MBA full-time Associate recruiting without a summer IB internship - is it possible?

Here's my situation: currently a 2nd year MBA student at a top 15 program. I have a background in finance and accounting before business school - worked in public accounting for 2ish years and then worked in an FP&A/Strategy type of role at a large financial institution. Spent my MBA summer internship at a large tech company, got the offer to return full-time but dont want to return because i realized tech wasn't really for me.

Got really interested in IB over the summer and now i'm wondering if it's possible to get a full-time Associate role without having done an IB internship. I have a very strong foundation in accounting and finance so as far as technicals go, i feel like i would do well in an interview. i guess it's more about getting the interview to begin with. there are just a few banks (all MM) that come recruit for FT roles at my school, but the way i understand it, IB recruiting puts a lot of emphasis on networking and i didnt do any sort of networking last year at all so i have like no contacts at these banks.

has anyone gone through a similar experience and/or have any advice? i have a couple friends that did IB summer internships that are sending my resume around their banks in case a FT spot opens up, but other than that I'm kind of just blind applying to roles i see on company career sites

 
clashdude:

bump - would love to hear if this is possible

It's not unheard of, but it's very unlikely and it's mostly at MM or no name boutiques. Most of the FT recruiting at BB and EB are people moving from one firm they spent the summer at to another firm, whether because of a no offer or wanting a different experience (BB to EB, vice versa, etc).

And if you mean is it possible now, then the answer is no, because FT recruiting ended in september and SA recruiting is finishing in the next month and a half.

 

Is it possible...yes....though it's an uphill climb. I think my class of about 60 had maybe 2 people tops that didn't intern at least somewhere in banking over the summer. You should start networking in the summer as most full time recruiting happens in about a 2 to 3 week span in September and basically amounts to banks filling in the last few spots they didn't fill out through their internship class (either they have hire demands than they thought or lower yield). Many banks won't recruit full time at all, particularly with a greater emphasis being placed on A to A promotes.

You'll need a convincing story as to why you didn't pursue banking as an intern (or at least going to the initial firm wide presentations) and even if you get past that, you'll be competing against others that not only networked with the banks all first year, but also have demonstrated interest and gained experience. Again it's possible, but you've put yourself at a distinct disadvantage and have work to do to catch up.

As another bit of advice, I'd suggest trying to get an internship at one of the "less desireable" banks (the mid market or regional shops). They're still great firms but tend not to be the focus point of people at top B schools when recruiting. At least at my school, there were 5 or 6 firms that really weren't on campus at all but still did interviews--here you may be able to still get a slot as most of your classmates' networking has been focused on BB or elite boutiques and it won't be so obvious that you didn't network with them all fall. This would then make it a lot easier for you to be taken seriously in full time recruiting if you wanted to make the shift after the summer.

 
Best Response
clashdude:

bump - wondering if anyone has thoughts on this.

To echo what clashdude said above, it's possible but unlikely. The first thing I'd ask is what school you are at? If it's HBS it's MUCH more likely than Stern. It'll also depend on what you do over the summer and your ability to network. Like I said above, a lot of BB and EB banks do 0 FT recruiting. Whatever they don't get during their summer program they try and focus on the following class, A to A, or a lateral. The top ones that do mostly fill those FT spots with people who did banking elsewhere for the summer and move. The ones who are more forgiving are MM and non elite boutiques.

Networking, where you attend school, prestige of what you did before school, and appetite for moving down the banking hierarchy will determine this. Whereas the lower half kids at my MBA business schools ">M7 looking for internships still end up at BBs if they did the whole recruiting process.

 

Yes it is possible. I know quite a few who did it so just focus on the same steps you would to secure an internship but think long-term. I know one who got an offer for FT with a elite boutique and another who got a BB FT offer.

Your story better be tight as to why you are interesting in I-Banking and why you missed out on the internship last summer. More of an uphill battle but not impossible.

Good luck.

 

Glad to see someone else in a similar situation as me. I attended the company presentations but didn't end up applying for internships or doing any further networking. I'll be doing Finance and Strategy at a F10 company and hoping to recruit for full time. From what some on WSO told me, it's a good idea to keep in touch with your classmates who are going into banking for the summer, and once summer stars nearing the end, start reaching out to your classmates and alums.

 

From what I've seen I don't think it's as common as bootsnapper made it sound. Yes there are certainly some people that have done it so give it a shot, but I don't think anyone did this year at my school (also M7). Unlike consulting which picks up a ton of people for the FT recruiting, banking is much more selective and limited and mostly hires exclusively from the internships or people trading up banks. Logically it makes sense. IB recruiting is time intensive and they get to know the applicants well during the 4-5 month recruiting process. If for some reason their interns don't work out, they're more likely to go and try to pick up the people next in line that they liked, rather than chance it with someone they've never met before and didn't express any interest in banking during recruiting. I know this isn't what you were hoping to hear but I think it's true. That said, give it a shot, it could work out.

 
mba2014:

From what I've seen I don't think it's as common as bootsnapper made it sound. Yes there are certainly some people that have done it so give it a shot, but I don't think anyone did this year at my school (also M7). Unlike consulting which picks up a ton of people for the FT recruiting, banking is much more selective and limited and mostly hires exclusively from the internships or people trading up banks. Logically it makes sense. IB recruiting is time intensive and they get to know the applicants well during the 4-5 month recruiting process. If for some reason their interns don't work out, they're more likely to go and try to pick up the people next in line that they liked, rather than chance it with someone they've never met before and didn't express any interest in banking during recruiting. I know this isn't what you were hoping to hear but I think it's true. That said, give it a shot, it could work out.

this is true however I know of at least 2-3 at my school (just outside M7) who made the switch this year for FT. This definitely depends on many factors and can just be an anomaly.
 

Makes sense and appreciate the insight. Still don't know what my plans will be but I would try to start networking early through my classmates and try to form some relationships as well as possible. Understood it would be challenging, thanks for the comment

 
Guest1655:

Was in same boat last year and ended up with 2 IBD offers at mm & boutique after a LOT of effort. You are probably in better shape because you're at a hf instead of f500 corp fin. Get an off cycle internship during the next semester and start reaching out to to alumni. Are you at a top 20 MBA program?

INSEAD. Not much time to network and not a great record of placing into IB with no prior background unfortunately. Trying to network with alumni like crazy, but still...

 

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