Can I get just one reply?
Hello everyone,
I have been reading WSO forums for about a year and they have been very helpful. This is my first post and I hope to get a response. I am currently a Junior at Baruch college in NYC. I have not been able to secure an IB internship for the summer. I am starting to freak out because on this site it gives the general feel of "SA internship in junior year or your shit".
Why have I failed to secure an internship? It is most likely my shitty gpa.
Background info: I am the son of two immigrant parents who could not afford to send me to college. Fortunately, I received a sports scholarship to a no name school in Vermont. I attended that school for two years before realizing I would need to transfer if I wanted to pursue IB. So I transferred to baruch(low tuition). I basically screwed up my first year at this school because my head wasn't right( parents divorced, best friend since 8yo died).. I am not looking for pity, just explaining my situation.
Anyway now in my Junior year, my cum gpa is a mere 2.7 but my Business school/major gpa should be a 3.7 after this semester. I had an internship at a real estate firm last summer(minimal finance experience) but besides that I do not have any internships/experience. I have been reaching out to alum on Linkedin and trying my best to network. I have applied to every online app through "career center, craigslist, indeed, etc". I am also starting to cold email boutique banks.
My questions are:
Is it too late? Am I being too hopeful/ naive thinking I will get a summer internship by cold emailing?
What are my options? Should I forget about IB, if so, what direction should I pursue in my situation?
Do I still have a chance in the finance world? I want to be able to secure a job with the opportunities and pay similar to IB.
Once again, I am not looking for pity and I am deff not looking to be trolled because of my grammar/spelling lol. I wrote this on the way to class.
Please I am looking for any genuine advice
Thanks so much
Hey so I'm also in NYC and in Baruch College with a shitty GPA. I was able to land an internship but it wasn't what I wanted. I was hoping for IB but with my gpa it isn't happening. After sending countless messages on linkedin, and looking at craigslist ( there are many internship opportunities on there) I was able to land a few interviews and eventually a summer internship doing equity research at a small firm in the city. It's not a JPM but its better than nothing and its experience. My best advise to you from someone with a shitty gpa and in the same school is to keep trying to network and keep looking. Don't set high expectation and set a goal to a big firm. It isn't going to happen. Try to sell your passion for finance and show your knowledge as much as you can, show that through the questions you ask them. Don't give up.
Thanks a lot for this. Good luck to you!! Are you trying to pursue FT at your current firm? Or do you think you will eventually try to move over to IB?
I would love a FT offer but if I don't get one, it's ok. I'll use my experience to try to land other opportunities. Try to stay Thomistic
Sure, here's an honest reply: Both your school and GPA are trash. Also you're incredibly annoying. You are not fit for this industry.
Thanks a lot! I've put a lot of effort into that
I think the best thing for you to do is apply for (even, or especially) informal internships at boutiques. Often the application process is more down to an interview and fit, and you will be up against less impressive candidates. You won't get knocked out by someone in HR (hopefully) and you will never see the competition that you see for the BB/MM banks. Befriend anyone who is in the industry or is friends with someone in the industry and be very serious about looking to gain work experience. Even if you only do an unpaid couple of weeks it is better than nothing and you can spin it whatever way you like when it comes to FT recruiting. Check for shops in your local area, either home or where you go to school so that you give off a feeling at home vibe when you interview. You can chat to the people there about local news and things like that. Good luck, I know what it feels like to have the shit kicked out of you in recruiting, it's a very tough process. Just remember: it only takes one acceptance.
Thank you so much for your advice. I'm not 100% sure with what you mean by "informal" internships. Could you please clarify for me
What I mean by informal is that there is no curriculum set for the time you spend there. You go in on the first day, sign a non-disclosure agreement and then sit around and hope somebody has something for you to do. This would probably be an unpaid situation but really you can't be picky at this point, and it doesn't matter that you don't do anything. You can use tools online to learn about comps, DCF, etc. and so when you go to interviews you can say that you learned those things.
You can get in finance if you think you can.
I would say generally speaking your chances getting IB summer internships are probably not that great since I would think most boutiques are finished recruiting now.
But you still have hope, take it from me - I attended a non target in nyc and back in mid March last year I had no IB internship offers in hand, I also panicked but somehow kept at it (cold emailing and cold calling) and in early April I got lucky and got an IB internship at a no name boutique here in the city.
I stayed there for a few months before switching to a larger boutique and did another internship there, I did not get an offer there but I went away with a FT offer from a top MM in nyc instead when the fall recruiting finished last year, and also got an offer from a BB.
Back then I did not think I would have a position like that but everything is possible if you keep at it, work hard and have a convincing story and techncials.
Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for your reply. What would you say we're your most successful aspects I'm cold calling. Was it having a strong email template? Or was it finding something you could relate to with the "recruiter"..etc what was the process like for the first boutique ib where you first interned. Ex: how many emails/ meet up for coffee before interview offer, etc. Thanks again
You're very far behind the game at Baruch, which is already behind most other schools. Utilize the resources the campus has and the organizations on campus. IMG/Wall Street Club/STARR.
If you truly want IBD, I would say the most likely path is to do the following: Delay a Semester/Year, allowing you to up your GPA/EC's/Experience -> Intern anywhere you can possibly get into --> Come back prepared/studied and ready for the next recruiting cycle.
Thanks a lot for your advice. And I thought I wouldn't be able to join img or wsc because they have a gpa requirement. So if I delay my graduation a semester, would I be able to apply to IB SA internships as a junior next summer? Would it be looked down upon/ noticed by recruiters that I delayed a semester?
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