Can I ask for an unpaid internship?
Hi guys. I am still trying hard to find an internship this summer - though it's pretty late. I contacted 20+ local firms but only one firm replied. The MD said he can talk with me over the phone but he will not hire an intern. I assume he refers the paid internship. I really want to learn something during the summer and I don't care if it is paid or not. I am wondering can I ask him during the phone call like "Do I have the opportunity to help with some small things over the summer on an unpaid basis"? Appreciate any advice
Can't hurt. My friend got his summer internship by practically begging this one VP to come in each day. The man finally obliged. My friend was told he could come in part time, unpaid. By the end of the summer he was the firm's go to intern, was paid and working full time. What do you have to lose? Show some hustle!
I got a sophomore IB internship this way. It was May of my sophomore year and I still didn't have an internship. I emailed all of my alumni in IB with a subject line saying I would do unpaid work as an intern. After hearing many rejections or no responses (even after following up multiple times), one MD at a small boutique finally responded saying that he loved my hunger and courage.
Because of that internship experience, I was able to secure a job in IB.
offer an OTPHJ
Dissenting opinion, if your time is so worthless that you'll work for free, why do I want you?
It's not nice to say, but the reality is that as an intern, you're probably a net negative to the firm, in that someone has to teach you and spend time getting you sorted. I don't know that I'd hire someone so desperate that they'll work for free, so it's possible that other people might have a similar opinion.
I guess the answer here is going to be specific to how small the shop is.
Moved from a BB to a boutique. When we were at the BB, we went through a tonne of interns, because we needed to keep hiring so many first year analysts, and you don't mind training up some kids that you won't hire, because you need to train all the kids you will hire.
At the boutique, we have made a decision that we won't have interns, partially, because we aren't going to hire them. The partners have made a decision that hiring anyone below Analyst 3 or Assoc 1 would be value destructive. Since we aren't going to hire an intern as an analyst, we aren't going to spend the time to train and develop them.
Whoa. 100% disagree with this advice. How many unpaid interns did you see at your BB? I'm guessing zero. If one was there, they were there illegally.
I've worked for many large companies. Fact of the matter is, there are strict requirements as to what work an unpaid intern can and can't do. For this reason, most big firms (ESPECIALLY financial firms) have strict rules against unpaid interns, they figure they might as well just pay them and not worry about some rogue team violating the rules.
Additionally, big shops place a lot of respect in their timelines and process for interns and there are controls in place to keep the process fair. Having 20 interns in an office who busted their ass in recruiting turn around to see an unpaid intern who showed up last minute is not good for their reputation.
If I were the OP, I honestly would focus 100% of my time on small, local shops in this situation. Yeah, you're right, some small firms won't want to deal with the hassle. But none of the big firms really can.
It's still going to be a hustle to find someone to take you on for free (it's a bit of a legal gray area, as you can see above, and as "overpaid" stated it's also a hassle to train an intern, especially one you know probably isn't going to stay).
I'd start with family friends that have their own small firms if possible.
PWM is a good option that is a stepping stone towards banking and tends to have a lot of small local players. You might file for a summer but it looks good on a resume. Just like for IB, ignore the brand names, you want the 5 person shops with an office at the corner of main street.
Search funds are probably your best bet. These are 1-2 man "PE" shops that are typically run by former employers of investment banks and private equity firms. This is one part of the industry that definitely takes on free interns for the summer, will focus on training you, and they tend to be willing to help you network in IB for your next internship since they don't have capacity to pay for full time help (that's not a bad thing, but this isn't the place to explain what a search fund is).
The point is that interns add virtually zero value. Analyst and Associates "waste" their time setting aside tasks for interns to do, that they then they wait and have to comb through the work, when in reality they could've done the task in an hour that may take an intern an afternoon to do. Offering to work for free shows you want to be there, and are willing to get any experience possible. Not everyone goes to a target, but some people want to work in IB badly enough to say that they will give up their time in order to learn the process.
If you don't believe that an intern's time is valueless, read Liar's Poker (I am sure you already have). Lewis mentions that during his first year at Lehman (If I recall correctly) he spent the majority of his time essentially sitting behind bankers and traders taking notes and learning how to tackle the role. Most bankers need 6 months to a full year in order to start adding value and to stop "wasting space". So then, how is a 19 year old going to surpass a college grad and start immediately adding value? They won't. Hence, why they offer to work for experience, which as every single person in investment banking will tell you, is worth far more than the 10-15 grand for a 10 week summer analyst stint anyways. People who are truly hungry will do whatever it takes to learn. I have friends who worked 2 jobs, 80 hours a week, in order to intern, unpaid, part time, at a PE fund while simultaneously doing dishes to make ends meat. Does that sound like someone you would want to hire? Maybe it's my bias here, but I sure as hell would give that kid an interview or an opportunity to learn in exchange for free work.