Sophomore Internship: BB Finance, Credit Agency, Google?

Hello Monkeys,

So, I find myself at a conundrum.

The goal at hand is to have a BB IB Internship in my junior year.
I am fortunate enough to have a few options at my disposal, but I am having some trouble evaluating which one will translate better next year when I am looking for that crucial BB IB internship.

I interned my freshman summer at a BB in Finance - Credit Risk Management (essentially the most prestigious back office role, since it is somewhat of a revenue generator).

I tried my luck at IB for my sophomore summer. Managed to get just a few interviews (non-target), I didn't get any of them. Now I am left with a few options:

-I can go back to the same BB at a different role within Finance. I could also go back to CR.

-I was offered an internship at a Big 3 Credit Agency.

- I was offered an internship at Google. It is a client services and solutions internship, with some elements of strategy development.

I am leaning towards the Credit Rating Agency, although I fear I may be pigeon-holing my resumé by having 2 consecutive credit internships. Google is obviously a very attractive resumé stamp, but the role itself is very much outside the scope of banking. That said, there is a lot of client-facing, which is something I can leverage in the future and why I am giving it so much consideration. Going back to Finance is something that I really don't want to do. I may be able to learn some valuable skills here and there, but nothing substantial enough to justify bypassing the diversity that the other options provide me. Furthermore, anything other than CR in Finance is pretty much a step down the ladder.

Also, I could just take a leap of faith, try to go for a MM IB internship (probably late at this point), and run the risk of having nothing comes the summer.

Any insight will be helpful. I have been debating these options with a lot of confidants and I get a diversity of feedback which just further adds to my indecision. Anyone who was in a similar position, please speak up!

 
Best Response

I think you are ahead of the game since you got a decent opps in freshman year.

I think you made the decision already

You do not want Finance CR again, the Credit Rating Agency = Finance CR..then it comes down to Google

The finance CR experience (what bank..give like 3 comparable banks for us to get an idea..is it one of the top banks known for in risk?). The reason why I ask is since you are a sophomore you can definitely make a case to transfer internally - i have seen that first hand in banks like GS, JPM & Citi. If its one of these, then all hope is not lost and you can get in and network ur ass off for the summer IB opps

Also, CR is one of the better MO positions or FO (arguably depends on bank)

Pick Google - diverse experience, brand stamp on resume and you could make a case via the client facing during your junior year (you still have time, so you are good)

btw...wanted to ask about your Finance CR internship experience - how was it and do you think the skillset are kinda transferable to IB.

"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection demoralizes you"
 

Thank you for the response.

I honestly don't know how our CR department ranked.

I really don't want to get specific as to the bank, but I'll say it is one of the top American BB's. As far as translating the skills, there wasn't a lot of modelling or presentation work. The skills I can leverage are the ability to manage Excel at a high level, understanding credit profiles of companies, understanding corporate finance from a risk management lens, etc.

My department did a fair amount of client-facing, but obviously none for the lowly freshman intern.

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