Another boutique IB internship or work at a bigger name firm for FT IB recruiting?

Just was curious if a 2nd boutique IB internship would be worth it or if I should target a more well known firm in a non-IB role. Currently have a 1x boutique IB internship with transaction experience and was wondering if another IB internship would be worth it for FT recruiting this summer/fall.

 

I did one boutique my sophomore summer, wealth management junior year, then a lower mm shop my junior summer. Went through FT recruiting and was invited to processes at all the BB's except JPM/GS/MS (weren't recruiting for FT in my city), Centerview, Jefferies, PWP, Wells, and a bunch of boutiques. Networking made the difference though. I'd suggest going with the boutique IB and really focus on crushing it there. Make sure your technical skills are beyond proficient and network heavily. You'll get invited to superdays as long as they're looking for analysts.

 
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Started with one, leveraged the connection to get an intro to a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. Usually stopped at person 5 or 6. With DB I spoke with every junior guy on the desk. CVP was three guys, PWP two, Wells five, BAML ten, etc. Basically you want to speak with enough guys on the desk that when they ask you why XYZ firm you can say "well after speaking with ................ the firm's culture of ..............." really stood out vs. "well I've read a lot about the firm's culture of ............." for example. Also, if you stand out as someone multiple people on the desk like, there's a much higher likelihood of getting roped into processes.

In my case, the guys I spoke with at BAML and DB asked me to stay in touch if I want to lateral down the line. You never know when those connections can come in handy.

 

I've been through similar situations. This is what I did: after speaking with someone over the phone/in person I'd make sure to mention how much I valued culture when figuring out if a firm was the right fit for me, then at the end of the call I'd ask if they'd be open to connecting me with a colleague as I'd love to learn more about the firm. More often than not they'd say yes. Then I'd shoot them a follow up email after the call thanking them for their time and for the introduction to a colleague. If I didn't hear back after three days I'd send one more follow up thanking them for taking the time to make the intro and that I looked forward to connecting with other members of the team.

 

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