Put off applying to internships for the sake of my GPA?
I am hoping to recruit for investment banking and asset management internships for summer 2021. Currently have a 3.48, but I expect it to go up to a 3.55 after this semester and I am taking summer courses due to my internship being canceled and expect it to be slightly above a 3.6 after the summer. However, I know that investment banks are already recruiting for summer 2021. As a result, is it better to put off applying until the fall when my GPA has improved? Or should I wait until the end of the semester, or start now? Also for some additional information I attend UC Berkeley.
don’t put it off. your gpa is barely going to change, but you can still get in with that. I know of people who have gotten into IB with a 3.0, just takes great networking. n
Also when it comes time for interviewing, you will bring your updated resume which will have the gpa boost with u
Don’t put it off. You will still get interviews with a 3.5/3.6, you will just have to network extra hard. If you want to wait to formally apply online that’s fine, but don’t wait to reach out to analysts and start getting your name out there.
Thanks for the advice! Given the current situation with COVID-19, I fear that events such as career fairs and information sessions will be canceled/become virtual. How do you recommend I go about speaking to current analysts?
Email Berkeley alumni and ask for a phone call
Yeah definitely going to see a lot of events go virtual or get cancelled. Banks still need talent though so there will be recruiting activities in some form or fashion. I feel bad for you guys having to go through that right now but you just have to dig in and work extra hard.
People will still be near their phones tough so analyst calls are certainly not out of the question. Not sure what the process is like at your school but obviously try to stay in the loop with any finance clubs that might forward recruiting emails to their members. As usual, reaching out to alumni is probably the best way to learn more about a firm and get your name out there simultaneously. Depending on your situation though you may be forced to turn to cold-messaging on LinkedIn (which has a much lower success rate).
Another piece of advice I'd offer is once you have a successful call with an analyst at bank X, make sure you ask them politely if there's anyone else in the group they would recommend you speak to (because you'd love to continue learning more about the group and hearing from some of the other group members...). If that conversation doesn't come up naturally, mention that in your follow up email and they will put you onto somebody else. This allows you to speak with multiple bankers in the same group without having to generate a new connection via linkedIn or cold alumni emails every time you want to talk to somebody.
Edit: I just re-read the original post and realized you attend UC Berkeley. There should be plenty of finance clubs and alumni networking opportunities. Maybe somebody who goes there or an alum could comment more specifically on that.
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