need help as a rising junior for internship search
hi guys, sorry but I feel weird writing this. i applied to more than 100+ places for internships. I am an international student at a semi targetish school, and have had prior internships in finance such as VC and advisory, they were unpaid but i got them up for the experience
currently a sophomore, junior next fall, and I failed to get an internship this summer. I have a 3.5 gpa, and due to recruiting and sleepless nights, it fell to 3.42, and i had 12 interviews for positions. All rejected by all, and the feedback was I did great, but another candidate had more experience. When i checked, there got interns from NYU and big schools but relatively same experience than me. I had a few analytics internships interviews ( i am business analytics major as well) and rest were finance or corporate strategy, went into 2/3 rounds for most firms and had developed a good understanding with recruiters and hiring managers. I have done mock interviews, and ive been told i say great stuff and act energetic and natural, and I can see every person in my interviews smiling or asking me "send a linkedin request or giving me an email". by the way, after every application i applied, i sent out an email to 5-6 recruiters in the company, and tried to network where I could since our network isnt in every firm. all of my friends got something, and funny thing, they either applied to 10 - 15 internships and got thru. i had first round with morgan stanley as well and now pivoting to non-ib roles but I feel like since I recruited for them this soph summer too, i didnt get anything, im not sure if i will get anything. i just need an internship at this point
idk what im doing wrong, im still doing unpaid internships and I was hoping to make some bucks to add to my tuition, idk what am i doing wrong. I would love some guidance here and i wiuld really want a junior summer now, since sophomore summer is done and justed and i have no experience to put in my resume. I just feel lost and hopeless at this point. this semester was alot to take in, and i went unsuccessful in every turn.
From a quick skim your issues seem like
1. International. This is a big hurdle. No way around that, but you can't compare yourself to US citizens because you will have a much harder time.
2. GPA. Again, not much to do here but 3.5 is low for an international from a semi-target.
3. MOST importantly - seems like your networking was essentially useless - you applied to positions and then networked with recruiters? Most people start networking in Sept/Oct for jobs that open in January - with analyst-VP that are in IB roles, HR is the least useful person you can network with in finance.
I would target non-IB roles. Some people extend graduation to have another shot, but I'm not sure you will have much different results given your GPA is even lower now. When you see a job open, immediately network with an analyst or associate in that role, not a recruiter.
for ib roles, i always networked with analysts and vps, they even forwarded my resumes. for job postings i find on different companies that are hiring for non-ib roles such as strategy or operations (i had interviews wirh startups as well) i reached out to the recruiters. for ib, it is essentially only analysts, vps and etc. I get what your saying, im trying for corp banking now - the thing is that many dont even know im international (they dont ask what my visa status is or something) but i dont know what is going wrong in interviews
If you are applying to the job online, they know you are international because you have to check yes for sponsorship on the portals.
Just gotta keep grinding. Maybe ask someone you don't know to do a mock interview if your buddies are only giving you great feedback. Something is wrong here to apply to that many roles and not get one. If you're not getting interviews, it's your resume and networking. If you are striking out on interviews, that is your answer even if you felt it went well and got positive feedback. They will not give you actual feedback for legal reasons.
i check no though, i was hunting for soph summer so really didnt need sponsorship for it, but atleast i need some paid experience where I could do smth
Soph summer is next to impossible to get anywhere except the tiniest of LMM firms.. my soph summer was making $15/hr to do nothing at a local WM firm
Are you a rising junior and you have only been focusing on soph internships? If so that's a much bigger problem than not having a sophomore internship, since the 2025 SA roles have already come and gone.
my gpa fell because i was focusing on both. my fault tbh. I have referrals from 2 MMs and 2 BBs, got first round of MS but fucked it over, but still looking for banks to recruit in the fall
yes im gonna graduate in may 2026, junior next semester
SA 25 is already over
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