S&T internships -> IBD SA?

Long time reader, first time poster.

Can't really find anything that discusses this....

I have very solid S&T internship experience (including BB 6 months and well-known boutique 7 months) and I'm starting to realize that I may be better suited to a role in IBD due to my interest in financial modeling and aspirations to join a RE PE or a HF at some point down the line.

Semi-target, decent GPA, trilingual (note: Applying to EMEA offices)

My resume is pretty solid (but lacking a 4.0 GPA, a target school and Varsity teams sports) and I am confident that I would at least get interviews at most BBs if I applied for S&T but how can I spin this so I convince IBD recruiters that I am actually interested in that field. My resume sort of has S&T written all over it.
I realize that I could be in a much worse position with no prior internship experience at all.

What I've got so far:
- Applying for an unpaid part-time analyst position at a CF/Restructuring boutique (hopefully I'll get it)
- Cover letter: "S&T: been there done that, wasn't for me. M&A would be a much better fit for me due to ....."

Any other suggestions?

I am really worried that I'll just waste applications by applying to IBD...

Thanks in advance

 

You can always say stuff like "Ya i did S&T, but I figured it just ain't for me." Perfectly normal, in my opinion.

Although, I think it's easier to use ^that reasoning if you only did one S&T internship. Interviewers might ask you "well, if you didn't like S&T, why did you do a second internship in it then????"

 

True.

I did a lot of networking for my other three internships and essentially cold emailed most of the time. I get the impression that cold emailing / cold calling in M&A is a lot harder. Maybe thats just an illusion...

For official summer internships at BBs and elite boutiques in the EMEA region there really isn't a way to network yourself into the recruiting process because its strictly processed through online applications. OCR doesn't exist in the UK....

 
Best Response

The key is to get an internship - try out S&T you might like it. A friend of mine did his internship at GS in markets, 9 years later he is doing debt structuring for another bank and that's where he got his full time offer. If you are set on IBD, why not try S&T as an internship - it doesn't mean you'll have to stay in S&T.

I was set on IBD, I've worked 7+ years in S&T instead as I realised that IBD is what every kid wants to do at LSE and didn't realise S&T is far more fun.

 

Thanks for the advice. Got the impression that people in S&T (especially traders) usually stay within the firm for 3-5 years at minimum. How are you enjoying your work? Do you have any "what ifs" if you ended up working in IBD?

 

Apply to other banks for IBD and then make the decision afterwards. Alternatively, lots of banks let final years apply for summer internships. Either way it's a win-win situation.

Bitch please, I love bananas! If you found my advice useful, hit me up with one.
 
Dog:
^thanks for your quick reply!

Did it hinder you from getting interviews in the first place?

No I did not have much of an issue getting interviews. I should note, however, that between my S&T internship and BB IBD SA recruiting I interned for a small Investment Bank, so this likely helped to show that I was interested in IBD. Just be sure to network and explain the switch while networking. It won't hurt you as long as they understand that you're interested in switching.
 

If the IBD associate likes you, I don't see much harm in "leveraging" your other offer.

"Hi x, how have you been doing? I want to disclose that I've been interviewing for for S&T while I have been interviewing with you. It is particularly pertinent now because I was just offered a superday. Ultimately, my goal is to just work for your company. However, I feel that I am a better fit for IBD, so I was wondering if I was able to make second-round."

And then for S&T superday...I don't think the two experiences are mutually exclusive. Don't say anything to the S&T guy except "Yes, I would love to interview."

 

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