London 2024 SA - Application count
Some background information, I graduate in ‘25 and did a intern in insurance this summer and goto a Target school.
I have applied to about ~ 70 roles across IBD , ER , AM across summer analyst positions and placements
70 applications in, 2 rejections after failing the tests, ~ 4 second round VIs so far and pending on the remainder
Am I applying to too many internships which is causing my quality to be low or should I just wait for responses?
What 4 2nd rounds do you have?
Brevan Howard, A Fortune 500 Finance , and two really small firms that I cold emailed
Can I ask when you’re cold emailing, do you make it clear that you’re emailing for an internship or do you just network then ask on call? Any advice or template would be great
Hey there! It sounds like you're really putting yourself out there, which is great. Applying to a large number of roles can increase your chances of landing an interview, but it's also important to ensure that each application is tailored and of high quality.
From the WSO threads, it's clear that there's no magic number of applications. Some people apply to as many as 50+ firms, while others take a more targeted approach. The key is to strike a balance between quantity and quality.
Remember, the skills you're developing in this process, such as selling yourself and making a good impression, are invaluable for your career. So, keep going, stay positive, and don't forget to follow up on your applications. Good luck!
Sources: A non-target's failure, How many IB internships did you apply to?
Same boat as you. Have applied to 50 since late August, semi-target with good grades, good extra-curriculars and highly relevant internship recently completed w/ return offer. I've had 4 straight up rejections, 6 HVs from firms that I really wanted them from, and rest I've probably been silently dinged on. I think that the numbers game is very important, especially with the current recruiting environment, but defo important to not let it compromise the quality of each application you send out. Could probably have applied to more, but have been really keen to get my main applications out the door at a very high standard, and that's definitely helped me with a decent ratio of being processed to next stage.
Yeah it’s a challenge, striking a balance between quality and quantity but in the end it boils down to a numbers game with 2-5% AC rates
Update
I ended up getting 5 offers ranging from AM to research, to RX and signed last week at a BB for a FO role :)
Never give up
Congrats! Could you maybe tell me how recruiting outcomes differed between IB, AM and ER? I'm particularly interested in ER.
In terms of difficulty:
RX was probably the hardest and had a group study and an excel test
For IB I had two ACs and got 1, I applied to many IB roles , probably 30 plus
For ER I had one AC and got it, I applied for 2 Equity Research roles and 1 Economic Research role
IB and ER had no group exercises for me, individual behavioural and technical interviews
AM was probably the easiest of the bunch, most of the questions were about rates given the current news, got 2 ACs for this.
Overall, I had applied to around 100 firms, probably more
My stats:
~85 apps --> 8 ACs (did 5) --> 2 offers (+ awaiting 1 response)
Profile:
Semi target with multiple springs, somewhat related summer, multiple society leadership roles.
Super happy with where I signed but ngl absolutely killed myself for recruiting. Never worked as hard as that in my life ever and completely fucked a uni exam I just did but should bring it back up to a 1st with further exams this year.
is it alright if you dm me, youre anonymous and would love some advice for the upcoming app season
probably applied to around 70 mainly IB
6 first rounds
3 AC offers
1 IB SA
complete non target but 4 relevant internships
Also over the moon with where I signed, worked extremely hard to get the offer, hope to convert
is it alright if you dm me, youre anonymous and would love some advice for the upcoming app season
Did you use a tracker for applications or did you use linkedin/cold emails?
I applied to everything and anything under the sun, be it on trackers or linkedin and even cold emailed 2/3 places.
Almost 40 applications, only 1 interview. No offer. Non Target is definitely not paradise
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