Is a small IB firm a good freshman summer gig?
Context about me: rising soph at target school (Ivy+), 1 search fund internship, international student (India), non-diverse
Planning to recruit for IB. I've been applying to a lot of LMM PE and VC internships that pop up here and there.
1. I wanted to know how much better (if it is better) a middle-market INDIAN boutique IB internship would be. I've been doing some research on firms around me and I think I can get one. NOT nepotism, so I am assuming the work I will be assigned won't only be pointless grunt work.
2. I have heard some seniors at my college say that international internships aren't worth much as recruiters know most of them are nepo (most Indian international students I know who are interning in India are all at the Big 4, Indian offices of MM/BB IB shops, MBB), so would doing it at a small middle market firm in India be worthless?
3. Another senior told me the keywords investment banking looks good on my resume, it'll end up as a net negative as the banks will apparently hold me to a higher standard during the recruiting process.
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I know that search fund internships are kind of pointless because everyone knows it's just grunt work. LMM PE is also basically the same -- it's the same work but at a bigger fund.
If I can land a tech VC gig I would 100% rather do that, but assuming I don't, what should I do?
I would greatly appreciate any advice you guys have.
Thanks a lot
Also rising sophomore here so take with a grain of salt. Regarding your point about international internships, I think it’s only partially true. When a kid gets an MBB offer after freshman year, either they are 1. So cracked tf out of their mind that some partner they networked with was able to take a chance on them (signaling quality) or 2. Nepo. So when you get MBB/Big4 international, there is little assumption that you got it from anything else but nepo. You lose that signaling of quality because of the nepo assumption. You can still have some amazing experiences at international firms and gain real talking points from them, but nobody will assume that you got it from being resourceful, competitive, or being a high quality candidate.
My personal advice - if you’re presented with an offer from a US firm in VC/MM PE I would recommend you take it. If you think that the impact you have on the Indian firm will be a more tangible a significant contribution, however, take the Indian firm.
And you can still definitely find more opportunities. My original freshman summer didn’t pan out so I had to re-recruit again around the start of June. I’m currently sitting on 5 active offers from various boutique IB firms and have more calls lined up this week. Keep your head up and don’t stop searching. Best of luck.
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