Proposing unpaid internship at private equity and IBD firms

Regarding S&T - There are quite a few boutiques that are taking mkt share that you might want to address - BTIG, Broadpoint, Jefferies are 3 that come to mind. If you were able to get a reference from your former boss you might be able to get in contact with one of these groups.

Thanks Ukon and CatsLHP. Well I guess it's worth a shot. Though concerning S&T, it's not something I want to get back into. I don't suppose they are also looking for ibd analysts over at Jefferies and Broadpoint?

Most likely no.

Broadpoint bought Gleacher two months ago, so not only they have enough IBD ppl now, but it is also going to be more competitive to get into Broadpoint IBD in the future... Jefferies IBD laid off a decent number of junior ppl a couple of months back... Not sure about BTIG...

In fact, most of the hiring of these firms is done at VP or MD level. I doubt if they are looking to add junior or entry level ppl at all...

I know it is important to stay optimistic and keep trying.. But honestly speaking, get a plan B... I will not be surprised at all if you are still out of a job by the end of the year. The job market of finance industry is just so bad and to a certain extent, out of a job is not your fault...

Most average and better IBDs and PE shops have established recruiting processes that have concluded by now. Also, most shops look at candidates proposing to work for free as being desperate in a bad way.

IBD is not a good place to be right now, so I recommend looking outside of that (think corporate finance or even non-profit). Also, you could try calling some regional boutiques, as they are often more receptive to the "I'll work for free" pitch.

...with models_and_bottles. Offering to work for free might put you in a position where you might look desperate. Instead, concentrate on boutiques already offering unpaid internships. There are a lot of places offering, or at least mentioning, a possibility of unpaid internship.

Restructuring, both IB and Consulting, might have some open positions. And don't rule out non-for profit places. For example, an internship in a think tank researching alternative energy and/or oil&gas trends, might translate into a position within an energy group once the market rebounds and banks start hiring again.

Hey Kanon. Sorry to hear about your tough problems. Keep at it.

I interned at a small PE shop in DC during school. They were very receptive to bringing on free summer/spring hires. A few of the older interns were even made offers (this was over a year ago, though...) I think you'll find that the smaller the shop (10 people or less), the more receptive they will be to free labor. I would suggest targeting those in cities you might not think of off the bat (Seattle, DC, cities in Florida, Texas energy PE shops, Mid-West, etc.

Hope that helps.

I agree with Alphaholic. Try networking with alumni too. Let me know if you need help drafting emails to alumni. Unpaid internships, or any kinds of internships, are best found through a connection.

Thanks everyone for the input and support.

Unfortunately, I'm in Canada, so there are far fewer PE and IBD shops. That also means trying the mid-west, texas, etc. is not an option - with the lack of sponsored work visa. I was thinking of trying firms in Hong Kong or Shenzhen and offering to work for free this summer for the experience (I can work there w/o sponsorship). There are some smaller PE shops in that area, has anyone had any experience working in boutique PE/IBD shops in HK/China?

I do have some exp with PE, and I have made a positive impact on a few IBD/PE shops - but they all come back w/ the same response ("We're interested in you, but we're not hiring now... maybe later in the year/in fall"). I guess right now I just want to have a good learning exp these next few months so I'll have a good answer to: 'so what have you been doing these past few months up until now' once I follow up with them.

SAC: I have been contacting alumni, and it has helped a bit (in fact, I have a call scheduled with a MD at a PE FoF soon). But generally the feedback is the same: I've got good exp, but the market sucks... I guess this also leads me to ask, are firms willing to consider applicants that have already graduated and have 1-2 yrs of work experience for incoming Analysts for 2010? Personally I'm fine with becoming a 1st yr analyst again, but would they go for it?

When you speak to alums, push for a meeting in person. Establishing face to face contact is critical, and until you meet him in person, you're just some kid from their school they spoke to once over the phone who's name they can barely remember. Ask intelligent questions and prepare for these meetings. As for your second question, I do think they will consider you for 2010 incoming analyst classes, but they do most of their recruiting on-campus so unless you can network your way through a connection, you might hit a brick wall.

Here's some thoughts - -

1) it's really a cultural thing how much willingness a firm would have to take somebody unpaid. some places will definitely force you through the HR/recruiting bureaucracy if you're an entry-level or less experienced person. some places won't care at all, and if you approach someone senior-enough at those firms, he'll do whatever he wants.

2) another cultural thing -- it will vary how people respond to unpaid work requests. some places honestly will be concerned for you, not wanting to give even a whiff of the impression that they could be exploiting you, and won't go near you for that reason. (despite all you hear about the dog-eat-dog nature of wall street, there are definitely some places where ethics are on the front burner)

that also means that they would be very concerned about knowing you were from out of town, were financing your own travel and expenses, and were still getting no money from them. so if you wanted to do that (and I'm just guessing here) it would be an easier sell if your entre' into the firm was some sort of personal contact -- family friend, or something. that would sort of frame it as a favor to that person, and if that's the case, the firm would be less concerned, perhaps, with how you're affording to do this. (we really don't like the idea of a young person living in a rathole (I'm in NY if you didn't guess) and eating beans out of a can just to work on our trading floor. doesn't make us feel good - - we're all in the business because we've got an aversion to poverty, remember!)

3) so that means you want to be sure to exhaust all your local options first, imho. if your goal is to work in the US eventually, then you could even try something like interning at the local branch of a plain-old retail brokerage (Morgan Stanley or Merrill etc.) you will have to be careful down the road to finesse that on your resume or in interviews, because institutional I-bkg/trading does tend to have a snobbish attitude about retail brokerage. but after a year or two, when you've got more recent lines on your resume, people will just notice the firm name and pay almost zero attention to what you actually did there.

4) finally, don't forget about cheapskates. our firm is extremely cheap, and has done a lot of layoffs, and even done salary cuts. and of course, that's pissed a lot of people off. but someone who could come in, have some enthusiasm, and actually cost nothing - - that could be like a breath of fresh air.

5) another way to get around the "out of town" thing would be to say that you already have another job lined up for money, and that's why you'll be around for the summer, and you want to do the internship on top of it. i mean, there may also be some places where they have the culture where a lot of people came from money, and they might not be so uncomfortable with the idea of you being in town, supported by your parents, as a way to get started in the industry. other firms might look down on that. so, again, it's all cultural.

6) another thing on the ethical front - - some firms also are strict about not doing unpaid internships unless you'll definitely be getting college credit for it. (technically, it might even be viewed as illegal, to employ someone in a profit-making endeavor, and not pay them. but i don't know, maybe it's o.k. below a certain number of hours. remember, it doesn't have to be a full-time internship for it to be legit for your resume ... even 2 or 3 days a week or half days or something still give you a line on the resume, and something to talk about in interviews. after all, that's your real goal.)

Oh and thanks SAC for the additional note. I was out of Canada for awhile when contacting alums so I typically ask if we can setup a call in my emails. In my first email to them, would it be too bold/troublesome (on their part) to ask for some time to meet up for coffee?

I guess another thing is, how do you stay in contact with alumni you meet simply via email? I guess the idea is to occasionally check in with them to let them know you're alive and still looking, but with more finesse than something like "Hi, How are you? I wanted to follow up to see if anything has come up for me". You know... so not to look like an annoying jackass just emailing for personal gain.

I think you should always position your email as a request for advice/guidance from a senior person, sometimes they will respond asking to set up a call or sometimes even a meeting. If you speak with them over the phone, offer to buy them coffee when you're in the area. I feel like if you ask them outright to meet up for coffee in an email, they're less likely to respond, you are a stranger after all. A phone call softens them up. Obviously, you don't want to exhaust all topics of conversation during the phone call itself.

In regards to staying in touch, I usually ask them to review my resume or their opinion on how to prepare for a certain interview. Establishing a mentor-protege sort of relationship should be your goal.

I'm a rookie on here but i'll give you my input on your topic because I just went through it. I am traveling a little bit this summer right after graduation (next week) then in august so I couldn't totally consider a fulltime job...YET So I did what very few people do, and I cold called Merrill Lynch. There are five in the vicinity of where i'm living that I wouldn't mind driving to every day, so why not right? I gave them my 2 minute pitch and most said "not hiring try back again in 3-6 months" and others said "send us your resume and i'll see if anyone's looking for unpaid interns in the office." Well came down to two more Merrill Lynch's and one said "you can send your resume in or fill out an application here," so of course thinking wisely (even though 2 clicks of a mouse could send my resume in 20 seconds) I quickly asked what time would work out the best for me to come in (turning the table towards them as if i'm worth their time and they should meet me). It worked, and she told me the best time would be after market hours. Long story short I got to meet her face-to-face and pitch in person. It took a while to get through the paper work but i'm getting my fingerprints for them in a few days and will be with them all summer working on team projects and will be in a really productive internship (as she told me)and unpaid with NO personal expenses but gas. Don't let anyone tell you different that cold calling doesn't work, think about it.. in the business you cold call people.. and if your good you can close strangers but mostly in a face-to-face situations. I say go for it, who knows you might have some hobby or something really in common with HR or a hiring manager or a senior partner..and eventually parlay it into a full time job (but one step at a time). There's good advice given so far like alumni/parents networking and asking good questions is important. 2 minutes picking up the phone could show you that hiring managers love ambition regardless if it's a boutique or not.

Good luck, i'll be rooting for you..let me know how it turns out!

Yea the lady i spoke with said mostly PWM and I'd be working with some paid interns as well or with specific senior advisors. I know ML doesn't get the biggest credit for this internship but in this time right now i'll take it. i'll put all i have in it and hopefully get a lot out but more specifically for resume building. It's pretty much the only thing I can do now because i'm pretty set on teaching english over seas in August and I want to visit family right after I graduate.

Thanks for sharing your story Sigmachi5 - rookie or not, I think the way you landed your internship role was pretty impressive, and I'm sure it'll make a good story for when you're gunning for a FT job. Definitely let us know how it goes.

Just curious what you usually say in your 2 min pitch. I'm going to try my hand at a few firms. It's definitely a lot easier with firms with alumni, but for small shops that only have telephone numbers and no publicly listed emails of the senior professionals, it'll be phone calls most of the way and that's more difficult to pull off...

Kanon, i'll send you a message in a second, drexalum seems to think he walks on water for some reason. Like i said earlier, it's not the most highly looked at internship but I still met with the manager and upper level people so it'll be easier when I DO come back from teaching over seas to go full time. I mostly shared my story to show you it just takes heart and hard work, you'll land something good it'll just be a matter of time

Drexel was right. I have a buddy who has a 2.1-2.3 GPA who got a similar ML PWM internship, with no previous connections to the firm.

I don't walk on water, that's just the truth.

That's fine I understand its not the best, but i'm still meeting and working with people in ML. I made the comment because i've been in a previous forum before and drexel likes to make comments behind his computer screen like he's the shit. I understand constructive critisism but i'm sorry some people on here think that their degree and brains can get them pussy. I have to walk before I run but I didn't start this forum, Kanon did.. so like I'll say one more time..i'm going to teach English overseas in August so my focus was to obtain an internship that makes sense...I just thought it was worth it to put my 2 cents in and share my story with Kanon.

Ps- on a happier note..pennypacker i love juventus and all but you gotta give it to my boy C. ronaldo today.. GO MAN. U.