Rising sophomore with a 3.7 GPA, non-target, no internship this summer.

Hey,

So I just finished my freshman year at large state school and finished with a 3.7. I wasn't able to land an internship this summer, although I did not try extremely hard. Right now I'm just kinda working a couple of jobs and might play around with this business me and a friend started. It's still in development but we won 2nd place at a business competition, so it has potential I guess you could say.

I am wondering what I could be doing now in order to set myself up nicely for next summer, I definitely want an internship next summer and some companies that come to campus take sophomores.

Should I still try for an unpaid gig at a local PWM place? Can't hurt to ask, even though I'm extremely late. Could try to use my high school's alumni network as well. There are a few by my house. Honestly I'd like to learn more and get something on my resume.

What should I be aiming for next year?
Would BB PWM in NYC be possible? Aim for F500 corporate? Try boutique IBs? Try and land Big 4 internship? (I am a finance/accounting double major, but much more interested in finance).

For now I just plan on reading and learning more about finance and investing, but anything else I could be doing to help for next summer and beyond? Or should I just enjoy my last summer of "freedom"?

Thanks

 
Best Response

I think networking like a maniac is your best bet for next summer, its not a big deal if you don't have a good internship on your resume right now, focus your efforts on the future. I'm in a very similar position, I go to school right by Columbus and have a similar GPA. I made it a point to network with obsession, no matter who I was talking to. If they showed a little knowledge of the industry, or "my daddy works for some gold company in NYC" Blankfein face palms I would start (semi) selling myself. This may seem superficial or that I'm only using people as instruments for my personal gain, but in actuality that is exactly whats happening....just kidding...yes...no.

Anyways I ended up meeting some legitimate contacts, some at MMs, a few at BBs in NYC and Chicago. Essentially if I am able to pull off a top GPA this year things look promising. I say this because in my experience coming from a non-target (although Fischer is a semi-target from what I understand) means that networking is one of the most important things you can focus on.

"oh i'm jacked, i'm jacked to the tits!" - Jared Vennett, The Big Short
 

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