Firms to avoid
At this point (November/December) a couple of years ago, I started reaching out to small and boutique firms in New York to try to find a summer internship after I struck out during normal recruiting. Yes, an internship is better than no internship, but here are a few firms (mainly discussed previously on WSO) that are not worth your time.
Harvey & Co - merchant bank that “researches” companies to pitch them to do deals, doesn’t do any itself
Tobin & Co - unpaid intern / full-time, plenty of threads on this (hi @TOBINCO)
Blackmore Partners (PE) - unpaid intern / full-time. Leeches off of other deals
Alpha Capital Partners - 1 man shop that sells BS “professional development programs” and doesn’t do anything
Atleutian Capital - markets deals but doesn’t work on any
Daroth Capital - cold calling only
Good luck out there and keep grindin'. There are plenty of reputable boutiques that aren't these shops. Feel free to add more if you know more.