Pre-College Summer

As summer fast approaches I wonder how best to spend it to build a solid resume. I've heard that the earlier you start, the better. Should I cold email finance professionals in my area and try to get some real hands-on experience even if it's just a summer internship? I took the Wall Street Prep Intro to Excel course, so maybe I wouldn't be totally useless. My school has a well-established network in my area too, so maybe those alumni might be the first people I reach out to. 

Or alternatively, I could just get a regular job this summer and not stress on finance as much. Enjoy my summer with little responsibility before I lock in at college. I'm aware there's an army of kids like me looking to break into IB, so wouldn't it be in my best interest to get as much experience as I can as soon as I can? Any thoughts or advice on how I should spend my pre-college summer?

5 Comments
 

I was a hardo like you who landed an EB role. Just do something outside of finance that makes you more interesting and begin reading Rosenbaum & Pearl. If you start at a non-target/semi-target, try to get ready for transfer app to target schools, which then having a normal job is better for admissions. 

 

An ideal role would be trying to see if you could be a financial planning or financial policy intern for your local congressman/woman. Sometimes they take a bunch of interns (not necessarily in finance) because things are unstructured, so I would start by sending letters and emails to people at his or her office expressing interest.

 

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