Hello Everyone,
Would accepting a back office operations position at a BB firm for my sophomore summer hurt my ability to get a FO SA role junior year?.
Is this better/worse than a local PWN internship? Are there any other areas you would recommend that I look this late in the recruitment process?
I really appreciate your help!
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no, it would help. as a sophomore you want to get any experience you can get, and to be completely honest all youll be doing in PWM is BO stuff anyway--better to get a BB on your resume as a sophomore and network with people within the firm.
I disagree. It would hurt you, as it hurt me. I go to a target (H/W) and did BO at (GS,MS) for sophomore. Landed lots of first rounds, but the question always came down to "why did you do BO"? I wanted to stab these interviewers for asking such stupid questions, I mean....it was a soph year and I really wanted to do something for experience.
If that's not hurting, consider this. Several firms switched divisions on me just b/c I did BO..like IBD to Tech...or AM to Risk..how f'ed up is that?
There is a huge stigma against BO in the eyes of FO guys and it bit me in the ass every step of way. Although I did finally receive offers in FO for this junior year summer, it was a tough battle.
Trust me, you are much better off doing nothing. It shows that you are a malleable/fresh. Employers these days, especially HR, loves to pigeonhole you, so be very careful.
This is from direct experience
I did BO at JP/MS as a sophomore and interviewed for IB at the end of my internship. Am going to be IBD SA this coming summer. I go to a target as well.
I disagree with drnoey...you should definitely do something rather than nothing. I think it also depends on which bank you're at...my BB was very helpful when I told them I wanted to interview for a different division.
I did BO and got interviews for FO. Same with my roommate.
If you BO as a junior (after not getting FO offers) at a BB, you are screwed then right?
Double post, sorry
If you only have 2 offers BO @ BB > PWM. Someone above said time at PWM will be spent doing back office work - they are right. So you might as well have a brand name on that resume of yours.
Remember that cliche "get a foot in the door"...well it became a cliche for a reason. BO is obviously not the fast track to FO but it does give you that foot in the door and the ability to network your way to a FO interview. It is up to you what you do with your opportunity. Worse case if your BO experience comes up in a future interview spin it in your favor and move on to a highlight on your resume.
I did BO/MO during my Sophmore summer and although the work sucked, as someone mentioned already the networking opportunities were pretty key. I was in the same building as the IBD, and due to the pretty light hours of BO/MO I was able to schedule a lot of informational interviews/coffee chats with the bankers throughout the summer. It definitely helped me in landing a job in IBD later on.
Ok I agree; the good part is the networking, but that's only if you are fortunate enough to be near the bankers/traders. I was so so far away from the action that frankly I am bit embarrassed to tell ppl what I did. I cant even put a bankifying spin on it.
beepbop, you are lucky. my BB was very against the fact that I wanted to be in FO. I remember the hr conversation vividly; the lady got really angry when I brought it up.
I don't think any experience can hurt you, especially when you are only a soph in college. Just because an interviewer asks you why you went BO doesn't mean they don't like it.. they may just be looking for what kind of response you'd give.
Obviously if you have a chance for FO internship then take that, but I wouldn't consider doing NOTHING better than BO in college.
I did a BB BO internship for sophomore year and it definitely helped me get FO interviews. I networked my ass off by emailing and calling alumni working there, being sociable in the cafeteria, making friends with HR and FO interns etc and although my desk sat a couple floors above the trading floors I still got to shadow 10+ traders/salespeople over the summer. From that experience, I not only gained a better understanding of how a bank functions but also what each FO role entails and that is ultimately how i found out where my interests lie
Would it still be worth it if the BO internship is not anywhere near (different cities) the FO division that I am interested in?
I mean you're going to have to do an internship either way. If you're asking if doing a BO internship is better than sitting on your ass, then yes.
And you're only a sophmore. If you really want to succeed then take the BO internship this semester & shoot for a FO internship next year. It can only help your chances.
Long story short, take the best you can get. Sometimes you have to play the cards you are dealt & take the experience and apply it to moving up at a later time.
Back Office as a sophomore (Originally Posted: 06/04/2011)
After concluding a 6 week internship in pe, i have the chance to work back office at a big bank like CS or MS, is it worth pursuing just to get the name on the resume?
** trying to break into IB, S&T or PE for jr year
It could be good for networking, but you won't really gain any transferable skills if it is BO ops. As a sophomore it certainly wouldn't hurt, I'll say that much.
Do you have any flexibility in regards to what type of BO position? Something in say, product control (finance) would be preferable to ops.
if your trying to get into IB, S&T or PE , don't do this. You won't gain as mentioned any transferable skills and ops is a complete pigeon hole. Any chance you'd do a SA at a small boutique? I know a number of em in NY that are looking to hire.
I think a BB BO SA for a Soph is fine. While most people do PWM you'll have gone through a structured 10 week internship at a brand name. True your skills might not be very transferable to the FO but it's a great name and experience on your resume. However as the above poster mentioned - if you can do a IB SA at a boutique you should take that instead. If not I think this internship is definitely worth pursuing (as long as you know you won't be doing BO FT)
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