FP&A intern —> IB / CB?

Hi all,I start a year long internship in FP&A at a big pharma (Pfizer/J&J/Roche) this June, but I want to pursue Corporate or Investment Banking.

I got a Commercial Banking internship offer this year, but chose to pursue this placement year as it will give me the opportunity to reapply for 2023 IB SA's.

My question is, how can I best leverage what I will/can learn from this experience to give my self the best chances in IB recruiting.

More specifically, I am in the EMEA Technology Operating Expenses team as a Junior P/L Analyst.Thanks for any comments.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Feels unlikely that the skills picked up will translate all that well to IB from a junior P/L analyst (esp on opex). From what I have seen in my experience in FP&A, larger orgs appear to provide less financial modeling exposure than smaller orgs, at least early on (models in the traditional sense ie. LBO/DCF). Larger orgs are typically more disaggregated so you get siloed. You will likely be working on models that someone else designed that do a very specific thing (ie. Roll up a very specific input, forecast a very specific GL item). Smaller orgs tend to have fewer resources so an FP&A analyst may have some hope to work on some M&A/project finance models or might be working on broader internal operating/valuation models.

That might/might not be exciting news for you. I would focus on making sure your excel/ppt skills are in order. Pay attention to the people who run meetings well/communicate well. If you meet former bankers (which you should in a good corp finance shop) pick their brain about their experience. Take trainings in your free time (which you certainly have more of in FP&A than in IB) to make sure you don’t have technical leaks and make sure you are networking. Since you have income for the summer this should expand your budget for these activities a little bit.

One piece of advice I have is that you should not try and turn this into an IB internship. Enjoy it for what it is. Enjoy the hours, etc. and use it as time to see if you like this type of work. Treat this as a unique experience and not a stepping stone. The only way you can spin this as an advantage or unique experience in an interview is if you embrace it and do a good job. Be where your feet are.

Hope this helps.

 

Laudantium ipsam qui qui consequatur. Ipsum est culpa voluptatem similique error eius architecto qui. Omnis cupiditate perspiciatis error cupiditate voluptates ea dolor. Voluptas occaecati et delectus mollitia perspiciatis nihil at. Doloribus voluptatum delectus facere delectus dolorum quasi.

Et aut ab aut ut officia deleniti. Magni velit aperiam iure nihil itaque nesciunt. Animi et autem eius repellat sit. Consequuntur praesentium voluptate dolores nihil et exercitationem. Cum vel laborum at sunt rerum eum. Quos tempora iusto aut beatae sed corrupti.

Neque eos ipsa dolor amet. Laborum repellat repudiandae aliquid quos soluta. Beatae voluptatibus dolores nostrum nesciunt praesentium. Eum exercitationem labore sunt incidunt. Dolorum nemo repellendus cumque. Maiores quia ut adipisci et odit odit.

Nihil eveniet eum a ea eos. Et ut omnis at. Eius sunt officiis magnam et non illum vel.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”