How many IB internships did you apply to?

My advisor told me not to apply to too many in case an employer asks you about other firms but I've seen some people apply to 50+ firms. I'm just wondering how many firms I should apply to.

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"M56643" My advisor told me not to apply to too many in case an employer asks you about other firms but I've seen some people apply to 50+ firms. I'm just wondering how many firms I should apply to.

Apply to as many as possible. Get as much interview experience as you can. You'll get better and better at it.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Just because an employer asks you how many firms you've applied to doesn't mean you have to tell him 50+ or 100+...

Apply everywhere that makes sense.

EBITDA rules everything around me
 
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Pretty bad advice from your advisor. Apply to as many as you can until you get an offer. Recruiting can be a total crapshoot, but you just need one yes

 

Applied to 10ish in September of my Junior year. Would have applied to more but received a great IBD SA offer (think GS/MS/JPM) in Mid-October so stopped.

That being said, you should be applying to as many programmes as possible, even in industries you may only be tangentially interested in. Since applications are reviewed by HR in the order they come in, it's crucial to apply as early (and often) as possible.

 

I think it really depends on your preference/working style. I applied to 8 IBDs and got offers from 2, because I had clear targets & companies I wanted to go for. So I just preferred to focus on a few, but I've seen people applying to 50+ as well. Both methods can work- really depends!

 

It's not always a bad thing to be asked about other firms. First, it shows you're serious about banking, I at least don't love when candidates say they're all in for banking but then are seeking internships at tech companies as well. We ask that question to gauge whether what you said you are looking for in a job aligns with the types of companies you mention you are interviewing with, as well as location (e.g. "I'm focusing on LA" -- followed by "I have 5 offers in NYC"). Having interviews or especially offers is also an indication of desirability - being able to say "I have an offer from xyz but would accept with you if given an offer" is a powerful weapon in your arsenal if available because you are vetted already.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

For this summer, my sophomore summer, I applied to 134 places. For 2019 7, and luckily received an offer. It's a numbers game, apply to every single place you can.

 

Freshman summer , applied to every single regional boutique with offices in my country (small country, there are about 25 boutiques here) Sophomore summer, applied to every single PE buyout fund in my country + the Netherlands and some in France (about 30 firms) It s definitively a numbers game , even in a small western European country, like said above apply to as many boutiques, shops, bank, mm, etc as possible

 

I went through the process twice (once as a sophomore and then as a junior) and I would say do yourself a favor by applying to as many places as possible but try to be somewhat selective. More specifically, I laid down the groundwork by creating a running spreadsheet with the alumni that worked at the BBs, EBs, etc. I don't think I applied to more than 15 or 20 places because tracking this info signaled which places I might have an actual shot at. On the flip side, it showed me places that were potentially out of reach because no one from my school worked there (i.e. I might choose to apply to Moelis but not an Evercore just to save myself a bit of time). I found that I was able to get more or roughly the same amount of interviews this way as my peers who were applying to several more.

 

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