Still no B School Internship

I'm currently a student about to finish my first year of b school and still don't have an internship in finance lined up. I'm in a top tier school (think tuck/hbs etc). I've had a lot of interviews but can't convert into an offer. Any ideas? An also what do I do if I cant get one?

 

If you need to do some damage control – which is looks like you do (HBS and no internship, fucking nightmare) – my opinion would be to cold call FAs in wealth management and beg for an unpaid internship.

fdba Emory Blaine and BBA or otherwise trying to find the perfect pseudonym.
 
Faustus:
If you need to do some damage control – which is looks like you do (HBS and no internship, fucking nightmare) – my opinion would be to cold call FAs in wealth management and beg for an unpaid internship.

Are you serious? That has to be a joke... an MBA candidate at HBS begging for an unpaid internship with an FA... that's terrible advice, sorry...

 
Best Response
rufiolove:
Faustus:
If you need to do some damage control – which is looks like you do (HBS and no internship, fucking nightmare) – my opinion would be to cold call FAs in wealth management and beg for an unpaid internship.

Are you serious? That has to be a joke... an MBA candidate at HBS begging for an unpaid internship with an FA... that's terrible advice, sorry...

Undergraduate perspective, read the rest of the post – I ended up retracting this.

Faustus:
Cartwright:
II don't know about wealth management, unless that's something you want to do.

Good luck to you.

Good point, my opinion admittedly is from an undergraduate's perspective.

But as far as an HBS student begging for an unpaid internship in general – if he is too proud to beg, and/or work for free, this may explain why he does not have an offer (not saying you are either of these OP).

fdba Emory Blaine and BBA or otherwise trying to find the perfect pseudonym.
 
kimbo:
How much networking have you done? Find alums at smaller shops and start calling....
This man knows his shit.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

well there is a significant gap between hbs and tuck, but regardless you should be working your alumni directory like a mad man (and should have been doing that in the fall as well).

Cold emails, informational requests...work other non-nyc major cities as well (Chicago/Houston/Dallas/Atlanta etc).

I don't know about wealth management, unless that's something you want to do. You're not a junior in college, where firms will see that as a stepping stone...it's easy to get pigeonholed. If you're interested in a specific industry group, try to find something relevant, e.g. a firm that a banker in that industry group would be familiar with (even...and maybe especially...if it is somewhat small).

Good luck to you.

 
Cartwright:
II don't know about wealth management, unless that's something you want to do. You're not a junior in college, where firms will see that as a stepping stone...it's easy to get pigeonholed. If you're interested in a specific industry group, try to find something relevant, e.g. a firm that a banker in that industry group would be familiar with (even...and maybe especially...if it is somewhat small).

Good luck to you.

Good point, my opinion admittedly is from an undergraduate's perspective.

fdba Emory Blaine and BBA or otherwise trying to find the perfect pseudonym.
 

Don't quote me on this - but assuming you're at HBS, is it not the case that there are way more job listings than students? How is it remotely possible you don't have anything lined up - i.e. are you just being picky about which offers to take/interview for?

 

as someone who has an mba, and worked with my school's recruiting center while I was at school, i feel i am qualified to contribute.

people need to understand that mba recruiting is incredibly competitive right now, more than ever before. finance recruiting is way, way down from the peak. but the incoming classes, many of them still want to do banking. so inevitably some are shut out, and often for no reason at all. it's a numbers game, and sometimes you are the guy who gets the unlucky roll. and that is why bschool is such a risk. it costs a lot and there is no guarantee.

anyway to the OP it's definitely a little late for the big bb recruiting gigs. so it's pointless to go after a BB now. at my bank we are already sending around the intern resume book and we are already talking about their group placements.

but all is not lost. i'd recommend starting to look for gigs at smaller, local firms. Get a list of firms and make an appointment to talk to your career center. go down the list with them and ask if they can put you in touch with anyone at these firms. the career center introduction can be powerful. especially if you are willing to work for free, that can be a good way to get into a family office or endowment or newly launched hedge fund. small shops will sometimes be like "a free intern from tuck? we should actually do this. it would make our lives easier during the summer and why the hell not?"

a buddy of mine got an unpaid hedge fund gig this way. he was living in some absolute dump and these hedge funds guys ended up liking him. totally out of nowhere they gave him a big bonus at the end of the summer, like $25k and good recommendations.

but dude seriously get cracking on this. if you don't get an internship you should have the school create a position for you, in some type of finance capacity to work at the school. like on 'a special consulting project at the endowment' or something.

if you don't land an internship in finance it will likely be much more difficult for you to break in, although if you are truly at hbs i seriously think much of my recommendations need not apply as the brand name is just so strong you can definitely break into banking without having an internship. but the internship is crucial basically most other places, doubly so for career switchers. i hope this helps.

 
spudfoxx:
I'm in a top tier school (think tuck/hbs etc)

Not to sound elitist, but the OP does not go to HBS. If he did, he would have said "I'm in a top tier school (think stanford/hbs)." HBS and Stanford see each other as being the only other player in a given tier of business schools. It's much more likely he goes to a school like Tuck.

That said, Tuck is a very good school and has a lot of alumni in banking. Get networking!

 
redninja:
spudfoxx:
I'm in a top tier school (think tuck/hbs etc)

Not to sound elitist, but the OP does not go to HBS. If he did, he would have said "I'm in a top tier school (think stanford/hbs)." HBS and Stanford see each other as being the only other player in a given tier of business schools. It's much more likely he goes to a school like Tuck.

That said, Tuck is a very good school and has a lot of alumni in banking. Get networking!

Wharton, INSEAD, LSE, LBS, and others are on this level... and that definitely did sound elitist...

 

Guys, the baseline of the story is about MBA guys who had not landed interns yet! I fall in that group. I tried to make cold calls, networking with others but failed to land an intern for me! For me, I am even not finding an unpaid investment intern. So what should the alternatives available for me? I am thinking hard ...

Thanks, Amitava
 

is the op serious? im not in bschool (yet....) but is this what bschool students at top15 programs are facing in terms of finance positions? if thats the case, ill pass with the mba...

 

I wouldn't let one internet poster scare you hungry. I found finance/consulting/etc recruiting to be plenty strong. If you put in the effort to do informationals, prep for your interviews, and aren't a complete weirdo with no social skills, you should be fine. That last one is where people mislead themselves and then get upset, I've found. All the technical skills/knowledge in the world won't save you if you fail the old airport test.

 

Et odio architecto quo facilis rerum ad facere. Fuga atque eos qui laudantium perspiciatis minus et. Totam nihil et mollitia repudiandae.

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