Nonprofit

Absolutely not, you have to be cold hearted to work in banking. Non profit is a sign of weakness that won't even get you past HR.

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Remember, you will always be a salesman, no matter how fancy your title is.
- My ex girlfriend

does anyone have a real answer to the question? and if that is a real answer, it is pretty sad that someone would see giving back as a sign of weakness...

This will weaken your chances very much, that is true. Banks love IB internships and many times they hire the summer interns in large portions. The question will rise, why you haven't done anything related to finance while in undergrad. They want commitment and it is hard to tell you have it with only non-profit experience. It would be very wise to contact alumni, friends, etc...anyone you can, to arrange informal interviews and come up with a story to tell them, how you die getting into banking and how regret you have not realized this sooner.

Never give up! Watch Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith)!

I have banking internship experience but am recently in between jobs and thought doing some nonprofit work while looking to secure a new one would 1) be a way to give back and do something good and 2) banks must look as it as a feather in their cap to say that they have someone who worked in a nonprofit (ACS, Peace Corps, Hunger Project, etc)..it would show they actually do care about the world as opposed to just making money off deals, which is all that does really matter to banks of course. I appreciate all the thoughts so far however.

I co founded my non-profit while I was still at school and prolonged my graduation to run it and hand it over to a local hospital organisation in Haiti. I was not looked down upon by any bank in particular. Having said that, you do need a strong story of how this experience further prepares you to excel as a banker. I can say that because I am currently working in a BB. Although mine was more of an entrepreneurial venure (A social enterprise type), just treat it as any experience and extract key take aways on Leadership, Project Management and Team work. If you relay this to any interviewer effectively I think you should be fine.

awesome...thank you all for your insights...it is much appreciated