Need ideas for last minute internship

Long story short:

I was promised an internship, and got screwed over at the last minute.

Long story long:

My intention was to intern at the Dallas Fed this summer, and a former "staff member" (and one of my professors - I can't say more without getting him/me in trouble) assured me he could get me an internship this summer. I applied in November/December at the Dallas Fed, as well as Atlanta, NY, etc. (not to mention the myriad of gov't soup agencies: SEC, FDIC, OMB, etc.)

Unfortunately, Donald Trump won at around the same time, and promptly announced a federal hiring freeze across all levels of government.

I have just received word from the last government agency that I did NOT get the position. As there are no possible government internships I can get, my fallback is a high finance position. Now I have spent the last few days trying desperately to find anything from search fund to IBD. The closest thing I got was a call-back from a real estate developer for a financial analyst position.

If anyone has a list of micro-boutiques, boutiques, search funds. etc. for me to send out cold calls/ email blasts that would be great. Emphasis on the Houston market, or Austin, but can travel throughout the continental US - its just that I have no contacts outside of the south.

Gen. Info: I am a third year Econ. Major at UT Austin (the target for Houston P&E). I was a finance major at a non-target in Houston, but transferred out. My GPA was 3.8+ at non-target, now a 3.6+ at UTA (working on that).

10-year plan: Earn Ph.D. in Economics from top 5 school, and move to Prop. Firm/HF. To get into such a program, I need more industry experience (in IBD) or at a FED branch bank (or so my profs. tell me).

Any suggestions would be appreciated, but a list to cold-call would be a godsend. Thanks in advance.

102 Comments
 

What would you recommend instead? I've been told that the higher level quant work requires more math and modeling experience than an undergrad would be exposed to ( I've been supplementing my math education with multivariable, diff eq, etc) and although I'm well above average at maths, I'm no Euler, and probably coulndn't keep up in a top-tier math PhD program. (I have no chance at Physics or CS due to lack of background).

Do you think an MFE would be better?

Array
 

UT-Austin career services able to help you out? I'd imagine they would have a list of alumni and could possibly broker a call/meeting.

Otherwise, I would recommend scouring LinkedIn and then reaching out.

 

I've been in contact with an alumni (recruiter) at BAML houston office about a summer internship for summer 2018, but don't think he can help for this summer. Career services gave me his email, but that was the best they had this late in the game.

Array
 

At one point I was in a similar position, between my sophomore and junior years as an undergraduate. I would hustle and try to cold call finance firms in your area (I have tried cold emailing and nobody ever responds - so don't email), and just keep going until you get something. I ended up getting lucky by winding up a very small investment office that was actually a pretty good experience / resume talking point. But that's what luck is - where hard work meets opportunity (a famous quote). Just keep at it. I started that job in probably mid June and worked for 5 weeks - no need to work all summer. Keep at it till you get SOMETHING.

Good luck!

 

What did you say when you called, and which types of firms did you target/how did you research them? It's the 20th of June and I'm desperate for a summer finance related internship because I want to quit my current one (analytics at a startup)

 

Agree with both of the above posts- you need some finance related experience. Period. In fact, as soon as you lock something down for the summer, you should be getting ready for recruiting for full time. (assuming you want IB, ER, or AM) Note: Do not focus so much on FT recruiting that you don't get a return offer, it is super important to get that for leverage.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

You can go on LinkedIn and look for companies in "Investment Banking" with 1-10 employees. That will give you a good list. Also if you have access to Capital IQ or something similar then you can do the same and might find some more.

 

PM me your cold email template. I was in the same situation as you and emailed probably 600-700 people. Led to about 15-20 interested replies. About 10 phone calls. 5 Informal interviews. 3 or 4 Phone interviews. I have a superday for a MM bank in NYC (unpaid).

If you get nothing I would go abroad or some shit to make yourself interesting lol

 

To answer your question, yes it is probably too late but you have solid experience. Go volunteer or take a mission trip or something.

 

I may not ask my old boss because somebody else has the position (in hindsight, I should have kept it...). Anyways, I'm still putting my resume all over the place on many job boards so hopefully I get some sort of feedback. My phone interview and real interview skills are fine, it was only one or two places that didn't follow up.

 

If you want a good internship..yes. You are still better off applying to anyone that will accept your application at this point to get some sort of experience but you will not get an internship that will be a resume maker.

 

BB like Goldman, JP, Morgan S, Citi, BAML are done.. some opt are still open though, not bad if you just wanna work and get paid for the summer :)

Signs of Recession: Banker: “Where’s me Bonus?” Yuppie: “Whadya mean I have to actually work?” Fox Rock Mum: “Lidl’s the place to be seen in now!” Cowen: “It’s not my fault that me and my party are complete f**k-ups - it’s the recession silly!”
 

for bulge brackets, yes it's too late. but the big 4 recruiting for sophomore will start later in the semester and the boutiques will also start looking for interns soon so you can still shoot for those.

 

To the OP, if you are at a non target, your chances are quite a bit lower if you keep waiting. While they havent filled their classes, they are reserving them for ONLY target schools. In some banks, with the subprime mess, they are reserving a higher proportion I believe for target schools (senior alumni at a BB told me).

 
GardnerExpress

does anyone mind listing possible target schools?

it's not listed anywhere and i was hoping to get an idea what they are specifically

thanks!

Does the bank recruit at your school for front office positions?  If it does, you are at a target for that bank.  If it doesn't, well...you get the picture.  NETWORK

 
 

PM me, maybe I can help you.

You choices are going to depend on what you like to do. Ops tends to be non customer facing, kind of repetitive tasks.

Accounting ebbs and flows according to tax season, audits, etc. Good area to start though since you really learn about companies from the inside out and a lot of accounting is transferable to IB if you decide to get a MBA.

Commercial banking, well you can do a ton of stuff within that space. A good place to start is as a credit analyst.

 

Why can't you stay on with the BB?

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I was in the same situation you are and ended up getting a pwm internship at a boutique a week ago. Not sure how much it will help but at least it is something!

 

You may not even have to cold-call - I think plenty of good places are still looking for PWM interns. Look around and do some searching. All things considered, don't kill yourself over it; you're a freshman and have some time to work things out. And if you'll be in a major city such as NYC, you have plenty of opportunity to find something relevant to what you want to do.

Right now, your best options would be to network, search up internships on job boards, and cold email and cold call as many places as you can.

in it 2 win it
 

if by 'save' you mean 'wait', then absolutely not. keep your contacts thinking about you, by staying active.

I recommend hitting him up asap to catch up / discuss next moves (and hint at him giving you a hand)

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

Perferendis quis quaerat repellat adipisci. Ut numquam labore dolorem suscipit architecto dolor omnis. Ea eos et porro amet repellendus dolor architecto.

Harum omnis voluptatem sed. Sint impedit iusto aut nihil omnis consequuntur assumenda. Voluptatibus illo sed ut. Quo temporibus voluptatum voluptas expedita. Ducimus dolores totam aliquid quisquam cupiditate.

Maxime quia autem deleniti ab ipsum et. Soluta impedit consequuntur voluptas aliquam vel eligendi. Molestiae dolor ut cum blanditiis sit. Provident consequatur voluptas velit qui aut.

Fuga sint ducimus unde. Adipisci deserunt voluptatum et a inventore. Debitis dolore sint est ut dolore. Tempora sed sint vero autem. Quos omnis et et enim est. Reiciendis nemo doloribus id quia debitis occaecati unde corporis. Numquam nostrum officia minus earum in quasi ab.

 

Id alias consequatur autem autem recusandae explicabo veritatis rerum. Porro qui est explicabo omnis autem voluptatibus esse quibusdam. Nobis sint cum adipisci dolore nostrum. Voluptas facilis a velit delectus nemo occaecati eveniet. Rerum odit ab perferendis aspernatur. Sequi et vel sunt aspernatur eius atque.

Reiciendis dolor porro ut exercitationem. Et iure pariatur commodi blanditiis aliquam rerum. Possimus vel ex voluptas quaerat omnis quo. Occaecati facere ea laboriosam maxime accusamus non rerum saepe. Magni iste fugiat voluptatem accusantium nisi aut molestiae.

Facilis libero voluptatem aut blanditiis et at quam. Voluptas sed voluptatum veniam cupiditate. Est omnis facere libero quia perspiciatis quo. Dolor veritatis et error deserunt quae tempore sit.

Aperiam illo sunt et qui dolores. Enim eum deserunt aut est. At et et enim corrupti.

 

Consequatur aut sequi omnis odit soluta repudiandae non. Sequi aut nisi est ullam voluptas. Et et sit placeat consequatur neque. Perferendis tenetur aperiam quae cupiditate et excepturi temporibus. Magni qui nihil eveniet quia quas expedita. Maxime mollitia sed error aliquam doloremque ipsa est.

Veritatis qui qui optio minima optio quod necessitatibus. Et quos adipisci iure sunt et optio at.

Recusandae velit itaque sit consequuntur dignissimos unde incidunt autem. Aperiam consectetur asperiores quia eligendi ut veritatis et molestias. Aut deleniti quasi optio quas animi quis.

The way Ah see it, is that it took a revolution f a bihllion people for your darn short to work out!

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (56) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”