Veteran looking for advice on getting Internships during the School Year
Just looking for advice or guidance. I'm a Senior Finance Major at a non-target school with an internship at a Hedge Fund under my belt but I'd like to get into Investment Banking. I haven't had to much time for Internships other than that since I was in the Air Force for the past 7 years and came into College as a Junior. I have a 3.9 GPA and have done all the right things but I know a reference through networking can help me way more. I've been knocking on every door looking for an internship during the school year in Investment Banking and haven't found anything but know this may workout since this is how I landed my hedge fund internship. I'm not trying to be unrealistic. I honestly have been willing to take anything in the NYC area since I just want to learn and it can be unpaid since it would get me college credit. If anyone has any advice or pointers for networking events outside of VOWs or the standard diversity days it would be extremely useful. Thanks for the help!
Not sure if this is right for you but check out BAML Veteran Assistance Program (VAP). The 2019 application just opened. It's a great program, however, the IB slots are usually for associates.
Other than that FT recruiting has wrapped up for most places. If you started as a junior and still have time left on the GI bill, you could always apply for summer internships and extend graduation out a semester. If you go that route I would try to have an internship locked down this fall because if you strike out its a pain to keep going to school and off cycle recruiting is a pain. Next option would be to find a masters program and try recruiting through there.
You probably have seen that many banks "love" veterans but as you have probably noticed the overwhelming amount of veteran hires are former officers that attended one of the military academies.
Quick edit: Were you an Afsoc guy?
Finance in the Air Force. I know if I was Special Forces they tend to have better luck but I'm gonna keep plugging away and something will stick. Also I'll definitely start looking at MSF programs. I was hoping to save my GI Bill for an MBA but if it'll help me get in the door I'd definitely take the shot. Thanks for the help.
With no prior IB experience, I would reach out to as many boutiques in NYC as you have time for. I attend a university in a major city and have worked as an intern in IB/PE for a cumulative 2 years because I worked FT while taking classes full time. I would target alumni and AF vets at any firm within NYC that does banking in order to get the initial exposure. Feel free if to message me with any questions, I have a lot of experience with off-cycle internships, and just wanted to reiterate that I found all of them through cold calling and networking. Keep an eye on every single job board too, as occasionally these can help you determine which firms/people to network with.
Internships during the school year are a numbers game. A bunch of boutiques near me hire fall/winter/spring interns so it's just a matter of reaching out to as many people as possible. I would target boutiques who hired summer interns because they would be more likely to hire interns during the school year. I wouldn't go through networking events just contact alumni or cold email and you should get something. This isn't something that "may workout" dealflow doesn't just magically dissappear during the school year. Firms need help and you are offering that help. Just keep your head up and keep sending out emails/calls.
Would you be able to post the names of those boutiques you know of? I have an off cycle ETS date so I'm scratching the bottom of the barrel looking for fall/winter internships.
I don't know what region you are in so I doubt I would be much help and frankly it really wasn't that difficult. I just googled, cross checked with Linkedin and sent my emails.
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