Freshman Year Internship Advice
So I'm a freshman currently looking for an internship for the summer. I understand that I really can't provide value to firms and more looking to show interest/dedication in the finance field, so I'm pretty willing to take an unpaid internship. Currently, I've looked for the BB PWM banks near me, but found that there's really only 4-5 that are close enough (live in Orange County area). I've emailed a few of them, and the first one got back to me saying that they don't offer such short term internships (apparently most of their interns work from school year into summer). Should I be specific about asking for a PWM summer internship? I'm gonna try to look for any possible alumni networks from Berkeley, and also maybe contact some Boutique IB firms. Do you guys have any advice? And also what is the timeline/deadline to contact people? I was thinking I would first inquire about any internship opportunities, then at a certain date, offer to work for free, but wanted to make sure that I'm not too late. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you!
Hey shiftygonia, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your thread! Bummer...could just be time of day or unlucky (or the question/topci is too vague or too specific). Maybe one of these topics will help:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
thank you! I've read all of these posts already haha, just looking for more information and guess was hoping for specific leads or something possibly.
OC is right next to LA. You could commute to LA. Have you looked there?
yea I have started to look there recently. Sadly most places are 20+ miles and just thinking about going through LA traffic 5 days a week makes me cry haha. if it comes to it i'll have to though
Yeah if not that, move to NYC for the summer for an unpaid internship. It will be harder to apply from the West Coast, but is doable.
Lots of boutiques in the bay area and in OC. At this point, I'd wait until after the new year before continuing to reach out so you don't get lost in the holiday shuffle. Plus, for the size of the firms you should be targeting, intern search isn't on most of their radars yet.
Regardless, cast a wide net as a freshman and regularly look through the job listing posted via berkeley's career center. Those companies are already specifically looking to hire interns, even freshmen in some cases. Plus, even for jobs that prefer sophomores+ there's usually some flexibility if you're good
Great thank you so much for the help! Appreciate it a ton
You're showing fantastic initiative for a freshman, and frankly your planning is well ahead of most of us who are around your age :P
With respect to internships for the summer, I think you can do well to reach out to folks over the next few weeks post Thanksgiving. Your target ideally would be regional boutiques / PE firms. You can send an email asking for 15-20 minutes of their time to discuss their work and the firm. It's generally a crapshoot, but I think folks would generally be receptive to getting on the phone with a freshman. A quick google search should be useful for you in identifying regional boutiques.
Given you are 6 months out from summer, you should have ample enough time to build relationships that go beyond just asking for a job in the summer, so you don't necessarily need to start out front asking for internships. I would use the introductory call to get to know the individual and ask meaningful questions about the firm/industry. Be sure to keep in touch following the introductory call over the next few months, where you can ask them about potential opportunities at the firm and how to best position yourself. They will in most cases loop you in to the process, or will look to refer you to someone they know is looking to hire an intern.
You don't really need to go off to start saying you'll work for free, but it can be useful in reservation should their concern be with respect to compensation. I really don't think paying a freshman $10-15 an hour is prohibitive at all if it's a reputable shop with decent deal flow.
If you stay the process and ensure that you keep in touch with your contacts, you will have a representative list of contacts by the end of the spring, a potential internship opportunity, and a few solid contacts that you can leverage moving forward. As with anything, Networking is a skill and art that requires constant development and maintenance post the first steps. Doing so consistently however could reap great rewards for you as you move further into your undergraduate career in all respects. Best of luck and do keep us posted as to your progress :)
Thank you so much for the help!
Part of my initiative is definitely the stress of applying to Haas. I'm realizing that there is very little time for me to get internships/experience on my resume in time for the application. Of course, I really want to explore these careers and test my interest, but this definitely pushes me to start early.
I've started compiling various lists of local IBs, as well as some PE firms/VC. One big thing is I can't always tell the differences between Real Estate/Investment management/Financial Services in their title (not super familiar with the business industry tbh). Are there any other common internship titles/positions/industries/firms that are doable for freshman/would be great learning experiences that you know of?
That seems like a great process, asking for advice/wisdom on career paths and their industry. I feel that depending on the work I would be doing, I am very willing to take an unpaid intership if I can learn a ton, especially if it is at any IB.
Thank you for the help again! Appreciate it a ton!
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