Cold Emailing for Internship Advice
Hi Monkeys,
I am a current sophomore who has been cold emailing firms around my area for a summer internship but have not had any luck so far. I aim to break into IB and although I have started networking, studying my guides, I don’t have anything lined up for this summer and don’t have anything finance related on my cv. Summer is almost coming up and I am trying my best to remain positive and believe that if I keep grinding, I’ll eventually find something.
I am new to this so can you guys please check if my cold email template is okay and if not, please feel free to make any comments/suggestions. Thanks so much! It is really appreciated.
Dear John Smith,
I am writing to you to see if name of firm has opportunities available for summer of 2021.
My name is “first and last name” I am a rising junior at Non-target University double majoring in finance and economics and currently possess a 3.8 GPA. Throughout my time in college, I have worked at a few retail and operation roles in which I have developed my problem-solving, self-management, and leadership skills. I have also been involved in my school’s finance and economic society.
Unfortunately I do not have anything lined up for this summer and am hungry to get hands on professional experience as soon as possible and enhance my financial and analytical skillset.
I have attached my resume for your reference.
I am very interested in hearing about your experiences with the company. If possible, would you have time for a brief ~15-minute phone call to get your guidance?
Best Regards,
Bump
A bit too long, don’t you think? Also; I don’t think you should attach your resume. I could be wrong though..
I always found attaching my resume to be helpful from a nontarget since I had good work experience. Kind of would make them think im valid to talk to despite being from a bad school.
Would like to hear others opinions on this.
personalize it. add a sentence or 2 in there that makes it clear that you know what the firm is/does and who the person you are reaching out to is/what he or she does. it could be something as simple as i noticed you went to my university as well and would love to connect to learn more about any opportunities or i noticed you went to high school in the same county as me (for the person). and for the firm something like, i noticed that the firm focuses on the retail sector and I think my experience at *insert retail store name* would be very transferrable or i am very interested to get involved in *insert company initiative that you read about in the news/on their website*
My personal suggestion is to find something personal about the person you are writing to.... why so????
Your email must be engaging somehow, senior a part of their ego does not care about interns (generally)..
However, if you tell him something "I found your interview at X conference in XDate ........." Consequently, it shows that you have done research on him and you made him feel important which is a drug for finance people.
Be Unique, templates 99% of the times fail (a part from the CV & Cover letters)
I would mention your extracurricular activities as well
In a similar situation as you (I’m a MS student) I would keep it concise and not make it look so copied and pasted
I'd skip the "unfortunately I do not have anything lined up this summer..." Sounds depressing.
Say something like, "I was recently exposed to IB as a potential career opportunity and am hungry to get professional experience in the industry this summer."
This. Plus, think of how “unfortunately I don’t have anything lined up” comes across to them - like the last resort.
Here's the email I would send. I had some luck with it and don't really need it anymore. It's totally numbers game. Just keep reaching out to people and following up once or twice. Also just don't say that "unfortunately..." part. It's fine to be direct like this imo. Some people may not like it, but they'll just ignore you then. At this point, you need to be direct due to the timing. Do a CapIQ screen of all the local boutiques in your area and email the highest person there. You should also tailor this email to the industry they operate in.
Hi XXX
My name is XXX, and I am an undergraduate at XXX studying XXX. I am strongly interested in investment banking, and have had prior experience in M&A and project financing and would like to further my exposure.
I am currently searching for any M&A, Strategic Advisory, or Capital Markets experience for this summer and would like to speak with you about any potential opportunities at XXX during that time. For reference, I have attached my most recent resume.
Best,
XXX
Networking is a numbers game at the end of the day. Like others mentioned, find something in common or unique with the people you reach out to. Also, try to make your email sound more positive, it always helps. My own cold emails are very short and they should be if you want them to read it. As for the resume, I usually attach it if I’m bluntly asking for an internship (which I’ve been doing for the last couple months). Again, it’s a numbers game so keep at it. I’ve been networking a lot since last summer and literally just yesterday I got an offer for this summer. Good luck.
Thanks sm for sharing! Congrats on the offer!
I've sent out quite a bit, and I often aim to keep the email to 3-4 sentences. As per the advice below, I think personalizing it is a great choice and you can do so in 1 sentence.
I would suggest:
"Hello John,
I am a second year student at Non-target University double majoring in finance and economics. I'm interested in working Field of Firm [Asset Management, Investment Banking, Management Consulting] and I'm currently looking for opportunities available for summer of 2021. I saw that you [Something about their research, sector coverage/functional focus] and I would love to get your insights over a brief 15-minute chat. Do you have some time over the next few weeks for a cup of virtual coffee?
I have attached my resume for your reference.
Thank you,
FirstName LastName"
My take: you don't want to include stuff from your resume. They can figure out you're smart, and have work experience. Odds are, if they read the email, they opened the resume. I also prefer to take a semi-formal approach, a mentor of mine said that most times, the people you reach out to are just that, people. They have work, they have lives, they have clients, and they have friends. Keeping it over-formalized may create a cold-welcome versus a warm-welcome. Analysts or associates just 1-2 years above you won't be annoyed that you used "Hello" vs. "Dear" or didn't address their first and last name. Frankly, if you were working at the firm, they'd be your colleagues, and you'd be on a first name basis.
I also really like the "cup of virtual coffee (a.k.a zoom)" line I always use - it's a nice subtle joke to throw in.
Thank you for this! I have a list of people to email and will begin shooting out emails. During the 15 min call, what do you suggest I bring up and talk about? Also, what should the subject of the email be?
You could also try messaging some folks on LinkedIn, I usually reply when people message me there...
Though I forgot to add, try to make it somewhat personal and know what you are talking about if you take this route, it's annoying when kids message me with bullshit like "my dream is to be an Investment Banker or a Trader", like fucking pick one dude
Thank for sharing!
What do you suggest I go over if I get interviews? In regards to behavioral and technicals
Hi Monkeys,
I have a question,
What are the strategies that I can use to gather e-mail or contact information?
- I have tried LinkedIn Premium account for 2 months. The problem is I have only 5 credits per month and the process is obviously too slow and not efficient ( based on 100 people to reach out)
- Capital IQ seems the most effective way, however, our library on the campus is closed therefore I do not have access to the database.
- Lastly, I even tried to guess the company domain using third parties but still, it feels like a waste of time.
We are almost coming to the end of recruitment season for the summer internship and I am looking forward to your advice.
Best,
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