Freshman in search of essentially any experience for this summer
Currently a freshman entering my second semester. I understand that freshman summer internships are often unnecessary in the long run, but I just wanted to explore the possibility of seeking out most any internship dealing with this industry. I live in a more rural area of New England, so firms are pretty sparse (I found some small PE firms and a tiny venture capital firm). I do have some marketable skills as I use excel nearly every day to analyze and value companies just for fun (judge me) and also to learn as much as I can, so at least I'm not completely clueless going into this. Also I did get A's and A+'s in my accounting and econ courses last semester (not sure if whoever I talk to would see that or care)
What types of firms should I target for networking, and what is the likelihood that they would even grant me an interview? Ideally I would go for something local as I doubt any internship I can get at this stage would be worth moving over. I don't really care if it's a 2 person operation, I'm just looking for anything that will give me useful experience this summer. I've looked at all the networking guides, so right now it's just a matter of figuring out who to contact and where.
As a side note, I work with a former JPM VP, I believe he's been out of it for 5 years, so I think he could be a great person to talk to about this, and he could likely have some other "warm" connections. But I just wanted the WSO consensus since a LOT has changed since he got out.
Thank you.
Good on you for taking the initiative. Don't take as gospel, but if I were in your shoes, I would use this as an opportunity to connect with and learn from as many professionals as you can. Maybe this will bring up internship opportunities, maybe not, but at the very least you can build up a network to lean on down the line. IMO, anyone who demonstrates hunger and a willingness to learn deserves 30 minutes of time and advice and hopefully firms in your area will see that. All the best!
Thanks for the advice! Just made a spreadsheet for all the firms in my area; definitely a lot more than I thought. I'll be getting in contact with them and hopefully something good comes out of it down the line.
A good freshman internship if you can't get any others is to work for a search fund because they are fine with hiring inexperienced people and you can sometimes work online.
Consider reaching out to a professor you had class with to see if there is any research you can do over the summer. A lot of professors do research and it will be something unique on your resume that you can use to differentiate yourself. I’m sure your resume will end up with a lot of industry specific experiences so getting something more unique now could be equally if not more valuable. Especially if you manage to get published
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