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^interested as well.
boutique IBD, PE, HF, Corp Dev.....
How to Spin a Corporate Development Sophomore Internship into a BB Junior Offer (Originally Posted: 02/06/2018)
I've secured a Fortune 250 corporate development internship and will actually be able to work on an acquisition this summer with a value of ~15bn. I feel super confident that it will set me up perfectly for recruiting for next summer but I definitely have some concerns. My GPA is lacking (3.4) and I'm at a non-target for almost all BB firms but a target for southeast MM firms (think BB&T, SunTrust, Harris Williams etc.). I've read time and time again on posts with various subjects such as "HELP: SOPHOMORE WITH NO INTERNSHIP," that they should target exactly what I have secured but not exactly how to take that experience and turn it into an offer for the next summer in IB. Does anyone have experience in taking this type of corporate development internship with transaction experience and turning it into a IB SA offer for their junior summer? Would love to hear what anyone has to say and feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to remain anon. I'm also willing to give any advice to someone who is looking to secure the type of internship I have for this summer.
What exactly is the difference corp dev and IB? Would like to hear your perspective both and they relate (or do not relate).
I mean i know that corp dev is more strategy-based and that IB is more advisory based, but if you could elaborate a little more that would be great.
corporate development, as it was explained to me in the side of investment banking for the acquired company or acquiring company. so, all of the communication between the investment bank and the company goes through the corporate development team and they are usually made up of former investment bankers. they also do strategy type roles when they are not working on a live deal as you pointed out.
think you're fine make sure you are involved wit quantitative aspects of your job i.e. valuation work, pulling comps etc when it comes to your transaction. ask to get involved with those aspects if not initially staffed on em
other than that keep networking and do not ignore the target firms in the south, make sure you can secure interviews with them too because you will likely stand out amongst your peers for those positions vs the BB ones in NYC
that's the issue, im not exactly sure ill have a chance to be involved on that type of quantitative work considering most of it will be done by the investment bank that the firm I'm working for hired to represent them in the acquisition.
-be proactive this summer and try to do something meaningful this summer and actually be able to discuss it deeply -network with people at the banks you want to work at -network this semester -network this summer -network
i understand that yes, networking is the crux of all great applicants, but i want to learn more about how someone who has been in a similar position as me (lower GPA, non-target) environment with an internship like mine and leveraged that in interviews to a job. can i flat out ask my manager this summer to refer me to her former associates at her bank? is that a no-no or is that something i should be doing? stuff like that.
Your success will definitely come from networking. To build on that, I think you can have a good story by targeting IB coverage groups in the same space as that F250 you will be working at, and saying that your internship there and experience working on the M&A deal really piqued your interest in the industry and now you want to work on the sell-side advising other companies in that same industry. It helps if you can especially point to that deal and talk about your responsibilities and experience, and how that led you to pursue IB instead of in-house M&A (i.e. "Corp Dev"). If you can spin this story eloquently, I think it makes perfect sense to any banker and would be a great way to define your story.
The reality is that your GPA and school aren't doing you any favors so, again, you have to make sure to network like crazy.
Honestly, this is pretty easy to spin and really doesn't require any sort of desperate reasoning since the story of why you took an internship in corp dev and then the transition from Corp Dev -> IB makes a lot of sense.
With most premier investment banking summer internship spots being reserved for mostly juniors, the next best thing to really gain exposure to this industry in your position is a corp dev internship.
A corp dev internship makes a lot of sense because it really provides you that underlying foundation of understanding why a company does the things it does, and how the corp dev team influences those moves and those actions.
With a solid foundation of really understanding how one company operates, you can leverage that experience and that knowledge when you enter IB and you can apply that knowledge to multiple companies, especially with peers across the sector.
To add onto this, if you got the corp dev internship by intense grinding like contacting many types of people, getting an interview when all of the other candidates were juniors or seniors, etc. then it would be a great way to implicitly convey that you are driven and have the willpower to get what you want. Since corp dev internships are hard to come by, you will probably get asked how you got it.
Sophomore M&A at big 4 to BB IBD in Junior possible? (Originally Posted: 03/20/2017)
Landed myself a summer stint at a big 4 m&a team. Was wondering if that would line me up well for BB recruitment next summer? thanks
Yes definitely. If your at a Big 4 this summer and hopefully a respected university, then BB is very possible. No Guarentees at a BB Level, but your on the right path
thank you!
Definitely possible. Congrats on the big 4 gig! My friend did something similar (accounting/advisory) at a big 4 and moved to a BB last summer.
100% possible. Your chances are much higher than most of your competition.
Count your blessings and don't lose your drive.
thanks for the encouragement. good to hear precedence. would big 4 m&a experience be better viewed compared to a boutique IB stint? or is there no difference? or is it the other way around?
Depends on the boutique... are you talking PWP, Evercore, Centerview? Then yes, the boutique IB stint is better.
If you're talking about some no-name boutique that does $50mm dollar deals then your time is better spent at the big-4.
thanks for the insights!
this is in asia though
Sophomore unpaid IB internship --> Junior BB SA (Originally Posted: 03/29/2013)
When recruiting for Junior year IB SA positions at BB firms next fall, how would they view an unpaid IB internship at a unknown boutique in NYC the previous summer (sophomore summer)? Would I be able to get interviews? Or would it be better to get something paid at larger prop shop or hedge fund but doing less relevant (maybe even primarily administrative work).
Orangebull,
When recruiting junior year, do firms ever know if what you did was paid vs. unpaid?
And it seems like at the boutique IB I would be doing a lot of typical intern work on formatting presentations and basic research, but may also get some (limited) valuation experience. Typically the deal sizes range anywhere from $20M - $100M and they seem to have decent deal flow
It's the best experience(except for MM IBD, BB soph programs, but very few people do these) you can have going into SA BB recruiting.
You don't have to tell them anything regarding compensation. Just put Summer Analyst as your title. They likely won't even ask.
I did an unpaid internship last summer as a sophomore. I have a SA gig at a relatively well-known boutique in NY this summer. Unless you tell the firms that you are interviewing with that it was unpaid, they would never know. However, I doubt they would look down upon that. It may even be able to be crafted into a story by you about how badly you want to be in banking. I would take the banking job, personally.
I did an unpaid gig last summer and wasn't asked about my comp once.
I think the importance of securing an IB internship for your sophomore summer is overstated. I landed interviews at 4 BBs and 2 MMs with an unpaid PWM internship during my sophomore-junior summer. I knew some kids that had boutique IB internships following their sophomore years that didn't land interviews/offers. More than anything, the banks are looking for students that have demonstrated an interest in finance, a good GPA, humility, and most importantly, fit the culture of their firm.
lower MM PE, boutique M&A internships by end of sophomore year. Set for BB recruiting junior year? (Originally Posted: 02/19/2015)
Nontarget. A bunch of boutiques (mostly lower MM and a few EBs/top MMs) recruit on campus and maybe 3/4 BBs do resume drop and alumni info sessions, but not OCR.
I have internships in PE in Asia and at a boutique investment bank. I'm going through interviews for a couple boutique banks and MM PE firms for this upcoming summer.
Assuming I potentially get an SA offer this summer, should I be in good shape for BB/EB recruiting next year?
Nothing is set. To be honest, that sort of profile is not uncommon at top target schools. But, you are ahead of most people at recruitment at that point. If you have a good GPA and EC's, and are considered at the top at your school, then you should be well-qualified to get interviews with the firms that do OCR.
No you need to interview with a megafund PE firm or you're toast.
Going from MM Sophomore year to BB junior year difficult? (Originally Posted: 03/16/2007)
How difficult is it to go from a Middle Market such as Putnam Lowell NFB as a sophomore to a Bulge Bracket such as CS, JP Morgan, Citigroup junior year?
obviously if you dont fuck up you are infront of 95% of your junior class.
is this a serious question
Of course you're in better shape than someone who hasn't had any experience
what if you have boutique or MM ibanking experience in second year but you have no connections at any of the BB.
If you were to apply online to a BB in 3rd yr and the fact that you have prior experience get the resume to the right guys or is there still a chance (due to all the people applying) that they will never see it? And therefore you still have to network inorder to get that interview.
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