Sophomore with No Interview From Prop Trading Firms

I'm a sophomore from a target school with a 3.5 GPA. I applied to three top prop trading firms and didn't get interview from anyone. At the moment, I'm very stressed out thinking that I won't be able to land any S&T internship this summer. At this late of the game, should I kept on applying to other less known prop trading firms or should I just give up on S&T for this summer? Anything that I can do to maximize my chance of landing an internship?

 
Best Response

Anything in finance. AM and PWM tend to take a good amount of sophomore interns. Obviously getting something more trading related would be ideal, but you're just a sophomore and firms understand this. In my opinion and from my own experience, getting an internship sophomore year is harder than getting one junior year or getting a full-time offer due to the fact that, as mentioned above, most places don't want sophomores but you need something to be competitive come junior year recruiting. Also, start-ups and consulting jobs (even if they're not directly related to finance) tend to be good as well. I personally worked at a start-up(nothing fancy) my soph summer and was able to land an S&T internship my junior summer and full time offer as well as another S&T full-time offer from a BB. So don't freak out if you can't find anything too good, as long as you do something you'll be fine.

 

I also know fellow interns who worked in government jobs their soph summer so you can also go that route as well. Again, finance and specifically something trading related would be ideal and help your resume to stand out more come junior year, but you will by no means be disadvantaged if you don't get one. The one caveat being if you go to a non-target/semi-target, then doing something trading related or any front-office work will greatly help you increase you odds of getting an interview.

 

First of all, 3 applications is nothing. Use the law of large numbers to your advantage, always.

Prop shops don't have large intern classes, and consequently you have little chance of getting in as a sophomore. Your best bet for trading as a sophomore (although in my personal opinion you should be a little bit more humble and also apply for PWM/MO such as market risk roles) is S&T at a non-BB such as BNP Paribas, PNC, etc.

 

Facilis voluptatem velit placeat nulla voluptates. Atque esse ut vero quas at. Quos expedita non unde nihil quisquam hic nesciunt. A deserunt sed doloremque perspiciatis sed. Perspiciatis assumenda eos aut qui. Temporibus debitis et suscipit doloribus et consequatur dicta voluptas.

Mollitia iure labore asperiores ipsum veniam enim. Laudantium omnis tempore exercitationem labore distinctio. Optio vitae voluptas incidunt fugit doloribus aut. Nemo esse ullam sequi quia. Consequatur ut et labore est est corrupti mollitia. Rem qui illo ipsam voluptatum et ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (20) $385
  • Associates (88) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (67) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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

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...”