How to Proceed During Recruiting Season
Hi all!
I want to keep this short and sweet and avoid a sob story, but some context is needed.
I am an immigrant from a Central Asian country (also white, so no diversity), and generally stumbled my way through high school. I got into a decently ranked college, but one that is only a target for back office positions. I managed to step my shit up and get stellar grades, knowing I would want to do something in the business sphere. I was finally introduced to investment banking at the start of my (now concluded) sophomore year, one thing led to another, which put me on to this site. Learning about recruiting timelines and the technicalities involved in getting hired for the summer, I became increasingly aware that I needed to act quick. I started learning technicals, attending the info sessions for back office positions, and networking on my own.
However, in the process, and with an overload of courses, I underestimated the importance of a post-sophomore year internship, and scrambled to get something starting in May. Knowing something would be better than nothing, I cold emailed the most random and no-name boutiques (live in NYC), personalized my emails, but got silence in return. At this point, I am still empty-handed, but not defeated. I continue to network and prep for 2020 interviews, but my attention and time is tied between that and perhaps hopelessly finding an internship for this summer. Would it make sense to give up on an internship this summer, get a summer job, and focus all of my attention on 2020? I luckily had a marketing internship after my freshman year, but that doesn't add much to my 2020 candidacy either.
I apologize if this sounds whiny, and in retrospect I obviously should have way started sooner, but I was clueless at the time. I just want to know what would be the best use of my time at this point in the summer.
TL;DR: Immigrant who knew jack shit about career prospects discovers IB a year ago, rushes to learn about the industry, neglects to find a post-sophomore year internship, now possibly wasting time when it could be better spent on 2020 networking and recruiting.
I think ideally you keep trying for both. That said, I don't think it's the end of the world if you don't get an internship this summer. If you manage to get any interviews for 2020, they will likely occur before this summer's internship even starts; at best, you might get a couple of weeks experience first, which isn't really enough to speak competently about the internship in an interview. Granted, there are a few banks that won't interview until the fall, but I feel like you would maximize your expected value by casting a wide net and just trying to get a foot in the door at as many places as you can for 2020. Don't discount your marketing internship either; you wouldn't know just from reading WSO, but there are plenty of students in this position, or worse. At the end of the day, your conversational competency and likability goes a longer way than your resume when someone is deciding whether or not to push you through to an interview. My suggestion is to keep your fingers crossed for an internship this summer, but network hard and stay focused on summer 2020.
Hey thanks for the reassurance! I'll keep pushing on!
There are a few boutique PE firms with open spots
Is it a matter of just keeping on going down the list and cold-emailing to find these places? Considering there are hundreds upon hundreds of shops in the city.
Saepe molestias omnis labore dolorem numquam rerum. Blanditiis et nostrum dicta veritatis et pariatur quis. Deserunt nobis dolor aut rerum dolore aperiam et id. Iure non natus consequatur corporis eaque. Commodi beatae eos suscipit. Et perspiciatis similique et non consectetur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...