So I did manage to find an IB internship in China, but question is how are they viewed?

I posted here a couple of weeks ago asking about opportunities in Beijing. It happened that a boutique became interested in me, invited me to interview, and I got the internship. So I'd really like to thank those who replied to my thread because it kept me motivated and WSO has served as a very valuable resource throughout this ongoing process.

As a rising junior, I'm definitely feeling like I'm just a little bit ahead of the game. I'm getting exposure to a lot of the work that the firm's doing and I'm getting pretty familiar with using all the regular tools: Bloomberg, capital iq, etc.

What my question is, will this even serve as something that will be good leverage by the time recruiting starts in the Fall? I know it'd be a different story if I found the internship in the states but since it's China, I know that most people think interns only got in because of connections which is true the majority of the time. I don't want to be viewed that way and my ultimate goal is to stay in the U.S.

Also, the boutique is a subsidiary of a U.S. bank. It's not a top name but it's known. They have more of a presence in Asia though.

 
Best Response

Just because you work in an investment bank, does not mean you are doing anlayst type work. I was hired for an accountant for an investment bank back in University, and I did ACCOUNTING WORK.

A good boutique IB analyst position will allow you to assist in client presentations, to meet clients, and to help create financial models. Are you doing that? If yes, then you have got yourself an amazing internship and your likely a top candidate for a SA position, if not, you need to pound the table hard GPA wise and interview wise.

 

You are absolutely right about a good internship requiring exposure to work that analysts actually do. However, based on what I've researched and read on here, it doesn't seem very likely for interns to be meeting clients, let alone one that is only a rising junior.

Would anyone else have further input on this aspect?

I'm not as sure about financial models either, but I think I may be able to get to learn more about that as time goes on during my internship.

 

You should be fine. esp. if it is a bank known in the U.S. Beats pwm, 3 man boutique, big 4 in the U.S. and you are only a rising junior.

Just start making good connections in the U.S. there are a lot of solid boutiques/MM banks in the U.S. that have offices in China as well so you can probably start there or even try to network within your current firm with guys in the U.S. if they have IB presence here.

I met clients all the time when I was an intern (both sohp and junior years)...but I was at a 10-man shop. When you are the one spending hours staring at a pitchbook or management presentation they want you in the meeting room handling the logistics on the powerpoint, in case anyone in there fucks up.

 

You should be fine. esp. if it is a bank known in the U.S. Beats pwm, 3 man boutique, big 4 in the U.S. and you are only a rising junior.

Just start making good connections in the U.S. there are a lot of solid boutiques/MM banks in the U.S. that have offices in China as well so you can probably start there or even try to network within your current firm with guys in the U.S. if they have IB presence here.

I met clients all the time when I was an intern (both sohp and junior years)...but I was at a 10-man shop. When you are the one spending hours staring at a pitchbook or management presentation they want you in the meeting room handling the logistics of the powerpoint, in case anyone in there fucks up.

 

if you don't speak mandarin fluently, your time in BJ is wasted as you will have no future in banking in china. but your experience in BJ should put you in a competitive position with a bulge bracket in HK or Shanghai...I wouldn't advise working in mainland given the humongous disparity in pay between HK and the rest of China.

 

My mandarin is enough to succeed in a working environment here but I prefer going back to the states. This internship was unplanned as I was here for another reason this summer. My ultimate goal is to stay in the US but HK is okay too because I am fluent in Cantonese. I'm just trying to figure out how much value I can get out of this besides the hands-on experience itself when I get back to the US.

 

It's all about how you position things. If this Shenzen internship is your only IB opportunity, I say take it. However, I am sure you will be able to find many mid market & lower middle market boutiques with great deal flow where you can get valuable experience in New York, L.A, and San Fran.

If you want to do IB, take any IB over a non-IB internship (unless it's a good valuation or PE firm where you can leverage the name and/or skillset).

AgainstAllOdds
 

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