Leveraging Summer Analyst Offers

vva2101:

Hey there- you're in luck! There is a great opportunity that I'm recruiting for. It's temp to perm (3 months minimum), well-paid position at a major investment bank. They are looking for a permanent Analyst, so as long as you're good, this should become full-time January 1. Apply to SpareHire.com with Stacey as your referral; I'll admit you and email you the details. This is an ASAP placement for a well-known brand.

Which Firm? Do you want to be in real estate? If not this isn't very transferable. If you want to be in real estate this will be a great start.

Hello Stacey, I just registered for the website you mentioned and apparently they must approve my profile first. Will be in touch soon hopefully.

WellPlayed, I don't want to be in real estate, I want to be in banking.

Stacey, I have applied with you as a referral.

Wtf is this thread

Bump!

1) You can, of course, leverage this in your communications with the firm, but don't be pretentious about it, and maybe save it for after you get the conversation started. If you begin by telling them you've got that SA offer, it might turn them off from hiring you, because they may want you to convert to SA from the winter internship. You're right that it does show value, but you should wait to demonstrate that at the right time.

2a) If it's still going to be a learning opportunity, then it would be good to continue, but if you've extracted all you can and aren't getting paid to boot, there's no point in continuing. But keep in mind that the PE guys might have some good connections in IB as well, so try to take advantage of that before you leave. But again, if there's nothing left to gain from the internship, pursue something else.

2b) Having a diverse array of experience on your resume, if anything, makes you seem more decisive about heading to IB. Since you would have actually done work in all of those areas, it's much easier to talk about why you want to go into IB and not go into those, during interviews. In addition, the variety makes you seem like a candidate who constantly strives to explore and learn more about finance. The fact that you would have put in all that time and effort to try out these different areas of finance makes you seem more well-rounded and at the same time more sure of yourself.

3) Other than what you've already listed and networking, there's an unlimited number of things you can do to make yourself seem more valuable. In general, try to do things that other people will likely not be doing, to make yourself more unique as a candidate. Pursue things that might be a bit off the beaten path. Interesting experiences make for interesting conversations, which will make you more memorable during interviews.

Let me start by saying that you are already in an extremely good position. I think with a year and half long PE internship, you should already have a leg-up on your fellow SA and would assume that unless you really fuck up, you should get a return offer.

Now, in terms of what's the most valuable thing to do next semester, it's really a function of what interest you I would think at this point. As another poster mentioned above, you kind of already tick most if not all the boxes an incoming IBD analyst should tick so doing something that is unique would be my priority. Whether it's working on a start-up idea, doing some investing (either through an AM internship or through a student investment club) or whatever else interest you. I'm also echoing what TheManagingAnalyst said in that having diverse finance experience is definitely a plus, it shows that you are very knowledgeable about the space and really know what you wants and where it can lead you.

The only thing I would advice again is spreading yourself too thin. Keeping your grades up is still crucial, especially if you decide to recruit elsewhere for FT so TBH, that should probably be your first priority. And trust me, you'll miss your student life SOOOOO much once you start working so you should also make sure you have enough time to enjoy life and start your working career with batteries fully charged.

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1. No, don't do this. I think that there is a large disconnect on WSO with what it actually means to leverage an offer. This isn't like price matching at a store; you cannot just go up to a MS and go "I have an offer from GS. Hook me up." Leveraging an offer is revealing that you have an offer is asked while interviewing at another bank, kindly asking HR if they can accommodate you if their superday is after your offer explodes, and mentioning your offer to your network. If you send this via cold email, it comes across like "Hi. I'm Lakesoup and have an offer at Bank X. When can I expect to start at your firm?" I know that you obviously don't mean it like that...

2. None. You already have an SA position. If you get a return offer, great. But, if you don't, that one additional internship won't matter because every firm will only focus on you not having gotten a return offer from your SA (this is a huge red flag).

3. FT offers are handed out based on how hard you work during SA and the overall firm headcount. Most firms will bring in enough interns to fill their FT class plus a few extra (since some will not accept a return offer and others might be flops). Your grades (unless they nosedived), your experience at other firms, etc. will not matter. I would take an Excel and PowerPoint class (BIWS has one that I know of) to sharpen your skills, but other than that, it won't really matter since you will learn all you need in training. An Excel and PowerPoint class will simply help get up to speed a bit quicker.

Good luck. You're in a good position. I would spend the rest of your time studying and networking with people at your firm. You could always grab coffee with an analyst or two.

Appreciate your input sire! I have the BIWS Excel & PP modules (PowerPoint Pro, Excellence with Excel), so I will be getting into that so that I don't become a complete liability.

you have a good head on your shoulder and you are in a good position. I wouldn't sweat the small stuff. Work hard on what you have, get the grades, find new people to talk to, get exposure that is different from others, read some books, and you'll be fine. Enjoy the journey, before you know it you'll be VP at some BB.

1) I don't think this is necessary, especially if you are trying to raise / maintain your current grades. You could get a little constrained on your time resource, so maybe just use your free time doing some modeling practice (e.g., Training the Street).

2) Does not make you seem disorganized - shows that you have a passion for finance and you are seeing what is out there (that's what internships are about). It's all about how you tell the story in a logical way and how it led you to "X." You should explore the opportunities that you want based on long-term goals, but IBD and PE can provide a great foundation for pretty much anything (including HF / AM). You need to acquire the base skill set and banking / PE is the ultimate training ground.

3) Just network and be ready to crush it at your internship! Maybe read the guides and Investment Banking by Rosenbaum and Pearl so you have some more insight into the deal process and the financial analysis / modeling.

+1

Any input on this would be much appreciated.

unless it's IBD there's not much leveraging you can do

How would you have received a return offer if you are only in your sophomore summer? You still have two years of school left.

What is starting salary? Is it even an investment bank?

Do they even know that you are a sophomore? It does not seem possible that they could make you a FT offer unless they were referring to coming back next summer as a junior SA. If they do not have an analyst to do the work that you are doing, then they'll be screwed until you come back anyways, which wouldn't be for another two years.

Are you planning on applying for IB SA next summer?

I would definitely ask for more clarity from my boss before even considering it as a legitimate offer. Also, I personally would not really want to commit to anything in my sophomore summer.

Xanatos:

You are absolutely right that I would need to come back for my junior summer, but I was told that I can shop around for other junior offers (i.e. IBD).

I am definitely planning on IB SA for next summer -- I've also done an IBD internship in Europe after my freshman year, so hopefully that will be a plus. IBD is what I'd like to do, so the CorpDev full time offer would be my backup.

Take the Corp Dev offer and run.

I'd like some advice on this too.

i need advice on this too... thanks

You'd have to already be a contender for the NY bank/position for this to even make any sense. Otherwise, why would they care?

They are strong in oil and gas...just not as strong in Houston.

From my experience the banks are pretty accommodating of requests to move elsewhere for FT after having (successfully) summered at a regional. However, if the Houston guys sniff out this intent during interviews, you are toast.

^Thanks. I'm not sure where I want to work yet, I just want to have the most options.

Would I be correct in saying it's easier to get a GS/MS internship in Houston than a Barclays/CS internship (in Houston)?

I would actually say it's not very easy at all to transfer within the same bank from SA to FT. Have had friends attempt this and it's a very tough situation, pretty much have to go behind the backs of your group to get to NYC. Going from regional SA to NYC FT at a different bank is a whole different story though, as long as the economy is alright you should be able to leverage it assuming you have a return offer.

And I don't think it'd be easier to break into GS/MS compared to other top Houston banks. No BB is easy to get into, especially 2 of the top firms who don't hire that many SAs in Houston. My advice is either to network where you actually want to work or learn to love Energy.

Thank you Mr. Skilling.. I didn't know they had internet in prisons.

Anyone else have anything to add?

Maybe I should clarify what I have envisioned, I am talking about getting a regional sophomore year or junior year internship and leveraging that into an NYC/SF internship at the same bank next year. ie: Become a GS SA in Houston jr. year, then network with the MDs and get them to bat for me so I can land a GS TMT or FIG SA my sr. year. (and then hopefully get hired FT) That was just an example.. don't mean to sound like a GS whore.