Re-recruiting on a student visa – worth it?
Hey everyone,
I’m an incoming summer analyst at a a mid-tier BB and I’m on an international student visa. Lately I've been stressing every day about full-time return offer rates this year and whether my visa status might impact my chances, even if I perform well.
I’ve been thinking about re-recruiting for another year but to do that, I would need to take a gap year or extend my graduation another way.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation — is it worth re-recruiting given the opportunity cost? Or should I just try to lock in the return offer and hope for the best?
Thanks in advance.
International here who interned at an MM and got a return. I would recommend doing your hardest to perform well but also reach out to other firms. One thing I've learned is never to put your eggs in one basket as an international - you have too much to lose.
Does the firm you are interning at know about your status? In the past have they given returns to international students? I would say that might determine how you look at this summer.
Another intern in my cohort was international and didn't get a return - he delayed his graduation, re-recruited for a different IB summer internship at a regional bank, and seems to be doing well there.
Best case is get the return, so try your hardest but keep options open in the backburner
Hi, I really appreciate the thoughtful response. The firm has given returns to internationals in the past but the incoming summer analyst class has double the amount of internationals than it did historically so that was another point of worry. Do you have any tips on how you prepared for your internship and how you locked in the return offer?
Hmm I would say that u shouldn't be too worried, the firm knew what it was getting itself into and if they've given returns in the past hopefully things shouldn't change. It probably comes down to just whether you get a return outside of the status - if they like you they like you and the visa thing won't matter.
In terms of preparation I did the basic breaking into wall street courses, learned about my coverage, and just generally learned basic excel. Nothing too crazy - but I would recommend you learn as much as you can before your internship
Return wise, honestly for me it just a really good cultural fit. My team had a strong culture that they cared about a lot, and while I wasn't the most technically sound they liked me the most (that's not to say I wasn't good technically, I just wasn't the best). What I saw with other internationals in my group that didn't get returns was that they had a hard time socially/culturally and didn't develop strong relationships with certain An, Ass, and VPs that fought for them. Being a good worker is the baseline, you also need to be likeable. What impressed my partners/MDs however was my knowledge of our coverage. Do a bunch of research/look at the news regarding your coverage before and during the internship
Again this was at a MM, so it might be different at a large BB, but in the end just be likeable and knowledgeable without being a showoff
Hi, just revisiting this thread. Thank you again for all the detail. I've been trying to find resources and ramp on my coverage group (TMT) and was curious if you could give some color into how you were able to display/use your industry knowledge throughout your internship. Was the bulk of that understanding shown in the intern project? Thanks again
Hey I’m an international too and will be recruiting for 2027. Can I dm?
Yep feel free
I’m also an international and will be recruiting for 2027 SA. But it seems like i can’t dm you.
Can’t dm you
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