8 Comments
 

Have you addressed these thoughts with your current bosses? Or any of your mentors?

From a quick skim, you're 1. working for free for 50-60 hours 2. have proven your value 3. have the partners from your firm going to bat for you because they respect you

I don't think they will be particularly offended with you presenting your worries, given the prospect of leaving for a paid internship in what is decidedly your dream. If they want to keep you, they will make that evidently clear when you present this to them.

 

I feel nervous about approaching my bosses but I suppose I could. My mentors have stated that the safer option would be to go with the IB route (if I get the offer). Perhaps I really ought to reach out to them and at least explain I would be leaving due to the fact that I pay my own expenses and a position with money would help pay my student loans. Thank you very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it. +1 SB

 
Best Response

OP, I don't mean to be harsh but you need a bit of a reality check. You genuinely seem like someone with a good drive.

1) You have worked there for only one month. I have worked with a lot of talented interns in my career, after one month none of them were an integral part of the firm and none of them were that after the three months were over. Yes you have some tangentially related experience, but in reality whether it's IB or PE your internship experience is not enough at this point to make a difference.

2) You are unpaid and working 50-60 hours. I have nothing against unpaid internships (I did one myself), but the amount you are working for them is excessive. With a 3.0 at a non-target you should not be working till 2am during finals week for them. Obviously if they are able to raise capital for a fund and have M7 backgrounds the partners aren't hurting for cash. Sounds like they also have a stable of other unpaid interns working for them as well - again nothing wrong with this but you need to think critically about how much they really value you if that is the case.

3) Following up on #2, you are unpaid, and thus if they truly have your best interest at heart then they should 100% support you in getting a paid job in the industry. HR is not going to call your previous employer unless they ask. Again, you have worked there one month and are an unpaid intern - they will not care at all that you are looking for other jobs.

4) Unless they are on the University board, their recommendations will mean basically nothing. MBA programs will want to see recs from your latest employer following 3-4 years of FT experience with promotions. They don't care about an unpaid internship you did 4 years ago.

5) All this leads me to say - get a real IBD internship. Interview for the slots and try to get that experience under your belt. Worst case you don't get anything and continue your fund internship and best case you are on a better track towards real PE in the long run.

 

Quis sit alias possimus corporis. Omnis aut excepturi quia qui voluptatum accusantium. Odit qui temporibus et consequuntur quo. Dolor et recusandae quas architecto. Dolores ut est ullam error. Fuga repudiandae dolore dignissimos iusto occaecati provident.

Architecto in modi sit. Ipsum ut in voluptatum tenetur et. Dolorem consequatur eum eos provident maxime. Consequatur placeat sit qui consequatur doloribus. Sequi id voluptate ipsam facere. Temporibus nemo sequi fuga nisi aliquam ab id. Distinctio assumenda rerum autem error dolores.

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 (66) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”