Corp Fin MBA internship to MM banking full time?

Gunga Galoonga Looper:

I know a person that did this, but he did have two year analyst stint at about a 10-man IB shop prior to b-school. I think that it will be possible given what I have heard about banking recruiting at top schools. I would start doing your homework on banks that you want to work for now though. It does not hurt to start talking to people to figure out which banks are the best to approach. I would just start with your classmates that have IB internships.

Thanks for the reply. My pre-mba background is in strategy at a small start-up, with some limited exposure to capital raising. The internship I'm taking should expose me to financial modeling and business unit strategy. The company targets M7 schools for this particular role. Hopefully I can leverage the skills I develop there.

I would definitely keep in touch with your classmates that have internships throughout the summer and make sure to kill it at your internship. I don't think that I would reach out to the banks until very late in the summer at the earliest because the banks will be working with the MBAs currently working as interns with them. You also don't want a bad review from your internship because there may be people there that will be willing to help get you into banking. It would probably be best to spin that I you weren't as interested as you thought you were going to be in corporate and want to explore banking. Or you saw former bankers in better positions at the firm (Corp Dev.) and were more attracted to their work which demands a banking background.

Note: I am on the buyside now so this is just opinion and what I have seen in the past.

CuriousAnalyst:

Any reason why you dont want to pursue the Corp. Finace for full time? Whats the compensation like?

I prefer a more transactional role that would allow me to work with many different companies and interact with high level execs. The exit opps from IB are also top notch. I only took this role because its a mix of strategy and finance (many ex-consultants in this group) otherwise working on fp&a or balancing budgets sounds like a waste of an MBA.

The comp for full time is approximately 115 per year first year but keep in mind this is in a very low cost of living city.