First Internship Offer - Should I or Should I Not?
Im currently a sophomore at a non-target school and got an summer internship offer at Wells Fargo. However there seems to be a catch. Its not at the corporate NYC but rather in a small home mortgage office nearby. I sent an email to the manager of the place after we had met at a career fair. He said that my tasks will be to mainly make copies and run the errands of the office (none of which I want to do). I've applied to some real internship positions at JPM, GS, Bloomberg and Barclays but haven't heard back from them yet. My question is , should I take up the gig at WF and do something menial or wait for the more meaningful positions?
Is it paid?
no, sorry should have mentioned that. it's not paid. he said he would be willing to give me credit (and a convincing(?) letter of rec, but according to the policies of my school i may have to pay up to 3k for that.
That sounds terrible
don't do it
sounds shitty forget it
Don't pay 3K to get coffee. Do a PWM unpaid internship instead.
I did an "ad hoc" internship at a PWM shop for HNW and ultra-HNW clients a few years ago and it was an incredible experience (target clients were QPs who could invest in HFs and PE).. Had unrestricted access to money managers who came through office, and got info interviews later in the summer with several MDs and President-level guys in NY (firm is in NC).
This was atypical, though, and several other friends who did unpaid interships were stuck doing spreadsheets every day while I was eating crab cake sandwiches with Hedgies and playing golf with client advisors. I did a lot of prospect research and some spreadsheets, but the reason I was there was to expand my network.
Botttom line: they really liked me at the info interview, and they assured me that I would have access to top industry pros. They knew that I was using the internship as one big networking opportunity so they supported me (and still do). On the flipside, the firm only hires advisors with a well-established book, so I knew there was no opportunity for me directly after college.
At a time when I had no offers for SA in NY, this was a perfect opportunity. I have some incredible contacts now, and I'm sure my first job will be a result of them. I agree with the above comment, but be sure to ask a lot of questions and understand what you'll be doing. And don't be afraid to ask them to help you meet people, especially if you're working for them for free!
^^^^^ Sounds like an awesome experience. Good for you.
I just recommended PWM as a better alternative-- it may not be as good as what you had, but maybe it'll be better than fetching coffee for the local WF mortgage department.
thanks for the responses. i agree with you all that this is a pretty useless gig. also, forgive me for this but im still trying to get used to the lingo. could someone define PWM, HNW and QP? thanks.
bigfatpanda, that sounds like a really invaluable experience you had. care to share how you landed it?
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