Winter / off-cycle internships?

Does anybody know any firms that offer formal off-cycle or winter internship programs? I'm graduating from undergrad in December and have some time off from January to July and am looking for something relevant (banking, valuation, PE, corp dev, etc)

Yes I plan on cold-calling and reaching out to places but wanted to check if there are also more formal channels to go through. Thanks.

 

There is no chance you will get into one of the Dartmouth 10-week programs. (I know this site encourages perseverance, but really, don't waste your time.) If you're at MIT, they run one-month externships at some of the banks.

 

Cold-call; nothing wrong with it. Last summer (sophomore summer), I cold-called quite a few firms and got a nice summer gig (M&A advisory).

Things to note: - I have a decent GPA (3.75) - I knew how to model before (read Rosenbaum & Pearl)

Good luck. There is a WSO thread with firms in a lot of major cities, find it, start calling.

The difference between successful people and others is largely a habit - a controlled habit of doing every task better, faster and more efficiently.
 

As someone who goes to Dartmouth, I could tell you that these off-cycle internships are amazingly competitive. The kids that get Goldman/JP Morgan/Morgan Stanley in their winter internships all have a 3.9+ GPA and a prior internship freshman year. 2 kids actually got Blackstone PE winter internships but apparently one worked at Barclay's freshman summer and the other at LEK consulting.

 

Why are you so interested in Dartmouth if you don't go there? And why the hell would you want to intern when you'll be working in IB next summer?

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

Of all the things that you can do before you start working, you want an internship? I can't how imagine how one dimensional your personality is. How about enjoying your time? Travel? Develop a hobby? Spend a few months with your best friends before you move into the business world? Volunteer?

Do something socially rewarding. It'll probably balance you out a little. And in terms of MBA admissions, if you were to travel the world for a few months and volunteer in remote locations, I can promise you will stand out much greater than if you were to do an internship.. in finance... before your job... after you graduated.

 

A friend of mine was in a similar situation last fall. He raduated Dec 2012 and started a full time gig at top firm this summer. Here's what he did that I think is a good use of time:

  1. Take the GMAT: Your score counts for 5 years so if you decide to go to b-school it will still count. You'll also never have this much time to study again

  2. Read a lot and learn new skills: You have free time. Explore what you're interested in

  3. Hang out: Enjoy your last semester of college. Other than maybe b-school you'll never have as much freedom to go out as often ever again

 

I also have a number of friends from Dartmouth; I remember wondering why I saw on their/their friends' LinkedIn these 'winter analyst' positions at bulge bracket banks, top boutiques, or private equity firms.

As far as I know from talking to two of them, there is a limited number of positions posted through their career site. In general, it's done through networking. As you can imagine, a lot of these kids come from privileged backgrounds (Exeter > Dartmouth (frat, lax, the usual suspects) and it was a matter of their father calling some friends to get them placed.

These positions aren't common, and you have to basically push them to give you a slot. Blackstone has historically taken a kid every year or two for a winternship, usually a sophomore or junior into M&A or PE. M&A is not doing that this year, I don't know about PE. Restructuring has never done it, as far as I'm aware. Bear, Lehman, and Merrill did this a lot as well, from what I've seen on LinkedIn. Interestingly though, I haven't seen their acquirers continuing the practice.

I haven't seen it done at HFs, probably for the simple reason that you could add almost no value. In banking (and by extension, PE) you can be helpful just for process work, but in public market investing there isn't as much of that 'format these pages perfectly, turn these comments, process these documents please' type of work.

To your point about only Dartmouth having these opportunities, I don't think it's true. The real theme seems to be schools operating on the quarter system or schools with a defined co-op element. Stanford, Dartmouth, Northwestern, and even some of the technical schools in Jersey have placed kids in these programs. When your school operates on three terms per academic year, you can take one of them off and fill it with an off-cycle position.

Hope this helps, happy to answer anything further if I can.

Now for some unsolicited advice. Don't actually do this. If you're graduating a semester early (I was also a January grad), take some time to do something entirely unrelated. You will never again have this much freedom of time and responsibility again in your life. You may have the freedom of time again, but not the freedom of responsibility. Go travel somewhere; see an unfamiliar nation or a new part of this massive country of ours. Meet new people, make new friends, see new things, taste new foods, hear new music, go out and live life. Once you accept the golden handcuffs of this promising career and find yourself shackled behind your desk at 3am (looks at self), you aren't going to have the opportunity to do so again.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

Put in some work and search for boutiques in your area - there are plenty of them. With a strong GPA and relevant coursework/technical knowledge (you should have it as a finance major), you should be in good shape to cold call and/or cold email and land something, even if unpaid.

For a winter internship, the name isn't as important as just getting quality relevant experience. If you can get the name, of course that's great, but given the scarcity of big names for winter internships, you will also strengthen your candidacy by landing something relevant from a boutique

 

Doesn't really happen frequently. I might try something unpaid, maybe shadowing a solid connection/family friend?

Seriously though, try to enjoy the holidays with your family. A ~5 week internship is not going to make or break recruiting, and you probably won't be able to spend the holidays with your family once you start working.

 

Thanks for the input but I don't have any professional experience so I was thinking that would be a good thing to add before I drop a resume for a SA position. Or will not that have much weight?

AgainstAllOdds
 

I've been doing the same - unfortunately it looks like a lot of summer 15 recruiting is already over after the holidays. At least here in Houston... I've had multiple banks get back to me and tell me that they've already had their super days/

"Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman." -- George Soros
 

A quickie on networking: This banking lists all their MD's, and the CEO's as Mr.'s, so that means I adress them as Mr's right?

Also, for cold calling/e-mailing do we just do associates and up? How long into their positions should they be?

On our first 15 minute phone call do we talk about casual stuff or do we generally ask the on topic questions, why this firm? so I see you cover this industry, but it seems to be a slow industry in terms of deal flow am I right? i notice you used to do alot of X and Y, do you still do any of that with the demanding schedule of the bank?

 
BillieJean:

A quickie on networking: This banking lists all their MD's, and the CEO's as Mr.'s, so that means I adress them as Mr's right?

ALWAYS be formal in your emails, even if they sign off of each message with their first name. This goes for emailing professors as well (or anyone else, really).
BillieJean:

Also, for cold calling/e-mailing do we just do associates and up? How long into their positions should they be?

I would just email anyone at the firm that you feel you have the most in common with. Other than that, I've heard that analysts are usually the way to go.
BillieJean:

On our first 15 minute phone call do we talk about casual stuff or do we generally ask the on topic questions, why this firm? so I see you cover this industry, but it seems to be a slow industry in terms of deal flow am I right? i notice you used to do alot of X and Y, do you still do any of that with the demanding schedule of the bank?

You obviously want to ask relevant questions (I'd recommend doing some research on the firm first—there is such a thing as a stupid question). Also don't be afraid to get a little personal and ask some questions that aren't work-related. Ideally, this should turn into a contact that you can go to for any other questions/concerns that may arise in the future.

Hope this helps.

 

Some bank websites talk about off cycle internships, but they are usually off the books and its not like you will be in a structured program with loads of other interns. I suppose they could last any time frame, but Sept-Dec and Jan-May sound about right.

You need to do the normal networking and tell them that you are looking for a winter intenship and are available to work on XX days.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Boutiques are probably your best bets. It will be significantly easier if you live in a city. Hedge funds, asset management firms and some start-up PE/VC shops might also be possible. In all cases, I would advise reaching out directly to someone at the shop; either via email or cold-calling. Some BBs have winter programs, but those will generally only be available if you are at a target. If you are, they will be proactive about informing you of them.

 

Hello,

I would call boutiques in your area for winter IB internships. Try to get in contact with an associate if possible and go from there.

For private wealth management there are opportunities year round, so I would hunt a PWM and have one locked down. Then reach out to as many as banks you could and then if you dont get one you have PWM to fall back onto for a short time.

I WOULD START MY SEARCH ASAP

 

1 month is not enough to learn anything substantial, so it would basically be for resume purposes. If you can land a solid IB internship then take that over PWM any day. But for the winter, either is probably fine.

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
 
ke18sb:

Yes, it is called backpacking around Europe/Asia/LatAm. You will learn way more doing that than at an internship. You already got a BB IB gig, enjoy your free time while you can.

haha, seconded. listen man, relax and enjoy your life; you already secured one of the most sought-after positions on this board and possibly in all of finance. plenty of other things you could be doing during that time to round out your resume.

 

Hi guys, thanks for the reply. I realize that I have options that are more leisurely. However, for context, I don't have much finance experience, and no banking experience either. Also, I am not in a financial position to travel for an extended period of time. I am open to suggestions like taking improv classes or pursuing some sort of creative work/project--but would like to see if there are any more structured options available. I have 8 weeks to decide what I am going to do for six months, so I want to make the right decision.

 

Bartend to earn some money and have fun. Study finance material on the side (BIW, Pearl&Rosenbaum Investment Banking). Most internships will teach you little to nothing in the time and manner you are looking for.

Also, there is no "right" decision. If I were you, I'd go home and hang out with friends and family.

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

Are you asking about an internship just for the winter? I've seen plenty of positions for the fall and spring. If you're in college, I would also use their career website and look on there as well.

 

Are you asking about an internship just for the winter? I've seen plenty of positions for the fall and spring. If you're in college, I would also use their career website and look on there as well.

 

Yeah looking for internships from January - April. Our career center do not have positions from BB. I was wondering if they had an off cycle internship program.

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try"
 

Thanks - which firm did you work for? Do you know which firms usually have job openings? I've read articles of job cuts mostly in Europe

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try"
 

I did a paid internship at an IM firm ($5B AUM) over my last winter break. I'm not sure what the over/under is for the amount of firms that actually offer stuff like that, though. My situation was unique in that I was only brought on because the firm had a project they didn't have the man power for.

 

I spent my 5 week winter break during my 3rd year of undergrad at a boutique IB and worked on one deal that I was able to use as relative experience and land a SA position the immediate summer after.

I would strongly recommend cold calling/emailing local boutiques for winter positions if you do not have work experience and are looking for a SA position next summer. Smaller banks have key employees leaving for holiday trips and it was nice to have extra hands on deck to help with stuff.

 
JUMP:

I spent my 5 week winter break during my 3rd year of undergrad at a boutique IB and worked on one deal that I was able to use as relative experience and land a SA position the immediate summer after.

I would strongly recommend cold calling/emailing local boutiques for winter positions if you do not have work experience and are looking for a SA position next summer. Smaller banks have key employees leaving for holiday trips and it was nice to have extra hands on deck to help with stuff.

Damn this is great advice. I'm currently going into my senior year and this summer am interning at a hedge fund in the city. When making these cold calls, do you think a paid offer is possible? Even though it's nothing I would love to spend my winter getting some experience while making even $15 or something an hour.

 

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