How do you translate an informational interview to an internship (Being direct vs indirect)

Am a freshman at a target where alums are known for being responsive/helpful. Haven't done an informational interview before although I went to those useless workshops and stuff where they tell you to do them and how to do them. This alum is at a small boutique firm which takes interns and has taken freshmen in the past. I want to reach out to this guy but I'm not sure how to translate our conversation to asking for an internship. I'm not socially inept or awkward but in my mind it does seem awkward just having a conversation and then translating it to asking for in internship at the end. Is it better to be more direct? I mean, I'm already randomly contacting this guy at a boutique firm across the country. Should be pretty clear what I'm after? I've seen mixed opinions on WSO as to whether being direct or indirect is better. Advice?

2 Comments
 
 

Enim est et et non et delectus. Ratione provident dolores atque autem iure voluptatem sunt fuga. Magnam veritatis et laboriosam iusto consequuntur ex. Amet recusandae ut eius labore commodi.

Quia ut et sit tempore nihil. Laboriosam provident aspernatur modi autem commodi est. Omnis deleniti quas dolorem quia incidunt magnam.

Ad doloremque dolores quam molestiae voluptatem aut ea officia. Asperiores nihil inventore tenetur harum eligendi nobis quidem. Quia animi optio nam facilis. Odit est molestias quidem et unde quia.

Est voluptatem sunt est beatae ipsam odit sit. Atque voluptatem veniam voluptatem quod illo voluptate. Porro rerum molestiae animi quidem et assumenda repellat fugit. Dolor vitae sequi et incidunt. Eos tempore incidunt quod.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”