REDEMPTION

To begin, change that ridiculous avatar.

Beyond that, I'm not familiar with your situation. Care to enlighten those that do not keep up with your day to day actions?

Says the guy with a cigar box...anyway I was saying that I've read enough forum comments on how the northwestern internship is just a sales job and how you can't get any valuable financial skills from doing it so I'm trying to find ways to make up for that, I'm just trying to figure out what a good move would be in general and like i mentioned, I'm willing to take a reasonably priced training course on modeling and valuation.

Sorry for the confusion FSC this is the original thread, I was just reading other ones that people had posted. But I'm going into my senior year at a non-target in Georgia. To make a long story short I didn't get any good internship offers after this intern matchmaking site flaked out on me and I had to settle with NWFN. I know for sure I don't want to sell insurance after this summer so I want to know what I should do to be taken seriously by banks.

Start Networking NOW

Know what's in your tool kit.

• Senior year
• A second senior year (5th year)
• Valuation seminars and courses
• MSF programs
• Your academic credentials (if they're good)

That said, you do need to start networking, a lot. It takes time to build a solid network and like your dating game, it needs to be on all the time, not just the one time you think you need it.

Your senior year will be the final shot you have at redemption. Look for internship programs you can do during senior year and try to take semester-long positions (even the whole year, if you find any). If you can afford to do it, I recommend taking a second senior year. Pick up a minor in economics, accounting, math or whatever you think your current training and curriculum lacks. This will allow you the awesome opportunity to begin looking for an internship for next year starting right now.

Take a valuation course THIS SUMMER (like, TOMORROW) and smack it on your resume. It may help you find a decent internship for the fall.

MSF programs are a very good option if you've exhausted the 5th year but can afford more school. It provides the benefit of enhancing your qualifications while giving you time to find another internship.

Finally, if you have good academic credentials, it's significantly less difficult to find an internship.

Your NWM "internship" isn't exactly the hottest thing around; if you're going door to door, quit now. If you're in an office and not making money, quit now. Either way, it'll be difficult to "spin" it into anything useful. I suggest you find other ways to work this summer or show more involvement on your part - there are many ways to go about this.

You need to be able to answer this question for employers: "why should we hire you?" Bullshit like "I'm motivated, blah blah" isn't what they want to hear. They want to know you can do the work. That's what internships are for. People hiring interns just want to know "why should we deal with you for x-period of time?"

Thus, we may conclude that to get internships, you need to show PROMISE. You must show that you may add value to the company even as an intern. Great academics, prior internships, awesome leadership skills and current credentials all help you do that.

So does a recommendation from someone high in the food chain, but I digress.

Cliff notes: quit your internship and do a MSF/5th year while you complete a real internship.

My parent's would kill me if I even uttered the words fifth year, but I'll do my best to network (with any career) and definitely look for a more legitimate internship.

That said, does any know which valuation and modeling courses are good? If doing the work is what matters most then I want to be caught up with the rest of the pack regardless.

I disagree: we took a hometown primerica broker in as a full fledged F/A a couple of years ago. NW isn't that much further away from 'legit', keep in mind that you're dealing with snobs on this site. It can help demonstrate interest to PWM and other positions, so it's not a total loss, but start looking for the next thing NOW

Next fall, recruit for internships, if you get one then stay another year. Also hit up full time recruiting starting NOW to get a feel for what your job prospects look like. If you're not getting anywhere, get a masters if you're hellbent on finance.

@FSC, it's not about maturity it's about fairness, my brother is about to start college this year so it's about making things easier for my parents who now have to pay for both of us. Maybe you were an only child with loaded parents willing to make it rain all the time but middle class people have dreams too. So yeah I'll take the other necessary steps but if it comes down to delaying graduation I'll just settle for consulting, and I know a few people in that field already so it might just be the better thing to do outside of NY,SF,LA etc.