Mistakes on Cover Letter and Unpaid Internships

Maybe my application is a done deal and rejected but I want to hear others weigh in on this.

On my emails to banks looking for an unpaid internship I did the following.....

omitted the word "to"

said I was interested in IB when the firm was PE.

forgot to format my letter so it had another bank's name and ADDRESS in the heading...

These mistakes all happened late last night. Should have slept on it and worked again on it this morning. Lesson learned. Anyone else made a mistake in their cover letter and had banks over look it or not notice it?

On another note, do you think banks are giving me a second look because I emphasizing I'll be working for free?

And a few things about me:
Non-Target
High Score
Hard Majors
But no work experience...

 
Summa:
On another note, do you think banks are giving me a second look because I emphasizing I'll be working for free?

You are doomed. Not only in your applications, but in life. Look above - you didn't even get all the words right when writing about how you got words wrong.

I don't mean to be a dick, but you are late in the application cycle, not experienced, asking for unpaid internships that banks don't have, and THEN you screwed up royally.

I'd suggest you cold call every bank that you applied to tomorrow and try to speak with them personally before they ever get to your cover letter. And try to remember which bank you're calling.

 
Best Response

Friend had a mistake on his resume but I'm not quite sure how to compare his situation to yours (he's took a Freddie Mac position, was dinged at the BB's for an interview). My/His school is a semi-target/target and also he applied early (a couple months ago) so I don't think it helps to screw up grammarwise but it may not be a total dealbreaker. He had a good GPA as well, but a lot of people got screwed over for SA positions this year (past easy-in's were rejected or made to final round and rejected).

Perhaps someone else can speak on this, I don't have much experience with people applying this late. The slackers over at my school are finding themselves dinged for interviews (ignored) or just getting emails saying positions are filled. Regional companies are different though, perhaps try some boutiques or local firms?

Edit: Just read this "forgot to format my letter so it had another bank's name and ADDRESS in the heading..." Also "IB instead of PE". That's pretty bad in my opinion, my friend who I mentioned only misspelled "two" instead of "too".

 

Yeah, thats pretty much a done deal with the heading.

I had about 20 cover letters and resumes go out. Thankfully only 3 had the mistakes above.

I was juggling many windows and the firm that I thought was an IB was a PE. They are a small firm so I'll call them Monday and ask if they received it. Not going to call any more attention to it and we will see...

 

I hope you're a freshman.

On a lighter note: Banks will never remember you. Even boutiques.

Since you're a non-target, network your ass off. At all costs, have an internship this summer or take some damn classes. Preferably the former.

If nothing comes through, do something meaningful to you (perhaps volunteering?) that you can talk about when you're interviewing next year.

 

... Wow. No offense. The race is done for analyst internships.

I hope when you say "High Score", you're referring to a high GPA, good SAT and GMAT.

If so, there's another race toward bschool and associate summer internships.

In the mean time, take the advice I posted. Do peacecorp or something productive (not necessarily lucrative).

 

Yes, "high score" refers to GPA and SAT but not GMAT.

B-school? No work experience man.

Yeah, I'm with you about productivity. Living in NYC so there is bound to be something.

And tell me about this plan...

If I score about a 166 or 167 on the LSAT, I should have my choice at many top law schools. Should I attend one year and try to work my way into a summer internship that way also?

I'll keep trying on the analyst thing. I mean they can only say "no, we don't want free labor."

 

When I mean bschool, take your GMAT and do those volunteering experiences.

This forum is mostly business oriented students/young professionals. They know what others have done, so they're simply following it (as so am I).

Bschools take ex-military and peacecorp. They usually get in much easier from what I've heard and read because bschool is supposed to be a "stepping stone" toward spearheading business. That's why the competition amongst business undergrads+bankers are so cutthroat because there are so many of them that apply.

Once again, I was assuming money was not of necessity (which was a huge assumption to make).

For LSATs, I do not have a clue. But you should pursue higher education (CFA, LSAT, GMAT for grad school). It'll definitely bring you up to pace.

 

Thanks LMG.

Luckily, I'm okay on the money situation.

I had a 6 month internship for an NGO for 6 so I'll just add an experience along those lines if nothing pans out in finance this summer.

 

everyone makes mistakes.

ur probably screwed for this opportunity this time around. but there's always next year and the year after that.

just take it as a lesson learned and move on.

The world has changed. And we must change with it.

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 

I have a friend who did something similar: had one bank's name on the cover letter address block, but another bank's name in the body.

The recruiter must have been having a bad day, and been looking to blow off some steam (possibly with a whole bunch of other guys in the room and my friend on speakerphone). The conversation (paraphrased) went something like this:

Recruiter: Hi, this is Joe from Big Bank. How are you? Friend: Great thanks. R: We're calling regarding your application for an internship with us this summer. F: Yes. ["Tell me about yourself" convo ensues] R: So tell me...why would you like to work for Small Bank? F: I'm sorry? Did you mean Big Bank? R: No. Small Bank. F: Uh... R: The cover letter you sent us says you would love to work with Small Bank, and we are just curious to see what we could do to improve the recruiting efforts of Big Bank to match Small Bank. F: Oh...I'm really sorry about that...that was a typo. R: Oh well that's too bad. Thanks for your time. We'll get back to you soon. click

Kind of an FML moment.

Summa, these things rarely turn out too well. Just look at the humor in it and move on. Statistically, you're bound to have a few applications with some gaffes.

 
PoBoy:
I have a friend who did something similar: had one bank's name on the cover letter address block, but another bank's name in the body.

The recruiter must have been having a bad day, and been looking to blow off some steam (possibly with a whole bunch of other guys in the room and my friend on speakerphone). The conversation (paraphrased) went something like this:

Recruiter: Hi, this is Joe from Big Bank. How are you? Friend: Great thanks. R: We're calling regarding your application for an internship with us this summer. F: Yes. ["Tell me about yourself" convo ensues] R: So tell me...why would you like to work for Small Bank? F: I'm sorry? Did you mean Big Bank? R: No. Small Bank. F: Uh... R: The cover letter you sent us says you would love to work with Small Bank, and we are just curious to see what we could do to improve the recruiting efforts of Big Bank to match Small Bank. F: Oh...I'm really sorry about that...that was a typo. R: Oh well that's too bad. Thanks for your time. We'll get back to you soon. click

Kind of an FML moment.

Summa, these things rarely turn out too well. Just look at the humor in it and move on. Statistically, you're bound to have a few applications with some gaffes.

Would've been awesome if he rolled with the punch and gave the recruiter a detailed run down of how they could improve their recruiting and why he preferred small bank.

 

A few years ago, I received the e-mail address of a VP from Career Services website. I e-mailed the individual by name and failed to notice that the analyst, responsible for submitting the information, put a different VP's e-mail address. Needless to say, I got a response along the line that the optimal analyst candidate has a high level of attention to detail and would never mass e-mail members of the firm. I replied that whoever was responsible for screening present analysts must have let a few through the door.

 
PnL:
PoBoy, can i take a guess and say that that firm was BSC?

PnL, you are absolutely free to take a guess. I don't really have to let you know if you're right. But maybe you know a recruiter who did this - in which case, you have your answer. ;-)

 

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