How to network/get the prized internship Target school

Hello All,

Freshman undergrad student at Wharton here aiming for megafund PE after graduation. Dont have anything lined up for the summer and while I do realize it is pretty early, I would like to learn more about the process so when I'm a sophomore/junior I'll have it easier.

I'm essentially wondering if its a good idea to cold email boutique PE/IB/VC firms and hustle to try to get the first internship. I was also wondering if it would be a good idea to reach out to alums now or if I should keep that when I am a sophomore/junior when the alumnus help will be much more needed/important.

Should I also try learning some technicals before? If so, what should I be looking at?

Opinions are appreciated

 
Best Response

Hey welcome to WSO. So definitely a few things to address in your post... I'll try to do it in an order that makes sense.

So you're definitely in the right place at the right time - being at UG Wharton knowing you're interested in finance and wanting to take proactive steps Freshman year will give you a huge leg up on recruiting for Wall Street Jobs. With that being said, while going from Wharton UG -> Megafund PE after graduation is possible (probably one of five-ish schools that people actually do it), you have to remember that there is probably MF PE job spots nationwide, so you could be the perfect candidate, extremely well connected, personable, phenomenal interviewer, and have an insane resume, but not land it -it's gonna be that competitive. Keep in mind that you might end up doing IB/some related career for a few years after college if you start down this path - hopefully something youll find no issue with.

As far as specific advice for this summer coming for Wharton, I think you're going to find very mixed/not focused advice from WSO - while its a great forum to learn the basics of IBD/recruiting and if you have specific questions, for a question this broad with a specific end goal in mind that most people don't have experience with (MF PE post UG), you would be much better served getting advice from older students at Wharton with similar backgrounds & goals. I'm confident that there are student clubs and other organizations around campus focused on IB/PE/Career on Wall Street - I would look to that for better guidance as they will have great information on Whartons Alumni base and ideas for what people have done in the past Freshman year summer. This will be a much more effective use of your time rather than randomly emailing any alumni to see if their firm takes Freshman interns and will set you up with guidance/hopefully mentors from Wharton that will be able to help you in the future. Good luck and if you have any specific non-Wharton or situational questions, of course feel free to ask!

 

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