Need Internship Advice !
What's up everyone? I one day wish on becoming an investment banker for a firm in Wall Street. I just finished my freshmen year at college and really want an internship. Although the chances of me getting one this far into summer break are slim I definitely want one next summer. What should I begin to do now in order for me to gain experience and land an internship next summer?
Your advice is greatly appreciated, Thank You !!!
stats?
Network with alumni from your school. It's all it takes.
Thanks for the advice! I recently had breakfast with a professor of mine who was very well accomplished and successful in Wall Street. I want him to be my mentor, how do you think I should go about getting him to mentor me?
I don't know how it works in the US. In Australia it would be tough to get IB internship before your penultimate year. However, my advice: get excellent grades, read financial news, learn about investment banking, network, and pick up a part time job that is somehow related to IB or finance/business.
Follow up with questions and let him know that you would like to keep in touch bc you think he's a great guy with a ton of knowledge that you could benefit from. Professors are humans too.
unless u're a physics profesor those guys r cultists
There should be a Merrill Lynch wealth management office somewhere in your town - or at least some sort of branch for a bulge bracket's wealth management division. Call them up and tell them that you'd like to work for them as an intern over the summer. You're probably not going to get paid, but it's one of the best things you can do as a freshman to show some experience in finance.
It could also be worth it to do some kind of industry work. I worked in IT consulting my freshman summer, completely unrelated to IBD. But it gave me a really good grasp of enterprise computing, cloud technologies, big data, outsourced IT services, etc. I was then able to speak intelligently with a lot of tech bankers on the rationale and strategic decisions as to why they recommended/pitched certain deals to clients. (Protip: do not ask the Qatalyst guys about the HP/Autonomy deal) A friend of mine worked in Chesepeake energy's accounting department and got a good grasp of the energy industry that differentiated him from many of the other would be wannabe bankers as well. Most WSO posters will likely advise you to pursue something strictly within finance, but this is also an option.
Also start reading books on investing - even if your goal is IBD - because eventually your goal will likely become PE/HF unless you really just love pitching and closing deals. I recommend Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman, Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt, the Intelligent Investor by Benjaman Graham, and The Essays of Warren Buffet: Lessons for Corporate America (collection of his berkshire letters, great reads). For a macro understanding/figuring out what traders do (which is important to understand) - read Inside the House of Money by Steven Drobny and Market Wizards by Jack Schwager. Subscribe to the WSJ and begin reading it daily (don't obsess or take notes, just read and you'll develop a good financial sense over time) as well as The Economist (though some posters may debate its worth).
Finally, begin reaching out to alumni and forming relationships. You're early so you don't have to be annoying and ask them for a job. Ask them about how they got involved in the industry, their career paths, etc. People love talking about themselves, especially bankers.
Thank you for the advice I really appreciate it. My roommate's father is the CFO of a company by my house. During the semester I asked my roommate to ask his father if he can help me with an internship or any type of experience. His father told me to send him my resume by a certain date to see what he can do for me. This was all happening around the same time as finals therefore I was unable to send him my resume by the deadline because I was studying. This was completely my fault and I don’t want to make any excuses. About a month ago I reached out to my roommate again and, after talking to his father they said they would contact me by the end of the week. I have yet to hear from them and didn’t even get to send them my resume. What should I do? Should I reach out to them once more or should I just play it cool because regardless he’s my roommate for this upcoming year and I can speak to his father move in day.
It's barely the end of the week - give it a bit more, your roommate's father is running a company and you may not be very high on the priority list. If you don't hear back by next week, shoot your roommate an email and ask him if his dad needs your resume, etc.
This was about a month ago, and I still haven't heard back. Should I continue pursuing it now or wait until thanksgiving or winter break to ask for another opportunity. I don't want to come off as annoying by constantly asking them right now.
Next time you reach out for help, always attach your resume by default. Tell them it's to "give them a brief background." Unless you have something lined up for the rest of the summer, I'd bother bothering them one more time.
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