Landing the Coveted BB SA Internship in Australia
Hi all
I'm here in hope of some criticism and opinions on my candidacy and competitiveness for obtaining a summer internship, preferably with a bulge bracket.
In terms of education, I attend a target school in Australia (one of the G8 universities) and have a 3.5/4.0 GPA - nothing flash, but my weighted average mark is a very low 80. I major in finance as well as engineering geology (I chose this on the basis of Australia's landscape and affinity for natural resources / mining and metals. It's worth noting I previously attended a non-target (since discontinued upon transfer) and am in my 'first year' of studies, penultimate and ready for internships next year.
In terms of experience, I have a few internships. I've interned at an asset manager (family office) which nobody has really heard of. I've also done some research at a fintech firm and was an intern over the summer at a very lean, boutique advisory shop (think regional that nobody has heard of). All three of these were sourced through tenacious networking over LinkedIn - none of the firms run a structured intake program.
In terms of my extracurricular involvements, I received a bursary / scholarship to attend a conference held in Asia focused primarily on economics. I also have some more random like charitable involvements and strategy-driven student club participation.
What can I be doing to best improve my candidacy? Should I be applying to Big 4 internships and then (hoping to) leverage that for a bulge bracket internship? That seems to be the path of least resistance in Australia, only complaint is that it would delay my graduation yet again (for then getting into a bank).
I am apprehensive to apply to the banks if I don't yet have a shot in fear of been auto-dinged the following year - is this a thing? For those outside of Australia who may be unaware, investment banking really is a backwater here - a summer analyst class of 10 would be considered big, with some firms only hiring 5 or so. Worth noting there are 8 target schools which are feeders too (which I attend one of).
Thanks in advance
Hi John Tuld, the silence is deafening, sorry about that.... Any of the threads below helpful?
Or maybe the following WSO members have something to say: hpanz Jonathan-Freire spur5
Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.
Bump
I'll bite, I'm also an Aussie.
I'd be applying for Big 4 TAS/M&A and then networking like an animal. I had similar, albeit probably worse, marks/experience than you but because I could front up to people as an actual human being they were willing to take a gamble. I'd also highly recommend doing some case competitions (UBS, CFA, Stock Pitch) to get some modelling skills up and also to learn stuff they just don't teach you in lectures.
Worst case scenario you end up doing a year or two in TAS at Big 4 then lateralling over. Talking to people in industry this is often seen as much more favourable that just going straight into IB after undergrad as you develop better accounting skills earlier on.
Nihil maiores eum maxime est non corrupti. Quis fugiat cum vitae odit quo aliquid et.
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