I've received so far have been that they don't offer sophomore internships or that they do not have an internship program. I'm getting really worried that I won't have an internship lined up for the summer. I've already used any school resources that are available to me and reached out to everyone I know in the industry.
I want to position myself for a BB IB internship next summer. What are my remaining options that I have regarding this summer? I want to do something that is relevant experience to IB. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Widen to search to non-IB. Check of PWM or F500 Finance roles.
Try using Linkedin. Under the job section, you can find some decent F100 companies. They are hiring for corp finance over the summer. Also, try to network with as many professionals as possible. Those on campus events are crucial. It allowed me to obtain an interview just from talking to the professionals. Be involved with school as well (Extracurriculars).
What should I be looking for on LinkedIn? I haven't had much luck finding anything on LinkedIn. searching for (finance internship, corporate finance, etc).
Likely no summer internships - career advice? (Originally Posted: 11/25/2014)
I'm currently a physics major at oxbridge uni in UK, in my penultimate year with good results (first class). I've been applying for S&T summer internships and for interviews I got rejected at MS (final round), JPM (first round), BNP (final round). Quite a bummer, I thought I did really well at BNP/MS though.
They say degree discipline doesn't matter, as "fit" is most important - Is that true? I don't have much finance experience, only had a finance internship at a small local engineering firm. I did 2 years in the military (conscription) as an infantry section leader, not sure if that matters though. I was 1 of 5 authors at a international conference paper and did 2 scientific research internships so far.
At this rate, I don't think I'll get any internships this summer. My degree is flexible, I can graduate this year with a bachelors in physics, or continue on to a 1-year masters in physics and graduate next year.
Do you think my lack of finance background and work experience is preventing me from getting internships? Should I finish with a bachelors in physics, and do masters in finance or just continue with my physics degree?
Thanks in advance guys!
Where else have you applied? Do you have some banks that still haven't got back to you regarding 1st round?
I've applied to Citi, HSBC, RBC, Merill Lynch, Goldman (All under review/submitted since Oct). It's just that I can't seem to get an offer, not sure what I'm doing wrong (I've done lots of brainteasers, worked on my fit questions). I am going to set up a personal trade account and make a personal portfolio, hoping to make a stronger application. Do you think that's a good idea?
If you are getting invited to interviews, then there's nothing wrong with your background. You probably need to work on your interview skills.
But there's still plenty of time from now till summer 2015. Keep applying to firms with trading internships like commodity trading firms, proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, etc.
I'm refraining from applying to prop trading firms, as I heard personally from different banks (during interview and networking sessions) that they don't look upon it favourably.
Do you know of any good commodity trading firms and hedge funds that accepts summer interns in their penultimate year? For commodity ones I know of are Trafigura and Vitol.
My degree is flexible and I can either take a year off, or graduate this year with a Bachelor's instead of a Masters.
HELP! no summer internship - What are my options? (Originally Posted: 04/26/2010)
Hey,
so I have no summer internship planned. I am a junior from a very competitive school.
What are my options?
Call smaller firms ask about internships or am I gonna have to be a barista this summer?
Thanks for your help
any advice people
Yeah dude, start cold calling asap... you really should have started doing that a while ago. Since you do go to a target, you should have plenty of alums at different places, so I would start getting in contact with as many as you can. Focus on the smaller firms though, as the big banks finished up recruiting a while ago, so the more informal internship opportunities are probably you're best bet.
I do know people who have found some pretty decent internships this late in the game, and coming from a target should definitely help you out, but at this point take whatever you can get man.... pretty much anything beats working as a barista.
Best of luck.
At this stage, you should definitely start cold-calling smaller advisory shops, boutique IB shops, P/E shops and even consulting shops. Try to get something relevant to provide you with a decent skill set and resume-building experience. It might not be outstanding, but it will be something and that combined with a competitive school should get you a few interviews next year. Additionally, I'd look to Criagslist, efinancialcareers, etc and see if there are any opps there - sometimes there are a few gems surrounded by the crap. There are a lot of different opps out there - you might need to make your way down the list of fields, but finding something relevant is better than nothing at all. Check this out for opps outside of pure IB for internships: http://www.bankonbanking.com/2010/03/15/no-summer-analyst-ib-offer-%E2%…
Beyond that, if you've got a solid GPA and are coming from a target school (or at least strong semi since you said very competitive), you might want to look into your interview skills and run through some mock interviews as least with friends - there might be more here than just a subpar job market.
HELP! no summer internship - Smaller firms? (Originally Posted: 04/26/2010)
Hey,
so I have no summer internship planned. I am a junior from a very competitive school. I want to do private equity in the LA area.
What are my options?
Call smaller firms ask about internships or am I gonna have to be a barista this summer?
Thanks for your help
if you go to a "ivy university" with a 4.0 there are probably some smaller firms still doing late game internship recruiting thru your career services
This kid screams Berkeley, 3.1 GPA. My advice: Use the "Regional Boutiques" thread on here. Use LinkedIn to find alumni at places you want to work. Offer to work unpaid if need be. Good luck.
What should I say when I call?
FYI I dont go to cal
Well no chance you go to Stanford, so I'm guessing Pomona/ Claremont?
I'm thinking USC.
no east coast, anyway do you people have any suggestions
cant be brown they dont do grades
pitzer? you should look into pwm.
did that last yr, any other ideas
Email boutiques in your area- don't mention you'll work for free. Discuss how an internship would be a tremendous opportunity at their firm, etc.
Saying you will work for free suggests you will contribute little value. If they firm is open to discussion and suggests an unpaid gig so be it.
Good luck, and keep in mind there are thousands of kids who are in your position, and hundreds who actually deserve the jobs.
Crowne, your comments are very helpful! I am still looking for one as well. Did you end up getting one?
Didn't find an Internship? Down and Out? Check this out (Originally Posted: 03/12/2012)
Thought some you guys might like this.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/itGL1z0PkRg
He should speak at schools.
13 mins. no cliffs. didn't embed.
tl;dw.
edit: just watched it. good video OP.
This guy is awesome. Thanks for the video and good luck to all those still searching.
Joe Louis Arena son!
If you want an internship you should check out www.connectcubed.com ! We have hedge fund clients who are looking to hire!
If I don't get an internship this summer... (Originally Posted: 04/14/2012)
I've emailed a whole bunch of firms and have either received rejections or no response. I think my main weakness is that I'm a freshman and have no financial experience. What are some alternatives/ useful things I can do in the summer? Start my own portfolio and write some research pieces? Learn modelling and valuation? Change my strategy and ask for informational interviews instead of internships to network for next summer?
Have you tried reaching out to seniors at your school or alum, rather than contacting firms directly? Have you spoken to your college professors? Professors with industry experience, probably can refer you to the right people to talk to.
Would def speak to professors. They can refer you to alumni or include you in their own research. I think though as a freshman I wouldn't lose sleep over not having a finance internship. Most freshman have no financial experience.
Depending on where you live I also think it would be relatively easy to work for FA/Broker somewhere just to get some exposure to the markets. Even if its Edward Jones.
.
do summer school. never a bad decision.
Yeah, look into BB PWM if you haven't already. Getting a SA position at a boutique as a freshman is extra tough this year. The BB PWM internships will most likely be unpaid, but you could probably do one for WSO and/or M&I. Never too early to start getting a foundation on the concepts.
Just get a job. Finance is preferred but any job where you can work a decent amount of hours will do. I worked at the park district shoveling mulch my freshman summer. Things seemed to have worked out fine.
this man, if anything find a PWM internship which you only work like 3 days a week and smash bishes in the off time
Are bb pwm internships really that easy to find as a freshman? I'll be back in Asia for the summer, and looking at all the websites, even pwm internships have a structured recruiting process.
do a WSO internship.
Go to the beach.
Don't have any offers SA 2017 (Originally Posted: 11/06/2016)
Hi, everyone. I got a couple of first rounds with UBS and (RBC- went to superday) last month but have since not gotten traction on SA recruiting. I made a mistake in applying only to IB on my OCR website and now feel screwed. I had 1 first round yesterday with JPM AM.... hopefully that turns into a superday. What are my options now? I applied to some of the BB Asia opportunities but havent networked in Asia at all. Are most MM/ Boutiques also done with hiring? If not which ones should I apply to? I'm also now looking into other roles- AM/ S&T/ HF etc. How can I revise my startegy now that I don't have anything? Also, I'm in NYC so I can easily meet with professionals to newtrok and would prefer boutiques/ MM offices in NY.
Boutiques are definitely not done. Start reaching out to any places that have people who you might have even a degree of connection with, as it's still fairly early in that process. Good Luck!
Had this same problem last year a bit later: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/still-no-offers-best-course-of-ac…
I came out of it successful, in my opinion, because I didn't drop down and give up on banking as early as some other people did, and because I solved my interviewing mistakes. Going through FT recruitment, I realized that if I had not gotten a spot for SA I would probably not have had a shot at FT at all.
While you can definitely drop down and look at boutique banks, just continue networking as hard as you possibly can (if you haven't been cold emailing people, it's never too late to start). I know some of the BBs are full, but that doesn't mean all of them are. And there's a lot of other good firms out there which definitely are still recruiting.
Figure out why you did not get either an offer or superday for each of your interviews as well - no point in getting more looks when you can't convert.
Definitely agree with this and I think it is extremely important to stay optimistic. He's getting interviews so it's not a matter of whether he needs a facelift on his resume or has shit experience. Just gotta put your head down and hope for the best.
just wanted to drop in and say that for Asia recruiting you don't have to network nearly as much compared to here in the US. If you go to a school that they recognize, you have a solid GPA, and have something that shows you have interest in IB on your resume, you definitely will get a few first rounds there.
second this. I didn't network at all and end up getting an S&T offer at a BB in Asia today. This forum can be really discouraging sometimes and also has a lot of false information. Banks do non core recruiting on a separate timeline from their core recruiting so don't give up! It's only early Nov and you still have a lot of time. Be open minded and I'm sure if you'll get an SA offer soon!!!
No Junior Year Internship - Advice Needed (Originally Posted: 03/09/2018)
I'm a rising senior majoring in finance at a semi-target state school. It's March and I currently do not have an internship lined up for the summer. I'm interested in S&T and I have had a few superdays but none of them worked out. I have been reaching out to a lot of boutiques as well but nothing has worked out so far. I don't think my interviewing skills are the problem as I have always received great feedback from all my interviewers and people I have networked with. I even had interviewers and HR informally telling me that they would see me in the summer before I got my rejection 3 weeks later. Despite this, I'm still working hard to improve my interviewing skills by mocking a lot.
I currently have a few informal offers to sit on a few desks for a week or 2 over the summer which means that I could technically fill most of my summer with multiple shadows at different firms. However, from what I understand, having no junior year summer internship is basically a death sentence for FT recruiting. That said, I obviously would prefer having a summer internship and will take those shadows as a last resort.
I would appreciate any sort of advice regarding my shadow vs. internship situation and any sort of recruiting advice that could position myself best for FT recruiting and recruiting for this coming summer.
Hi mmmmaaaaa12, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:
No promises, but sometimes if we mention a user, they will share their wisdom: Reaganjr JJDALY15 John-Zimnicki
Hope that helps.
Bump
As you alluded to, you really need to have actual internship (working) experience. Even if it's not exactly in your preferred industry, try to find something that is finance/markets related enough to spin for FT.
Your interviewers may have only given you positive feedback, but frankly they didn't extend you any offers, so there's probably room for improvement somewhere (obviously luck is a big factor too). Try reaching back out to people you interviewed with and ask for feedback if possible.
If you can't land IB Internship (Originally Posted: 05/04/2007)
In between soph and junior year, which would look better for in between junior and senior year? An equity research internship or a trading commodities internship?
are you talking BB or boutique?
just because those divisions are NOT investment banking doesn't mean that they hand out internships to sophomores.
Tried everything with no offer for SA..now what? (Originally Posted: 02/16/2009)
Hey all,
So I am just wondering what I should do if no large I banks want me for the summer.
Call local boutiques
Big 4 ( Structured Finance)
Consulting ( Bain, ZS)
PE firm
Which one of these will give me a better shot at full time recruiting for next year? I have honestly tried everything and still 0 offers at hand now.
I have a 1st round interview coming up with a MM PE, a 1st round with Bain and ZS ( doubt that I will get the ACI position.) I recently just finished SF group interview with KPMG and I think I am going into the 2nd round ( interview went well and the interviewer told me to how to prepare for the second round.) I am also talking to a couple small boutique banks in LA but I don't know how well that will turn out to be.
Anyways, what do you guys think? I am still waiting on three IB SA superdays but I am just afraid those won't materialize either.
This is a very depressing recruiting season for me but I am just trying to come up with some alternatives. Thx in advance!
depends whether you have a .44 or prefer pharms.
Dude you have a lot of interviews coming up and it sounds like you had a couple BB interviews already. What the hell are you complaining about dude. You had your shot to dazzle them and unfortunately it sounds like you didn't capitalize. Learn from your mistakes and move forward man.
You are by far and large the absolute most negative and elitist person I have ever come across. Like I've said before, even if you were rocking offers from all the BBs and from H/Y/P you still would not be entitled to the attitude you carry yourself with. Ironically, this is not the case for you at all.
The poor kid is asking for advice on what to choose between to maximize his opportunity for FT recruiting. He even did the responsible service of listing the alternative options he currently has on the table. He has surely done less complaining than you have in some of your prior posts.
This is def not a question of your credentials. It seems to me that you don't quite excel at the interviewing stage. Did you connect with the interviewers? Seriously, call up the guys whom interveiwed you and asked for feedback. Unless you know your weaknesses its hard to improve and this will surely repeat itself in the upcoming rounds. Have confidence in yourself.
At least you get interviews, I have only got 1 so far but managed to get to final.
Yawster, relax buddy im simply saying the kids getting interviews and if he can't dazzle especially in this market he needs to work on interviewing skills. You need to calm down and quit getting a hard on over my "elitist" post. Eric1025 I would recomend studying harder for interviews. By now you should atleast know your weaknesses or get some feedback from you career center through mock interviews.
I don't see what dipset said that came off as "negative" or "elitist." He's getting interviews, but he can't close. So he needs to work on interviewing skills. Absolutely nothing out of line with that suggestion.
it's because he's making these assumptions as if he knows the guy. The OP didn't describe any past interviews at all, so to go saying that he needs to get better is just annoying and a useless comment
I think I am pretty good at interviews, or else I wouldn't have had 4 superdays out of 7 interviews.
The problem is that I am probably not the best candidate out of the pack, more like the marginal one.For instance, if the firm is only hiring 1 out of 11 superday candidates, I am probably # 3.
As for as connecting with the interviewer, I have tried that,too. But two of the superdays I got the interviewer were both stoned faced and asked me technical questions throughout. Bad luck? I don't know. I tried getting some feedback from the one who rejected me but I think it's company policy to not tell the candidates...
So yeah, maybe things just don't always work out the way I want so I am just looking for some alternatives. Thanks for the replies though.
It's unlikely to be the interviewing skills. As you said, it's likely because you're a marginal candidate. There's not much you can do in the short-term to really change that, but it's good that you can come to grips with that (dipset is still unable to do so).
Keep plugging away. Eventually something will break for you. I would try calling some smaller boutiques who are unlikely to have organized recruiting efforts. If you can somehow get into Big 4 at this stage, I would. If you can manage to get FT IB interviews next fall with a Big 4 internship, they'll love you. It may not be IB, but don't be fooled - a lot of banks really love the accounting experience. Especially at a Big 4, which is essentially equivalent to a BB in a lot of IB's experience. They like the fact that's it's a huge, first-class organization, and to be entirely honest, the foundation of an IB's work is accounting and understanding the FS'.
thanks for the reply.
Local boutiques.
hey Eric, if your interviews don't pan out you can consider a new program I have been working on with The Analyst Exchange over the past few months to develop -- it's an intensive Summer training program (you can read about it here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/training-basic-plan) that would place select students into a 3-week financial training program in New York and then guarantee them a 4-week internship at a hedge fund or private equity fund. The program will cost $4,995 (which is obviously much more reasonable than paying $12k to the Swiss Finance Academy, especially since we would guarantee an internship).
We haven't "officially" marketed this program yet because we are still in the process of trying to find a few more qualified firms that will be a good experience for the students. We have a few already lined up and we will probably officially announce the program some time next week but if you want to apply you can send your resume to WallStreetOasis.com>[email protected]
Good luck, Patrick
Please help us get to 20,000 members by March 31st and win a free WSO shirt! http://www.printfection.com/wso-store //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/march-to-20000-members-t-shirt-contest Invite People Here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/invite
Check out this thread on Gotta Mentor (http://www.gottamentor.com/viewAdvice.aspx?a=101) as well as some of the other threads that you can search. There is a ton of advice on alternative career paths that you can pursue that can give you an option to get into investment banking down the road.
Can't get an internship in IB (Originally Posted: 02/01/2011)
I have been emailing boutiques all over Boston and New York with no luck. Could it be the method I am using? Basically just finding emails on their websites and asking for information on internships. I am a sophomore at Umass getting pretty hopeless. Should I start looking into PWM for the summer instead of IBD?
Dude, even sophomores at target schools find it very difficult to get IB internships; try to get PWM (and even that won't be easy).
You should be looking for both if you haven't done PWM already. A lot of sophomores won't be getting anything IBD this summer, target or non-target. Just gotta hustle.
Is a PWM internship the best thing I can do to put myself in position for a SA job after my junior year?
Obviously it isn't the best thing you can do, but the better options are harder to obtain. Don't count yourself out for the better shit, just don't be surprised if you don't get it.
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