1st email to alumni: ask for internship??

One of the alumni from my school is a MD at a small Boutique bank near my school. I was wondering, when i email him telling him that I'm interested about ib should i ask then and there for an internship during the fall semester? The bank only has about 5-6 employees and not that many people go into finance from my school so there's no one else looking for an internship.

 

Id say if you are good at making conversations, send an email asking for 10 minutes of his time to talk about IB, but dont mention interning yet. if the conversation goes well, ask if the firm would be willing to take an intern.

 
Best Response

Small firms are more likely to offer informal internships. I'm sure it will be unpaid. Like Total said, start the conversation out as being about info on IB and him, how he got involved with it and his advice. Then he might ask you about what you've done and you can transition into how you're looking for work experience. You could ask him what he would recommend as work experience for you at this time and it'll ease into it bett er than just point blanking asking him in the email if they have any internship opps for you. the principle is that they need to like you before they give you an internship. And if you just start out by asking for an internship then they may assume you're like other insincere guys that are just hitting up alumni for a handout. If he likes you then he'll be more willing to help you out. At bigger firms, the process is more structured. At smaller firms, it is even more true that if they like you then they'll offer you some work experience, though it'd be unpaid (which you should be willing to start with anyways)

 
Anthony .:
When you meet a girl in the bar do you ask to sleep with her the second she says hi? Make some small talk and see how helpful he is. Nothing like jumping the gun right away.
This is absolutely the best description I've ever heard of how you should approach situations like this.
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

ask to talk to him on the phone and BS with him a little. I did this recently for a S&T position, and brought up the possibility of interning after graduation ( i also brought up a not so hot resume) and he said how about trying for an analyst position first and told me he'd give my resume to some people he knew. Basically, what i'm trying to say is that it depends on the person you're talking to, how the conversation is going etc. You really need to get on the phone and see how it goes. I honestly thought this guy didn't even have the time to talk to me and he went way out of his way to try and help me out.

 

I would definitely take it a bit slower (as others have said above). Start first by asking for some advice and establishing a bit of a dialogue. From there, you can ask for a phone call or meeting to discuss a few more issues and then you can ask if he happens to know of any potential need for an intern with his firm. You want to build a bit of support in your corner with the person before asking for a job, interview, resume drop, etc - it doesn't take long to build a conversation, but it can definitely pay off.

Check this out for help with a networking phone session: http://www.bankonbanking.com/2009/08/25/effectively-working-the-informa…

 

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