college freshman looking for advice regarding future steps to take
As the title states, I'm currently a freshman attending a top 20 university (west coast).
This past winter I completed a short 1 month internship as a financial analyst at a regional CPA firm. With the help of an alumni connection, I secured an interview at a top 40 PE firm and somehow and very luckily succeeded in landing an internship for this summer.
To be honest, I feel like I have only been successful thus far due to my networking. I'd like to know what I should or need to do next to stay on top. I'd really like to do a summer internship as a sophomore in IB at a bulge bracket, but I've heard that this is EXTREMELY competitive. Is there anything I could do to stand out as an applicant and have a good shot? Or, should I just look at applying to boutiques?
Any advice appreciated!