Rising Junior at Target: Too Late to Join IB Recruiting?
Hello,
I'm a sophomore/rising junior at a T10 school that is a target for some banks. I transferred after several years out of school being a caregiver (previously had a 4.0 at a state university). However, I have done relatively poorly as a Computer Engineering major at my new school - my current GPA is a 3.2. Some of my previous courses will convert to Pass/Fail come June, so my GPA should be around a 3.5-3.6 at that point if I maintain the As I currently have now that I'm receiving academic accommodations.
I'd become interested in IB since transferring and thought I would look into recruiting this quarter, being ignorant of the timeline. In the past three weeks, I've been talking to upperclassmen, advisors, and some alumni about joining the recruiting cycle for Summer '22 internships. I've obtained a search fund internship, have been working part-time with a local VC firm, and have some relevant coursework, solid non-banking extracurriculars (economics research, entrepreneurial ventures), and a unique/non-traditional background.
While I realize the amount of networking/technical study needed at this point will be essentially a full-time job, I'm hoping to get a reality check from this community. Do you have any thoughts on the feasibility of securing a Summer '22 internship at this point, especially considering I will need to wait until mid-June for the retroactive Pass/Fail to bring my GPA up to ~ 3.5/4.0? I'm considering networking/studying technicals until that point and then submitting my applications but am concerned about rolling applications filling up spots.
Thank you!
Was in a similar position. I would 100% recommend delaying graduation by a semester. So take classes in the fall (easy As to hopefully get your GPA up to 3.7 if possible) and take leave in the spring. You can still live in your college town, party, etc, but this will let you not do recruiting when like 70% of the quality banks you’re too late for and the other 30% are similarly going to be really tough for you with the low gpa no networking practice and no technical knowledge.
Tl:dr if you want good chance at good school, take leave next spring and apply for ‘23 SA roles with improved GPA and actual knowledge of the job and networking skills
Also try to get a search fund or boutique IB/PE internship either this summer, fall, or spring. Doesn’t matter when really just to help show informed interest
Highly disagree. Don't ruin your college experience for the possibility of an investment banking internship. that's just not good life advice
most people who go IB end up leaving after 2 years anyway.
You clearly have some initiative with your extracurcculars, just craft the story on why your GPA is lower than others (no one ever gets asked that anyway) and just be really passionate during the interviews. We hired many sub 3.5s because the interview and the way you answer questions is way more of an indication than your GPA
I appreciate the contrary viewpoint, but I do want to push back on how delaying grad by one semester would “ruin” his college career. Obviously it’s up to OP to decide what his career goals are and how far he wants to stretch to get them (intern at Stifel now or at BB/EB in ‘23). Ultimately up for OP to decide but if he’s not sure about IB I would agree to just recruit for the rest of the banks now and be open to other stuff in the fall
I really appreciate the unique advice - I'm a bit hesitant to delay graduation again considering I'd left school already for about two years for caregiving and then took a gap year before matriculating at my new university for health reasons. But I understand the value of patience and appreciate your guidance.
On the topic of search funds - I've obtained a search fund internship and a VC-firm offer. The search fund would be mainly conducting outreach/sending emails to find potential companies, with max 20-40% being due diligence. At the VC-firm, I'd be given much more autonomy and responsibility (e.g. drafting investment memos, working on pitch decks, etc).
Thank you so much for the advice. Do you have any recommendations for approaching networking at this point to land interviews in the first place? I think I interview well and have received good feedback from networking calls I've had before, and I'm connecting to alumni through shared extracurricular experiences as well. I will be interning at a search fund or at a VC-firm this summer depending on where I decide (leaning towards VC for reasons of personal fit).
College is fun, if you can afford to stay longer, and staying longer won't harm your narrative about how you are a successful student, I see no problem in staying. If it were up to me, I'd never have graduated...
haha yes college is 'fun', but opportunity cost nowadays is insane. Better off getting real world experience for something you eventually want to do long term (or figuring out if finance isn't what you like!)
It’s may and majority of apps close this September. Get an internship for this upcoming June (if you don’t have one, just cold email firms around you), Master your technicals, network like crazy, and you should be good. Plenty of places haven’t opened their apps yet such as stifel and smbc. I don’t think you should delay graduation.
If someone on the Internet told you it was too late, would you just not even try?
It's not too late. I started at out a CC and had a 3.1 GPA once I transferred into a non-target undergrad. I didn't even know what IB was until I started my senior year and ended up at a known MM (Baird/Blair/HL/RJ). Swing for the fences and hedge yourself by also applying to lower hanging finance jobs along the way.
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