Networking - Not a very big alumni network

See if you have any family or friends on Wall St. Even friends of friends of friends. If you are at a non target, but you're doing well, they may be responsive. Anyone you can talk to in the industry. Consider talking to people in other branches of Wall St. and perhaps doing an internship in PWM or some other area that can give you experience, get you recommendations, and expand your network to hopefully include some people in the area you are interested in. If you do an internship in another area, make sure to talk to people in the IB part of the firm and let them know that you are interested.

Agree with the above post in addition to making the most of your chances. It's important to also not make mistakes. For example, if you sent an email misspelling "Jefferies" as you did above, that could literally be the end of the process.

You build your network by attending as many events/conferences/happy hour get-togethers as possible. The WSO Conference is a great start :)

Think about S&T, at least as a start. Consider joining trade organizations such as the Security Traders Association. Google them. They should have a chapter near you.

Since when was Jefferies an elite boutique?

also, consider using LinkedIn and looking for people who work at the bank you want to intern at, send them an inMail if you have a premium account or a connection request with a brief text explaining why you're connecting (the optional part not many people use).

I went to a non-target for undergrad. I recommend that you reach out to lawyers and accountants who went to your school. Many of them particularly in big/mid-law and at Big 4/mid-sized accounting firms will have connections to either banks or sponsors. Also leverage your church/synagogue/temple, speak to your religious leader if you're religious. Also just reach out cold. I did it and it worked reasonably well.

Like others said, attend industry events. Walk up to who you want to meet, shake their hand and state your name then ask some questions. If the convo goes well, ask for their business card and if you can follow up with them or schedule a meeting.

If this sounds salesy, it's because you are selling yourself. A network can be built from scratch by just getting in front of the right people and getting to know them.

Just make sure you don't talk about yourself because, regardless of what you think you've accomplished, nobody cares.