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Some questions: Silver bananas for good responses
 

DiarrheaAnneFrank's picture
(Monkey, 48
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 5:03pm

Hey guys,

So first of all, I have searched WSO and google, and could not find good answers to these questions, so I am looking for further input.

I am currently a sophomore, and this summer I will be doing 2 part time internships (BB PWM and a boutique investment firm).

I am interested in either ER or IB, so hopefully my junior summer I will be able to land a decent SA position for one of those. My school is close to a financial hub, so I would like to do a part time internship in the fall.

My questions: Should I look for a boutique IB internship for the fall (I heard IB internships are easy to spin for ER)? If not, what kind of internships do people interested in ER/IB usually do? Are there any boutique ER internships available? I am equally interested in IB and ER, and my main concern is to be able to land a decent SA role for junior summer; is one of them "easier" than the other for BB/MM SA junior recruiting?

Again, I know I might get flamed for asking these, but I really searched and could not find good answers. If you can give me some decent answers / link me to them I will give you SBs.

Thanks!

Tags:
BTbanker's picture

A fall internship would

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 7:38pm

A fall internship would definitely help to get an SA during your Junior summer, but don't forget that you need to maintain a high GPA + ECs. If you think you can put in the time at a boutique and do those, then I would go for it. It would show people that you can handle the pressure and hours that come with the job.

And yes, there are SA positions for ER.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

Commuter's picture

Solid screen name OP

IB
(Neanderthal, 2,989
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 7:54pm

Solid screen name OP

I work here...sup
WSO Company Database | WSO Job Board
[email protected]

DiarrheaAnneFrank's picture

Connor: A fall internship

(Monkey, 48
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 9:35pm
Connor:

A fall internship would definitely help to get an SA during your Junior summer, but don't forget that you need to maintain a high GPA + ECs. If you think you can put in the time at a boutique and do those, then I would go for it. It would show people that you can handle the pressure and hours that come with the job.

And yes, there are SA positions for ER.

When you say fall internship do you mean at a boutique IB or boutique ER (are these common? I know lots of BB's have ER, but it seems like most boutiques do IB)? I feel like a boutique ER would be hard to spin if I wanted to do IB. And yes, I would definitely be more comfortable with a boutique internship + the two that I'm doing this summer for junior SA recruiting. Thanks for the advice.

illiniPride's picture

Pro-tip for ER SA recruiting:

IB
(King Kong, 1,099
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 9:38pm

Pro-tip for ER SA recruiting: have a writing sample ready to go.

Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"

BTbanker's picture

I would try to leverage your

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 10:08pm

I would try to leverage your experience this summer and network to go 1) the boutique IBD route in the fall or 2)The MM ER route. It would set you up for your junior SA at a BB firm, whether that be for ER or IBD.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

Neighbor's picture

Well there's a lot more IB

IB
(King Kong, 1,236
 
Points)
 on 5/12/12 at 10:10pm

Well there's a lot more IB positions available then ER so that makes it tougher to get an SA at an ER, but ER are usually less strict in recruiting. A Fall internship will definitely help for summer recruiting if your GPA doesn't drop too far then definitely go for it.

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

DiarrheaAnneFrank's picture

Connor: I would try to

(Monkey, 48
 
Points)
 on 5/13/12 at 4:27am
Connor:

I would try to leverage your experience this summer and network to go 1) the boutique IBD route in the fall or 2)The MM ER route. It would set you up for your junior SA at a BB firm, whether that be for ER or IBD.

I am quite interested in doing a boutique/MM ER fall internship because it will obviously help a lot for junior BB ER SA recruiting. So you're saying that I would be able to spin this fall ER internship for BB IB also? I'm worried to go into IB recruiting without any banking experience.

BTbanker's picture

DiarrheaAnneFrank: Connor:

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/13/12 at 10:24am
DiarrheaAnneFrank:
Connor:

I would try to leverage your experience this summer and network to go 1) the boutique IBD route in the fall or 2)The MM ER route. It would set you up for your junior SA at a BB firm, whether that be for ER or IBD.

I am quite interested in doing a boutique/MM ER fall internship because it will obviously help a lot for junior BB ER SA recruiting. So you're saying that I would be able to spin this fall ER internship for BB IB also? I'm worried to go into IB recruiting without any banking experience.

I'm not exactly in the place to give 100% advice on that, but my best guess is "yes." I'm sure that other people have done ER internships before their junior SAs, and they can tell you if it helped/hurt them in IB recruiting. You could make a new thread asking that question.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

West Coast rainmaker's picture

DiarrheaAnneFrank: I am quite

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,072
 
Points)
 on 5/13/12 at 1:02pm
DiarrheaAnneFrank:

I am quite interested in doing a boutique/MM ER fall internship because it will obviously help a lot for junior BB ER SA recruiting. So you're saying that I would be able to spin this fall ER internship for BB IB also? I'm worried to go into IB recruiting without any banking experience.

Yes. A fall ER internship would definitely help for junior SA IB/ER recruiting. Most people do not do banking before junior year-only a few banks have sophomore programs. If you are at a semi-target or better, have decent grades, and have networked, you should be fine for junior internships.

As for which is easier to get into, I would say IB if your school has OCR; otherwise, ER will be easier. IB recruiting is very standardized and formal. If you memorize the WSO/M&I guides, you will know the answers to 95%+ of the questions.

ER is, from what I have heard, less structured. There is little formal recruiting and interviews vary more. There is less competition, but fewer spots. Outside of a few banks with low FT offer rates for IB (e.g. Goldman), ER has lower FT offer rates than IB. Turnover is quite low in ER, as is headcount. A given industry might have 2-4 analysts, and if they do not need another man, you are out of luck.

It is probably easiest to do an IB summer, get an offer, then decide between IB and ER for FT. But definitely interview for every internship you can. You can never have too many offers or two much experience. After you do enough, it starts to become kind of fun.

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