Asking for Signing Bonus Early
Don't want to out myself, so this is a throw away account.
I'm currently wrapping up my senior year and start on the desk in a few months, at which time I'll receive my signing bonus. My predicament is that the place that I interned at last summer (non-bank) through now has brought on a new summer analyst and doesn't need me anymore (I don't think they were happy that I continued to interview after receiving a return). That being the case, I have no money coming in and will be broke w/in a month. I don't mean regular college student broke, I mean zero in the bank account and a family that is incapable of floating me broke.
Given this, as a last resort, I'm considering asking for my signing bonus early. Is this a bad idea, is it unheard of for a bank to give an early signing bonus, and does it damage my perception w/ the firm? I have no idea whether or not it's a possibility, but I do worry about looking like a schmuck and hate the idea of having to tell someone at the firm that I'm broke and essentially put myself at their mercy.
I'm a bit confused - were you going to intern for your old firm prior to starting with your FT job? Why not just get a part time job. Go valet cars for the summer. I'd be surprised if they handed you the money before you start.
I interned for my current firm from junior summer until last week and start at the bank FT in a few months (on-cycle start timeline). I'm looking for something part-time right now, but by the time I'd potentially get hired, I'd only be available to do the part-time job for 1-1.5 months. I'm banking on it being tough to find someone who'd be willing to take me on that short term of a basis.
You would be surprised. Service industry folks churn through people like crazy. Just be open and honest that youre only looking for very short term. The process doesnt take that long either. Submit app, follow up, interview, and start training next day.
I agree with the above - the hospitality industry especially has a lot of jobs available. Just tell them you're looking for a summer job. A position that can be tipped (e.g valet) is probably better for your situation. Back in high school I worked for Towne Park. They put you in a panel interview with the managers of each respective property that needs workers, and if they like you they'll pick you, and sometimes you can pick from multiple
I would refrain from asking for it early. Could be a red flag to them. I would just try and get a part time job, or if you have the credit apply for a short term loan/cc to bridge the gap. Assuming you just graduated, banks are dying to have new customers sign up and throw credit like crazy.
When i graduated (granted I had already established a credit history of 4 years) I had banks throwing 10-20k my way. 20 year oldsgraduates are perfect credit targets because they are dumb enough to spend it and still have the earnings potential to pay it off down the line. Just don't use more than you need and you should be good until the bonus arrives. (which is usually 2-3 weeks after start and appears on first paycheck)
nevermind
If this is a large bank then it'd be really hard to imagine they'd break policy because you ask. If they hypothetically did, it would be because someone had to pull a lot of bureaucratic strings for you, which means you're trying to use up a lot of goodwill that you haven't yet earned. You worry this could damage your reputation? It definitely could.
You're saying asking your employer for a favor is a last resort... so you've already hustled your butt off looking for a part time job and gotten hundreds of rejections? You've gone to a bank and asked for a loan? You've done the math on how much you could put on a credit card to get you through the next few months?
This isn't your last resort. This sounds like your laziest resort. It won't reflect well on you.
get a credit card, most of them have intro 0% rates for the first 12-15 months. make the minimum payment for a few months and pay the balance off when you start work. may not get you through work entirely but at least 2-5K as essentially an interest free loan
This is the answer-get a 0% credit card if you only need a couple months. It’s near the equivalent of getting a signing bonus early.
Work in retail/hospitality for the duration and get a credit card. You'll be fine I guess.
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