Internships - Rising Junior at an Ivy
Hi everyone, it's my first time on this forum.
Just a brief stat overview:
School / Year: Rising junior, Ivy
Major: Math
GPA: ~3.6
Involved in student govt., lot of research in math/computer science/stats, some community service
I'm interested in getting into S&T. Last year I had a couple of interviews at big firms but didn't get hired so I ended up doing research at a govt. facility this summer. I really want to hit it hard next year in terms of internship hunting, and given that I have no experience in finance, do I stand a chance? What exactly should I do? Are there any banks that offer fall internships?
You guys give great advice on this forum so I'd appreciate anything ideas/thoughts -- thanks!
Apply everywhere--start with the vault top 50 ibanks, and then to smaller banks (which i believe are also listed in the vault guide)-- try some hedge funds as well, as they typically like people with math/engineering/programming backgrounds.
Do your homework-- read the wsj daily, try to develop and understanding of the markets. Alot of rising juniors have no finance experience, so you are not alone (i had only worked in PWM after my sophomore summer, which was not that hard to get and very common, so i don't believe it gave me a true leg-up in the process, though i did land an S&T SA at a BB). If you haven't already, read some books to familiarize yourself with trading --the obvious one is Liar's Poker, which pretty much everyone in S&T has read.
Don't play off your summer internship in research as a "second choice..." pretend like that what your 1st choice, and you have been developing an interest in the market. Be able to tell them specifically what you did this past summer that was unique, and how your skill set enabled you to be successful (hopefully a skill that is applicable to trading). Basically, do your homework and you'll be fine. Find personal reasons why you want to be in S&T, learn how to sell yourself...
From your post, i take it that you have had some interviewing experience, although it didn't turn out in your favor. Try working on your interviewing technique--try to be as concise as possible, but don't just give the typical robot answers. There is nothing more important than being both well spoken AND personable--interviewing 101. After you've had enough practice, and gotten your feet wet, interviewing should become second nature to you--all you are doing is telling your story--you must learn to shape your story the way you want to. Interviewers always ask the same typical questions, so the statements you make when describing your interests to lead them into questions that you have prepared for. If you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them for you.
Thanks Swan Hunter, I am also a rising junior working as a sales (and trading) intern at a forex company. I also want to get into S&T at a BB, and your advice was really helpful.
Apply everywhere?
I disagree with Swan. Unless you are some sort of superman, you'll be stretched too thin and you'll end up getting ZERO interviews because your knowledge of individual firms won't be good enough, and the time you spend doing all those apps might even negatively impact your grades. Sure use the Vault top 50 as a guide but I would suggst doing some thorough research, talk to people in the industry or friends who got banking internships this summer and decide on approx. 10-15 firms you actually would like to work for, then try your best to research these thoroughly and apply
Go to firm presentations (either on campus or at their offices), and whatever you do, apply early.
It's fine to do SOME apps for firms that wouldn't be your top choice but where you think you have a good shot...I mean everyone needs a fall-back option, but don't waste time applying to loads of lower-tier banks if you have your heart set on something better.
If you got interviews last time around, you're clearly doing something right - use your careers service at college to arrange some mock interviews or even just get together with some friends who are also interested in i-banking and ask each other questions. This should allow you to pinpoint your weaknesses.
And do whatever you can to network, if you're at an Ivy, then I guess there should be alumni from your college who work in finance, do what you can to get in touch with them.
good luck!
just apply everywhere you can. its a simple click. does not take time. use alumni. they tend to be helpful or so i hear.
I agree with joefish. More is not necesarily better, especially is your school is fairly heavily recruited.
Your resume is clearly good enough to get your foot in the door, so you should really focus more on buidling your network and practicing your interview skills.
Depends on your success rate at getting interviews. If you get one interview out of 2 applications, maybe you'd apply to 20 firms. Too many is better than too few, but I don't think that you can manage a lot more than 10 interviews at once, especially if you have to travel to the offices. Think about it: you'll get 2-3 rounds per firm, and it always takes a whole day.
I have been interviewing 2 days a week at times this year and a professor asked me to attend classes more regularly. :-|
I also suggest a plan B in case you do not get a BB internship.
thanks for the advice!
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