How is the US FT Recruiting Landscape for Canadians?

Hi everyone, I'm currently a senior student at a Canadian Semi-Target. I was wondering how hard would it be to directly recruit for US MM Banks directly for full time rather than lateraling. My background are listed as below:

- School/Academics: Semi-Target, 3.7/4.0

- Internship Experience: Interned at different Big 5 Canadian Banks for Sales & Trading, Corporate Banking and have an upcoming off-cycle IB

- Extracurriculars: Participated in school's consulting and finance clubs

Just in case anyone asks why I didn't do my SA or internships in US, I've actually always wanted to go to the US but my experiences before this summer were not good, so I decided to focus on Canadian side of things first. I'd appreciate if anyone can shed some light on how hard it is for me to make this move and perhaps any banks like Jefferies that are open to accepting international students would be great. Thanks in advance.

1 Comments
 

Minima nam numquam quo id. Impedit ab impedit qui. Molestiae doloribus doloremque sed mollitia ad perspiciatis consequatur enim. Magni voluptatem nam ut voluptates laudantium porro quis nihil.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”