Online Investment Banking Internship - Thoughts?

So I'm doing an online investment banking internship.

Here's the full description I got once I started doing it.

In general, this internship will last 3 months, will be fully online, and will simulate the experience of being an M&A professional.
Each Friday, you will have to submit an assignment or report your progress, depending on the instructions for that week.

In the first weeks, we will ease you into the M&A experience.
Once you have shown that you are settled, we will provide you tasks that range from:
examining case studies and closing hypothetical deals
researching actual companies for potential M&A opportunities
creating a thesis as to why these companies are candidates for a merger or an acquisition
actually contacting the companies you believe will show interest and offer your thesis
We believe this will be a very unique learning experience and look forward to seeing how you perform.
Best of luck!

It's a boutique investment bank sponsoring the internship. I am in contact with the banks info@emailaddress and each week they send me an assignment.

I just have a couple questions. Is it a known thing for some investment banks to do this? How credible will this look to a recruiter/interviewer? How can I put it on my resume without giving the wrong idea?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

15 Comments
 
Best Response

This is not a known thing that banks do. I think most recruiters will be skeptical about the experience if you described it on your resume the way you've described it to us.

Per Licked's comment, I would include it in the resume under employment history, but don't mention that it was completely online. If it's readily obvious that this internship could only be done remotely (i.e. the bank is in State A, and you live in State B 500 miles away), I would spin it and say you did have to telecommute for significant amounts of time, and explain why the arrangement was done (maybe you couldn't commit to the necessary 30 hours a week in the office, and so an arrangement was made so that you would remote in).

You can turn this into something very interesting. Most people don't remote into the office during their internship, and showing that you would be willing to do it even during an internship may reflect well on your sense of responsibility over your work.

--Death, lighter than a feather; duty, heavier than a mountain
 

This looks a bit... odd. How big is the boutique. From reading your description, it looks like the work is a mix of them just teaching you about the M&A process (doesn't really count) and you helping source deals for them.

Even though most guys here are pretty negative about the internship, I think it can be valuable to you if you spin it well. See if you can work with the boutique to get guidance on creating some quality pitch books for the companies you contact. That would be useful.

 

How is learning the M&A process not relevant and "doesn't really count"?

However, I agree with you that it all depends on how you spin this.

Op, if the question arises if it was online then be honest about it. If not, just speak about your experience and sell yourself based on the value add you brought to your boutique.

edit: is this alpha capital?

 

It doesn't count as in I wouldn't put it on a resume. It makes the internship look like a joke where you get homework assignments instead of adding value to the company, which is why I urged OP to focus on the client sourcing aspect of his internship and working on some good pitch books.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for the response. I don't pay them at all, the internship is a program they're doing with my school's career center. The bank is located in the same City as me so it's not anything remote.

I've only started it 3 weeks ago so initially the assignments are broad like learning m&a jargon and terms, then it starts narrowing it down into researching companies that would be good for a merger or acquisition, then explaining in further rational why, etc.

 

I've decided I'm going to stick with it because it could help at least partially differentiate me from other candidates for jobs. Any ideas on how I could put it on my resume?

 

Reiciendis illo delectus recusandae rerum modi. Dolorem aut numquam provident earum. Velit repellat itaque inventore. Voluptatem id quia qui voluptas veritatis quae in. Ab id aut cum et facere. Ex minima laborum repellat sit quam mollitia omnis.

Praesentium nihil perspiciatis explicabo error necessitatibus asperiores necessitatibus eligendi. Vel nam totam molestiae ipsum adipisci. Voluptatum adipisci dolor autem quia vel autem veritatis. Iusto rerum omnis facilis laboriosam nulla aut.

Est fugit sint tempora quia et enim. Cupiditate molestiae possimus aut et sit velit laborum. Et unde nulla natus aliquam.

Consequatur laudantium rerum eveniet dolorem dignissimos. Reprehenderit alias iure aut aut reprehenderit pariatur. Sed dolorem enim voluptatem eligendi voluptatibus. Eveniet sit modi similique autem voluptas quos.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”