Still looking for summer internships, need help/advice

First, what year are you?

It is too late to get an internship as I think most superdays or all superdays are over already. You (may) possibly still have a chance at getting an interview for a botique bank, not sure though. Any experience is better than no experience!

I'm a freshman, and I feel VERY confident that if I was even given 2 minutes and a chance for them to see my resume I'd be given at the least a call back. I've been told my resume is very impressive, my problem is lacking any info on IBD and no connections or networking yet. I also don't want to sound cocky and say I'd definitely get an internship but I feel as if I'm a genuinely nice guy who just wants a chance.

please don't bank your freshman year summer, go drink and smoke.

I also go to a non-target school so I feel that's why I should start early. My summer is also 4 months so it's not like my entire summer would be some redundant internship.

your a freshman from a non target, you will be lucky to get an internship junior year. Try again in 2 years...

Reach out to as many boutiques as you can. Make sure you emphasize that you're looking for a learning experience and hint that you'll work for free.

On another note, try finding ANYTHING in finance first. If you work in finance this summer it'll help you get into a boutique the summer after your sophomore year. Then, having something finance related AND a boutique bank will help you land that big summer analyst position. That will then help you land a fill time position. It's never too early.

Don't want to burst your bubble dude, but you're going to face a huge challenge getting a decent banking internship. Employers know that freshmen are not able to contribute much because they have not taken the relevant finance courses, especially since you are a finance major (although you might have studied finance on your own free time).

Also, not coming from a target school = very tough to compete. Lastly, you gotta bump your GPA up a little more. If a guy from a target school can easily get a 3.53 GPA (which honestly isn't eyebrow raising), the expectations on a non-target candidate would be higher - at least 3.8 GPA to be considered.

Lastly, my question is if your resume is really as stellar as you claim it is, you would definitely be called back if you applied, but that is not the case. What is the problem then?

Not trying to be harsh here, but I'm trying to let you gain some perspective on how a person in banking would view your resume. My best advice: Take anything that you can right now. Like what soul09 said:"Any experience is better than no experience" Most freshmen I know worked in private wealth as financial advisor interns in godforsaken locations (definitely not NYC), or in auditing in tiny accounting firms. And many do it for free (unpaid labor). And I'm glad that many of them end up getting banking internships full time in their Junior summer. If you really want to succeed, suck it up and work with what you can. Use the remainder time to read up more on finance and improve your knowledge.

Best of luck and hopefully things work out for you.

Thanks, I'll definitely PM you in a second and search for the boutiques. The reason I've yet to receive I call back is ebcause I haven't applied anywhere. I have NO idea where to call or send my resume, that's the problem.

if u want to increase ur chances of eventually getting a job on wall street, you should spend your summer trying to transfer to a target school lol

Not sure how true this is, but I heard somewhere that you are judged by your last internship, meaning that employers to look at the last place you worked.

So I guess you should look at doing things one step at a time. Use freshman summer to build enough credentials to do a boutique or sophomore program your sophomore year. Then leverage a banking internship sophomore year to get to a BB junior year, etc. So you prob don't necessarily have to something IB related this summer, but getting something useful from this summer to leverage into a better experience next summer should be your goal.

My freshman year I just got drunk and worked construction to save up some money - seriously, don't stress too hard about not interning anywhere this summer. But definitely try to transfer to a target school if you can; it will make things infinitely easier for you later on.

I am currently trying to transfer, but I feel as if it's hopeless atm b/c my high school stats sucked. I did apply to Wharton but nowhere else. If that doesn't pan out I'll pursue it a lot more serious my sophomore year when my HS transcript doesn't matter whatsoever.

Don't listen to johndavies, I'm from a school that has absolutely no name on Wall Street and found it isn't that bad for non-targets. I did a random non-finance internship Soph year and nothing freshman year, and landed a BB IBD Summer Analyst position based on excellent grades, busting my ass networking, doing "entrepreneurial" stuff, and interviewing well. Now I've accepted an offer at a top 3 bank. I didn't have any connections either.

Right now you want to get any experience you can in finance. the PWM stuff is a good idea although it's unpaid. Really anything you can spin into a good experience freshman year is great. Sophomore year try hard for a boutique if you can. If not, anything in finance will be better than nothing. Most importantly: try contacting alumni now. Just ask them questions. In 2 years they'll definitely feel they know you well enough to send your name to HR. I literally had an alum MD call HR for me and force them to give me an interview at Citi. They weren't going to do it and 10 minutes later I got a call to schedule a flight to NY.

Of course you need to get your grades up. 3.5 is ok, I've seen one non-target person pull it off with that GPA, but it's really tough. As a freshman your number 1 priority should be kicking ass in school.

thx for that intern and yeah I have a B- that killed me 1st semester. I'm definitely working my ass off this term, much more so than last term. As for what my resume has that's impressive is I currently have an internship at UPMC a top 10 hospital in the finance department, improvement specialists department, and exec. admin. department. 3 different projects, only college kid there that isn't a grad student. I'm also an exec admin and financial advisor of an apparel and accessories company that employs 13 people and is fairly well known in it's culture, plus I made them 6 figures in profits over the past few months.

oh wow...yury you deserve more than PWM with those credentials...have youtried networking with alums?

That's all good "unique" stuff but only one piece of what you need to do. It will not get you interviews on wall street in itself. It will help you once you have them. Networking, grades, and your sophomore internship (in that order) will get you interviews. Feel free to PM me anytime-- I've been through the whole non-target process the last couple of years.

I will make my first attempt to network this upcoming week when my spring break is over. Problem is that I dont know where to start, hence why I'm here seeking wisdom from people who are in positions I want to be in the future.

I agree with some of the others who advised you to look into doing something this summer especailly PWM. I am also at a nontarget school but am now a junior and have an IB offer for this summer. It is a uphill battle coming from a nontarget school and so it would be wise if you get a chance to work your freshman summer. I worked PWM ops for Goldman in a western city(not L.A.) my freshman year. It was not IB but it really helped me get my foot in the door with Goldman and other BB's.Good Luck

yury start networking now...the less you put off time the better for you...

justmy fifty cents...

Whatever you do, do not sell yourself short. I am a freshman from a semi-target and I have found that, although difficult, breaking into industry is certainly doable. Try to find something finance-related like others have said. PWM is a common route for freshman/sophomore types looking to get the ball rolling. Look into some boutiques and maybe even some fortune 500's and see if there are any finance-related/modeling internships available out there. Give yourself hope and just bust your ass.

I am living proof that if you just work hard and actively pursue opportunities, things will work out. I am only a freshman and I interviewed with a top BB for fixed income (too young), an independent equity research shop in NYC (awaiting final decision), a fortune 500 for a financial analyst spot (awaiting final decision), I have a real estate investment brokerage research/modeling position interview coming up, and I will soon also be having an interview for Morgan Stanley Ops (yes, I know, it's only ops...but still).

Whenever I talk to a prospective employer they always tell me I am too young and don't bother submitting a resume. Don't listen to them. Pursue every opportunity like it was your last. However, I will caution you, a BB spot is about as likely as hell freezing over your freshman year. Odds are not much better at a boutique (especially since you have minimal contacts also). So try to stay realistic and looking into transferring might be a good idea as well. Good luck.

good post jotah---

these firms are looking for people with drive and a good way of measuring this is by looking to see if the candidate went out of his/her way to get the best possibly experience during the summer.

congrats jotah on all those interview invitations...I hope they work out

If all else fails and you cannot find an internship, I suggest taking summer classes either at your current university or at a better known institution (summer programs accept almost everyone and are in a way moneytraps, but it may help your resume and expand your network).

If I could go back in time, I'd try harder getting an internship, but at least now I have the option of graduating early or taking less classes during the regular school year which helps my GPA and gives me time for EC's.