Starting young

Dear reader,

I have found myself in a difficult situation, I am currently eighteen years old and will be attending university next year. I take extensive interest in the financial markets and have started investing my own funds however I was told by an MD from Goldman Sachs via LinkedIn that I must wait until my second year of university to obtain an internship? What can I realistically do this summer as well as the summer of freshman year to better prepare for an IB or possibly an HF career?

Best Regards

17 Comments
 

I hope this isn't a troll. Nothing about your situation is difficult, many people are in the same position as you. The best thing you can do is talk to people in the industry. Internships are always available especially at smaller banks even if they are not posted. Find local networking events and try to connect with as many people as you can. As a 14 year old high school freshman I was able to get an internship at a local bank this summer through a connection I met at a networking event. Don't listen to what people tell you, it is never too early. This does not mean be a tool and annoy everyone because most people wont care anyways. If networking and finding internships doesn't work out you can always pursue a CFA and try to learn more about finance in general. Good luck.

 
Best Response

To add on to this point, you need to be very careful that you don't do anything stupid that will blow back on you. Don't post pics of you getting wasted on Facebook: a recruiter will see this. ALWAYS sit in the front of the class. Your professor may have connections in the banking industry and they will want know about this. When you are at your university's dining hall, make sure you avoid eating beef or pork. You never know if a vegan/Jewish banker is scouting you at that very moment. Finally, always do leg day in combination with upper body day. Someone may casually ask you what your squat max is (this number is very important in banking recruiting) and this person maybe a spy. Always be on the lookout because you never know who's watching.

 

Thanks for adding on, I'm still new to being a big swinging dick investment banker and completely forgot about that stuff. Just a quick question, do you think it looks bad if I put my squat max on my resume? Or should I just be more casual about it and mention it during my interviews. Personally I wouldn't even use Facebook or any social media other than LinkedIn. It's far too unprofessional.

 

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