Interning in West Coast as a Canadian Student
Hey everyone! This is my first post, but I've been reading articles here for around two years and wanted to start by asking about doing a summer internship in the US (California preferably).
I'm going into 2nd year and currently attend a Canadian target university with a maths/business dual-degree configuration. Given that my university places extremely well for finance (at least in Canada), I am unsure of how difficult it will be to get an internship in California. My profile will probably be a 3.75-3.85 GPA and relatively strong EC's. And for anyone wondering why I'd like to work in Cali, it's because I can see myself working at a start-up or in venture capital and that seems to be the place to be especially for tech start-ups.
Anyway, here are my questions. 1. I know that my university occasionally send people to LA and SF but I don't know if they get those positions through campus recruitment or whether they seek out the alumni network. Will e-mailing/calling alumni significantly improve my chances and if yes, how early should I start?
Is it essential to do an internship in California and get hired after graduation or do I still have a reasonable shot if I do all my internships in Toronto or NY?
My EC's are going to be: president of a sports club, executive positions in two entrepreneurial clubs and hopefully a small business start-up. I also speak 4 languages (english, german, spanish, french) and was wondering if that's a very strong asset? If it is, I will consider taking 1 or 2 language courses to brush up those skills.
I can also try to join a varsity team with a reasonable chance of making it. Is it worth it, if it could lower my GPA slightly? And what else could I do to improve my resume?
I could do the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) next year. Is it worth it and do Americans even know about it?
Will I need a work Visa to my internship in the US? If yes, will that be difficult to acquire?
Thanks! I've learned so much from these forums and hope that I can do my part to contribute in the future. Nice to meet you all!
Barclay's LA, Credit Suisse LA, and Cantor Fitzgerald's CMBS LA shop has a decent amount of people from top Canadian undergraduate business programs. I would try reaching out to them via email or LinkedIn.
@Redroom thanks, good to know we have a chance as well. anyone else have any insights about my other q's?
The only way you get into west coast IBD as a Canadian is through Ivey, you didn't specify your school, but it sounds like Queens/Ivey to me. If its Queen's or someone else, you have almost no chance.
Assuming you go to Ivey, those banks heavily recruit from campus. That said, you should always be networking and always try to get an upper hand when recruiting comes. Talk to as many people as you can in these shops and you will have better chances, especially if you are worried about your grades or ECs.
FT recruiting is always a crapshoot, if you want to end up in California FT then do your best to get an internship there. If not, its not the end of the world but its just another hurdle you have to jump through
They are good as long as they don't cut into your marks (they don't seem so) and as long as they don't cut into your internship time. Biggest mistake I made in university was over committing to extracurriculars, students think they matter way more than they actually do. Work experience > grades > ECs, but thats just me
Depends on the team but I would say no, unless you are willing to give up all those ECs as well. Having all that on your plate would be tough and would probably make your university experience suck. If you can pull if off more power to you, but I wouldn't do it.
If you are a first or second year you may as well do it to prep for finance courses, if you are anything above I wouldn't worry about it
You will need a Visa, but again, assuming you are at Ivey and you get an offer from an American firm, they'll make it happen and it won't be a problem.
edit: happy to answer any other questions you may have via PM
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