Question: “Unorthodox” Internships that still stand out / are valuable

I was wondering what different internships/experiences people deem to stand out to IB-PE-HF recruiters that might not necessarily be the most prestigious looking, yet they find very valuable.

I keep seeing a lot of stuff about micro-financing and although I secured some decent stuff for myself this summer I am worried about next summer as I already accepted something at a VC but I am not sure how that fits my trajectory. I just don’t want to be left with a “useless” internships or rather internships that big shops see as irrelevant. If anyone here could give a few recommendations of positions/ experience(s) they think are really valuable which might not be the standard “Investment banking summer analyst” I would really appreciate it.

Example I’ve heard about: A work acquaintance had an offer at a biotech startup looking to exit within the next 2 years. They wanted him on the finance side to fully evaluate and analyze the business/options and then work on the exit deal. He didn’t know whether that experience would be as valuable as a more classic route in the eyes of future recruiters. I was of the opinion it could even be more valuable, but now I’m not too sure given that I’ve noticed optics are a massive thing. Which brought me here.

2 Comments
 

You know, I did a lot of random shit, so my CV, if not streamlined, looks like a hot mess. But I probably got more leverage/talking points from my more "out of there" experiences than from, say, my Big 4 audit internship. It's just more interesting to talk about a small-cap VC fund cum prop trading practice than said Big 4 audit internship, and gives you more color. 

That being said, there's a middle ground between useless and boring. Try to find something with a quirk, a twist, but that still signals desirable skills.

...and the Truth shall set you free
 

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