No Freshman Internship, What Now?

Hello all, I wasn't able to land a freshman internship, and I was wondering on how I should best make use of the time I have. I will have gotten a 4.0 for both semesters, and I've joined some finance/business related clubs, and have e-board positions lined up for 2 of them. I was planning this summer to take some classes at my local community college, get a summer job, and take some programming classes/courses that I can find. Other than that, I feel like I should be doing more. I didn't really understand the time-frame of when to apply for a freshman summer internship until it was too late. At this point there is obviously nothing left, and even if there was, I wouldn't know where to look.

Comments (20)

15d 
claseazulswish, what's your opinion? Comment below:

I got my freshman internship a week before I started. Reach out to family and friends and see if they know anyone, or cold email local small firms around you. No need for any big names, as freshman year doesn't really matter. Also, this will be tougher if you're not near a NYC or SF type area, but still doable. Good luck!

15d 
168hrweek, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Alright sounds like a plan, thank you. Spring break starts in 2 days so I'll try to do as much as I can during the free week.

Array
  • PM in HF - EquityHedge
15d 

Go work as a lifeguard, camp counselor, etc. It's your last acceptable summer to hang out, work a chill job, etc. 

Most Helpful
15d 
Five Star Man, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Are you all like forbidden by your families to fucking relax?

I swear if people your age don't start taking a breath, midtown will look like Jonestown in a few years. 

You're all going to have a mental breakdown from this stupid pressure and once you realize what the job actually is, you're going to be absolutely miserable that you never enjoyed one day of college. 

Freshman year internships don't mean dick, everyone knows you're not doing real work as an intern. 

  • Intern in IB - Gen
14d 

Lots of government/congress internships are opening now too if you really want to work somewhere. They don't pay too much but they're super chill in most offices and something fun to talk about. I also just looked for a bunch of internships on LinkedIn too during the summer and that proved surprisingly fruitful in finding term-time internships for Fall of sophomore year.

  • 1
13d 
bankingonme, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Fuck man you probably should just pivot to a totally different career path you're doomed without a freshman internship refreshing Outlook and alphabetizing mail

12d 
baba__, what's your opinion? Comment below:

There's still plenty of internships out there for the summer. Don't give up now. Look on linkedin, a family connection, or maybe look into a search fund. Good luck!

12d 
Green_Bananas, what's your opinion? Comment below:

It's only March. It's not too late, it just means you will have to settle for a different industry or a boutique type place. 

As a Freshman I would recommend working for a search fund (PE) if you can stomach no pay (understood if not possible). There's hundreds of search funds on Axial . com looking to hire a college kid as an intern. They're not hard internships to get and it helps being able to write "private equity intern" on your resume. 

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

  • 1
12d 
economicswatcher, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Go study abroad and drink for a summer. You'll grow up figuring out to navigate in a foreign city.

12d 
2_cents, what's your opinion? Comment below:

ngl this is the best comment in this thread. Confirm I did this over my frosh summer and it was bomb, 3 months in Europe, a ton of new friends, and still bagged a sophomore internship no problem

12d 
2_cents, what's your opinion? Comment below:

If IB is really what you want to do, then this is your last summer that you'll have to fuck around with in a long time. No firm is gonna ding you for not having a freshman summer internship, go have some fun before you hit the weeds, you need some sweet memories to ground you during those damned long hours. 

6d 
Colonoscopy3, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Yeah totally feel this. Currently a sophomore and I struck out finding things for my freshman summer. Best lead I had was to a local PE shop where I'll actually be interning at this summer. I worked at a country club and a retail clothing place freshman summer- not bad at all and made a few Gs on the summer. Was still able to kick back and enjoy my time with my family and friends from high school.

If you want anything, I would recommend going on searchfunder.com and applying to a bunch of their internships. I'm doing one rn, and it's pretty easy. About 6-7 hours of work each week, so it's easily doable even with classes and IB SA recruiting. If you apply to a good amount of them, you'll probably get at least one or two interviews. If you have a 4.0 and have some relevant on campus involvement you should get looks. These are typically unpaid but they make your resume look better. 

If you want to make money this summer I'd just pick up something part time in the range of 25-35 hours per week and do the search fund thing on the side. Can get the best of both worlds by doing that.

1d 
yuvaleilat, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Cupiditate animi aut eaque consectetur laudantium. Vel aut praesentium consectetur perspiciatis neque quis quidem et. Sed maxime facilis vitae doloremque nostrum. Sed quos omnis repellat. Est quia quia laborum reiciendis. Nam rerum voluptatibus occaecati minus magnam blanditiis enim. Dolorem aspernatur ab eius sequi repellendus mollitia consequatur.

Ipsum eaque molestiae molestias. Temporibus dolorem ut quibusdam consequatur saepe accusamus nulla. Magni quos exercitationem laboriosam in enim voluptatem. Occaecati vel neque provident mollitia.

Laudantium veniam fugiat quas ab esse nobis et. Consequatur amet suscipit eum illum rerum. Sint quis ipsa unde earum voluptas magnam. Earum necessitatibus tempora ullam aut nisi dolores eveniet.

Start Discussion

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2023 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres (+ +) 99.5%
  • Lincoln International (= =) 99.1%
  • Jefferies & Company (▽02) 98.6%
  • Financial Technology Partners (▽01) 98.2%
  • William Blair (▲10) 97.7%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2023 Investment Banking

  • William Blair (▲04) 99.5%
  • Lincoln International (▲11) 99.1%
  • Canaccord Genuity (▲17) 98.6%
  • Stephens Inc (▲10) 98.1%
  • Financial Technology Partners (▲04) 97.7%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2023 Investment Banking

  • Financial Technology Partners (▲05) 99.5%
  • Lincoln International (▲01) 99.1%
  • Lazard Freres (▲13) 98.6%
  • Jefferies & Company (▽03) 98.1%
  • William Blair (▲02) 97.7%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2023 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (6) $592
  • Vice President (27) $425
  • Associates (141) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (9) $194
  • 2nd Year Analyst (86) $170
  • 1st Year Analyst (264) $171
  • Intern/Summer Associate (45) $165
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (193) $92