Getting an unpaid summer internship in London
I'm a PhD student at the LSE. I'm due to submit my thesis in the start of June. Unfortunatly I've got a six month wait before I formally get my PhD, and I've had no success so far in getting a full time job. My supervisor says I should get an internship at the moment but all the banks finished their recruiting process long ago and the hiring environment is, to say the least, not the best.
I was wondering how I should go about getting an unpaid internship. Do I just phone up the HR departments of random banks in London and pitch myself? What sort of banks should I target? I've had two regular BB internships (Lehman's and Citi) so I've got some experience. Any advice would be more than welcome.
With your 2 summers experience and (almost) a PhD from LSE, I would be looking for paid work experience first, only go for unpaid as a last resort.
Are you looking for something quantitative or more on the IBD side? If you want something IBD/M&A, I can PM you a list of small firms that may still be hiring.
How long do you want to work for?
Calling HR is definitely a step you can take, but as you said already, the formal recruiting has passed and it's pretty unlikely you could pick up at an internship at a top bank at this late stage unless you have a great contact. I recommend leveraging all your Lehman/Citi contacts and seeing if there are any internal opportunities that they know of. All banks have internal jobs listings, so you might find something that way.
What about getting in touch with LSE alumni as well?
A minor point. Why are you going for an "unpaid" internship? I don't think banks really care whether they pay you or not.
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