Hey all,
A little about myself: I'm a target school student (Ross / Berkeley / Cornell AEM ) with a 3.84 GPA. I've relied on the target status as well as GPA to carry me for a while, but now I'm sort of panicking as I'm recruiting without much relevant experience. I've worked at many nonprofits and whatnot thus far, but have not modeled or done finance for any bank. This wasn't the result of no effort; in fact, I networked as hard as I'd could even during the Spring semester, just to no avail. I'd basically given up in a period of time until now, when I realize I'm unemployed in my Sophomore summer and already lack an impressive resume beyond the academic stats.
Any idea as to what I should aim for in my last month before returning to school? I'm talking beyond the obvious, as I am already spamming cold e-mails and calls. I would be grateful to at least have some experience that would impress interviewers when asked what I did this summer; I can possibly secure a local community job like tutoring or waiting at a restaurant... But if you all have any better ideas, I'd really much appreciate any pitching in.
Thanks, The Real Boss Baby
Bang some chicks and put that on your "sexy resume".
You're welcome. The Real Boss Teenager.
~Miss~
Bump
I mean if you're at a 3.84 at a target scholl, I assume that OCR will be enough for a smart student like you. If you haven't echausted your Alumni contacts, don't do it. Save it for a junior year summer analyst job hunt networking technique. It wouldn't look too good if you annoy them two years in a row for a job. And I don't know why you're so worried about a job in the summer of your sophomore year. Make sure to join a fraternity, IB workshop/club, or a student run fund. I would also advise you that working literally at any no name bank looks better than working at a non profit because it looks like you are way too attached to the community and investment bankers are narcissistic, money minded individuals (not that it's wrong to be one; just check my username). Literally, if you have a 3.84 at a target school and if you're worried about a SOPHOMORE internship, you shouldn't!!!! It's your sophomore summer. Enjoy it with your friends. Maybe just brush up on modeling and whatnot and start prepping for intensive networking for a Junior year summer analyst position. If you're still afraid after telling you all this, I suggest to just apply through your school or on a job search site for a year long position for a college student at a bank near your school
Thanks for the lengthy response. To make it clear, I'm actually IN my sophomore summer already - I'm unemployed. That's the unfortunate dilemma here.
I think you have a good shot, despite starting late. BB's and EB's might be a bit tough to break in, but I'm sure there are plenty of solid MM shops that are willing to give you a good look.
One thing you might want to do is put up your cover letter (filtered of course) and resume on WSO once both are ready and have others poke holes at it. I've had alumni look over my resume after each call and most of them were able to find some kind of ding-worthy typo.
Unrelated to the post - sorry OP -, but I'd like to put up my CV for others to pokes holes at it. I'm relatively new to WSO, so can you please let me know where I can do so?
Thanks in advance.
No worries.
Most of the time, people just create a new post and add their resume to the post in pdf format. You'll usually be able to get some feedback that way.
Just remember to remove any personal info on it before you post.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/resume-review
We also offer a free resume score...read about it here: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/get-your-resume-scored-by-wsofor…
...although we only do that free score once per person (it costs us $), so you may want to wait until you have a finance related internship to add
Best Way to Spend Sophomore Summer? (Originally Posted: 06/30/2016)
Hey monkeys,
I've just finished year 2 of a 5-year dual degree program (business & physics) at a target school in Canada, where I currently have a 3.95 GPA. I plan on going into investment banking initially then transitioning over into hedge funds.
I had to take a summer course during May & June and I wasn't able to get an internship for the remainder of the summer, so I have July & August free. I was thinking of taking the Canadian Securities Course in order to bolster my resume for recruiting season in the fall, as well as to simply gain knowledge. Is the CSC the best way for me to spend my summer, or is there a more effective use of my time?
Thanks for any input you may have!
-CSC is quite a useless course, its a cash grab. Just prep for CFA -read up on the news, markets etc and get comfortable with technicals -network (the biggest thing)
or you know, enjoy summer too?
Sophomore summer? Hit the gym, hunt moose, lay out by the pool, chop down trees, have sex with people, drink maple syrup, go on a vacation with your family somewhere a lot warmer than Canada, play hockey, etc.
Your next summer/two summers are going to be for internships and the summer after that will be the real world. This might literally be the last fully fun summer you have for 20, 30, 40 years. I know that might not resonate as a college sophomore, but I would give a lot to be able to lay around for a month or two and I'm not even 30.
Hey guys, wanted to follow up and say thanks for the advice. I took it to heart & enjoyed the summer; ultimately everything fell into place and I'll be beginning full-time work this spring. Those two months were pretty unimportant in the scheme of things, so glad I was able to have some fun.
Sophomore summer still nothing (Originally Posted: 04/05/2010)
Hey I am a sophomore at a top target with kinda low gpa ( 3.5) mostly because i screwed up on general education classes (those not of my major, taken only for the sake of graduation). In fact, my gpa within major is more than 0.4 units above my overall gpa. I was originally looking into IB but i didn't get any interviews. Feeling disappointed, I then went carpet-bombing all over the financial industry (large and small IB, PE, HF, etc.) but only got 3 interviews and failed all of them. Now it's already april and I still don't know what to do for the summer. Is this normal? Do you think the major problem leading to this is my gpa, my resume/cover letter, or interview? Also, what would you recommend as the next step? Is sophomore summer internship really crucial for getting a junior summer internship?
It's not really crucial, but it certainly helps if you can land one. For many opportunities your GPA will be a bit of a problem depending on: 1) just how far below a 3.5 you are and 2) whether you had any contacts in the IBs to which you applied. Without seeing your resume, it is tough to say whether that had anything to do with it as well. That said, for the positions that offered you an interview, the big problem there was probably in your interview skills - whether something lacked, or you just didn't stand out enough. Once you land the interview, it becomes much more about "wowing" the interviewers, and much less about your resume and your GPA.
Regarding a next step, you should make sure your resume is in good shape (I'll take a look at it if you send it over), try to practice a bit of mock interview (whether with a service such as mine or at least with some friends who will offer you some candid feedback) and then start cold calling and cold emailing - IB, PE, HF, VC, consulting, corp dev, even back office F500 firms might be a decent place since you are a soph and can use it as a stepping stone.
Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck.
-Don't panic.
-Only print your GPA in Concentration, rather than your overall GPA on your resume.
-Make sure to keep in contact with the places you interviewed at. You never know when one could lead to a good connection or opportunity in the future. Also make sure to get feedback on what you could do better in future interviews.
-Plug away at your alumni network like crazy. Ask for informational interviews and tell them you are looking for an internship. Emphasize that you're solely looking to get experience. In follow up, sending an e-mail a week, or even more frequently is acceptable.
-The key to interviewing, regardless of what school you come from or what firm you're applying to, is having rock solid technicals and tremendous enthusiasm. Moreso than anything else, these places want to hire someone who would run through a wall for them, they don't want the bratty kid from a top tier school who thinks he's too good to grind through unflattering and tedious work.
-You don't have to do finance to have a shot at top firms next year. You could even travel or take classes. Ultimately even the jr internship isn't a make or break, many people will get better jobs their senior year. So don't stress.
If you don't get internship experience, build your resume/self in other ways this summer. ex volunteer abroad, practice fit questions, take a class, do research on campus, network and if possible take up an internship in the fall. Basically stay busy don't be idle
Yeah, even if you can't get an internship this summer, definitely do something productive. Personally, I think getting involved in some research with a professor, and possibly taking a summer class or two isn't too bad of a back-up plan. And its certainly not too late to get a solid internship either. Even my non-target school's career website still has many listings for summer internships... many small shops are still looking, so your best bet would be to call and e-mail whoever you can get a hold of. I know friends who have gotten internships even after they come home for the summer.
Best of luck man... persistence is the key here
I'm in the same position. Don't let down, man.
Summer after my sophomore year (Originally Posted: 05/30/2015)
I'm a student at the University of Michigan. I am majoring in math and philosophy, and I decided recently that I want to enter consulting after college after competing in a few case competitions that I really liked. Unfortunately I'm not doing anything consulting related this summer. Instead I'm spending my summer volunteering a few nights a week at my local fire department, where I'm a lieutenant and paramedic. I think it'll be a great way to spend my time, but I don't know if it'll be the best for consulting interviews where I'll be competing against people who have had prior internship experience. How important is consulting internship experience for someone who wants to work in consulting? Apologies if this isn't the proper place to ask
I believe having experience should be useful for you. Also, what about joining any consulting (business related) club in your school? :)
How do I avoid wasting my sophomore summer? (Originally Posted: 01/17/2014)
For a little bit of background, I'm a sophomore at a non-target Big 12 school majoring in Chinese and Finance with a 3.7 GPA and a previous internship last summer as a Process Improvement Consulting Intern at a large health insurance company.
I'm studying abroad in Beijing this semester, and as a result different semester schedules in China, I will not return to the US until the beginning of July, something that strongly counted against me during internship recruitment and ultimately left me without an internship for this coming summer.
Coming from a non-target, I know this is probably more of an issue than if I were coming from a target school, as having an internship to leverage into an IB internship junior summer is a bit more important for someone in my situation.
That being said, what is the best thing for me do to do avoid wasting this summer? Although I haven't been able to find any company willing to hire an intern for only a 6 week position, I certainly want to do something productive that will help me get closer to securing an IB internship for the following summer.
Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have local branches for WM all over the country. It's a BS internship but they're not hard to get and it's a name on the res. You won't work many hours so spend your free time on networking and working through this book: Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Acquisitions. It's by a LevFin director at UBS
see if you can intern part-time while you're in china.
network, network, network.
How to make the most of soph. summer without an internship? (Originally Posted: 05/19/2014)
Question is self explanatory.
Update: Thank you both for the suggestions!
Take some blow off classes over the summer to up that GPA and get some gen eds out of the way.
If you're interested in ER you'll have lots of time over the summer to read about and practice different research methods. Get ahold of some initiation/update reports and practice writing your own, too. Going into Junior SA interviews with physical reports you've written will give you a big leg up over kids who only came with verbal pitches prepared.
I just finished my sophomore year too, and I'm pursuing research. Feel free to PM me if you have any more specific questions.
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