An intership in January, is it possible?

Hi,

I'm a rising Senior in a non target B-School. Part of my program requires from me to find a 4-6 months internship in January. My objective would be to get that internship in IB. I started looking and cold emailing since the 1st of June, so far nothing as expected. But as I was looking trough the positions it seems that most of the IB only have programs for summer which leads me to wonder, do I even have a chance to get an internship in January? Do IB bother taking intern during this period or is it only possible for a summer internship?

Also, are there more opportunities in Europe for this kind of off-cycle internship?

Thank you for your help

18 Comments
 

Based off what I've seen, there are fall/winter term internships available but those are mostly offered by regional and local boutique firms. Don't think many, if any, BBs offer anything that's not in the summer.

 

Ok so I will focus on boutiques. Any idea on the right window of application for this type of internship? Since the first day of June, I've been cold emailing but saw no open applications.

 
Best Response

What area are you located in? From my experience, boutiques will do off-cycle internships. I did a couple of those near my non-target and am returning to one for a second time. My school's located in a city where IB is largely unknown, although we headquarter a good MM. So if you can beat that then I'm sure you can find/convince a boutique to hire you, paid or even unpaid. ALSO, keep in mind that recruiting an off-cycle intern is likely not on the minds of any bankers at regional shops right now. You'll have better luck with replies starting next month and in to August.

 

I'm currently in North Carolina but I'm willing to relocate anywhere really. It's great to hear from your experience. How did you proceed to contact the IB to lead to an internship? From what I've seen they usually don't have open applications for off cycle internship. I know that networking can sometimes lead to an offer but additionally did cold emailing work for you or did you do something else? And thank you for the precision, that's what I started to think, June may be a little too early.

 

It was an informal process where a current intern I was good friends with let me know that they were looking for a second intern. So I emailed the contact my resume and went from there. For the second boutique, I reached out to a friend of a friend who worked there, since I now had some experience. The common thread here is obviously the network. Find past interns at local shops or alumni who might work there now. Small shops will likely not have a formal process or info on careers, so don't be afraid to reach out. LinkedIn honestly does have a lot of jobs for them though (I've been looking for FT positions on there). But again, it's the whole timing thing. So I didn't use cold emailing for my off-cycle experience, but it does work. I've used it to get interviews in other cities where I previously had no network and landed at a boutique in NYC, which is where I am for this summer. There's plenty of info on here about how to format cold emails. The key is to not get discouraged and keep polishing your writing, resume, knowledge, etc. North Carolina definitely has a better banking presence than my school's state. Keep working at it. Even though it's early, it doesn't hurt to start now because you can just keep following up throughout the summer months.

 

very rare - typically need to already have built a connection, to have worked there, or go to a school with a program set up already.

i've seen kids network to get one the last month before winter break starts but thats as hard as getting a summer internship in june! if you really want just start calling

 

I did a winter internship. I agree with couchy in that it's rare because unlike in the summer small amount firms have a winter internship program but some smaller firms may be willing to take you on. Best way to go about it is use your connections and try to network to people in the office and ask if you can come on for the winter.

 

Winternships exist at major firms; they are designed for schools which have trimester schedules. That said, they are not publicized and pretty much only take resumes from their target programs.

The best option for something to do over just winter break, however, is to find someone to shadow.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."
 

Afraid I don't have any information about established programs, but I would suggest networking with boutiques to see if you can get them to create something for you. There are a lot of small shops that would be more than willing to take on some cheap/free help and given their size, they have the flexibility to do something like that.

Are you looking for IB specifically?

 

Not to hijack here, but I'm in a similar position (December though). Any tips on maybe playing it a bit less daring and reaching out to smaller PWM firms? I don't mind spending a month doing some bitch work if it lets me network/get some resume padder for better summer internships (I'm a freshman).

And the horse you rode in on
 

Inventore sunt fugit qui animi nesciunt sint. Dolorum iure et et numquam unde ab maiores. Eligendi sed vel tenetur quaerat necessitatibus animi qui.

Iure minus dignissimos aut. Non eum voluptas et. Accusamus minima quae laborum et ad a. Aliquam incidunt reprehenderit rerum voluptatem. Similique vitae non qui quas.

Optio repellat et quia. Similique aut amet eius illum in cupiditate. Et quibusdam molestiae ad qui unde rerum tempore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”