Want to get into IB ... but Fortune 500 CEO (manufacturing) loves me
I'm at a target and eager to make good money. A Fortune 500 CEO who grew up in my small hometown loves me and has told me I need to intern for him. I'm not sure what his company pays interns, but certainly far less than a BB - ditto first FT offer. Big picture, is cultivating this mentor relationship worth $ sacrifice? I don't believe there's any salary negotiation for summer internships ... and I assume it's probably rude as hell to even allude to "Sorry sir, but BB will pay me 2x next summer."
Cultivate the relationship regardless, it is highly valuable to have a mentor to bounce ideas off of who isn’t directly involved in a company you’re considering.
I don’t see much value in a manufacturing internship/job over an IB offer (maybe something with their finance department for freshman/sophomore summer or a semester internship?). Make it clear you’re very grateful for his time and advice, but nothing wrong with choosing the right career path for you.
If he loves you so much, try to see if he'd offer you an off-cycle internship. You could also tell him you want to do an IB internship, but you're open to pursuing his company full-time or after doing IB for 2 years.
Off cycle, as in during the school year or you just mean early, as in summer after fresh/soph ... where as summer after junior year is for the IB internship?
If you're a freshman or sophomore, then definitely try and get an internship from him.
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Not a troll. And yes, a quick Google proves his comp is what you cite.
Two things... One... I'm poor, so parlaying being at a target to land $ summer internships and a FT is on my mind. Won't I be sacrificing pretty decent $? Two... looks like most corporate offices are flyover country. So I'd be sacrificing $ (?) and location.
You should do it just because you're poor. His support in your back pocket will mean you almost always have a job.... and a good one at that.
Looking at short-term $ is silly and why so many kids end up leaving high finance after a year or two anyways, and depending on the role you can still make pretty good money+benefits at many F500s while not being a slave. Think about it this way...though nothing is guaranteed, if this guy is truly looking out for you and propping you up, and you are a strong performer, then you should be on the path of F500 VP by the time you're 35-40yo, whether at his firm or a different one. That generally entails $500k-$1M all-in, 4+ weeks vacation/yr, great benefits, >>> being a 100hr/wk braindead Excel monkey at nearly all banks. Sure, if you get into Goldman IBD then maybe go that route, but that's about it IMO.
I agree with this. It's a single internship. He probably has no idea how much to pay an intern, and if he knows you're poor (and loves you as much as you say), I have a hard time believing he'd pay you badly as an intern. As a F500 CEO, he also knows the heads of investment banks, not just the heads of his sector (manufacturers typically get covered by 'industrials' groups, which can also cover aerospace and defense depending on your bank).
Don't be an idiot. An investment banking internship is fucking worthless in comparison to actually working with and knowing a single F500 CEO. Most investment bankers don't actually know ANY F500 CEOs. Even very senior MDs don't 'own' the relationship with the CEO at most companies. They tend to call on someone in corporate development, and not even the Head of Corp Dev at large companies with meaningfully-sized teams.
Banking is a relationship-based business. Even one relationship with a person the bank can actually do business with is one more than just about all the analysts, associates and VPs on Wall Street have. Being poor puts you at a major disadvantage from a networking standpoint. You only started making useful connections while in college. Some of your competition has been accidentally making such connections their whole lives just by the happenstance of their birth. This CEO relationship will turbocharge your Rolodex. If he's willing to mentor you, fucking TAKE THE INTERNSHIP.
You wouldn't believe how meaningless most of the work is for juniors at investment banks. And you might not get another chance to work directly for a CEO who is ever willing to mentor you again. Even if you get to work with the C-suite, it's extremely rare for any F500 CEO to take an interest in mentoring anyone outside of senior management, much less an intern.
You could be his assistant/body man for a year or two, move into a 'chief of staff' type role, and parlay that into getting into HBS for your MBA. If he really likes you, as CEO, he can choose to have the company pay for it. He could also get you an interview at ANY investment bank. You might even get to skip i-banking and go straight to PE, as he will surely know LOADS of partners at PE funds.
But don't be an idiot. If someone with real money and power offers you a no-strings-attached mentor relationship, you take it. And if you get to work with him closely, you should probably stay.
Absolutely this. Plus if you want to do B-School down the road you can have a F-500 CEO write your recommendation. Do this, kick butt, and don't look back.
Do off-cycle internships with him, and gun for summer internships in IB. If you end up liking IB more then tell him you would like to work with him after the 2 year IB stint
NEVER EVER EVER choose your internship because of the wages for that summer. I understand the cash crunch college kids feel (I worked multiple jobs and put myself through school), but it is NEVER worth changing the trajectory of your career for the small amount of $ for that summer.
It could be worth turning down if your heart is set on IB, but don't even consider the $.
I'm pretty familiar with a pretty good amount of F500 Corp Fin and have some connections. If you want to confidentially talk specifics feel free to shoot me a PM.
Note: turning down does NOT mean just saying no or being indignant about it. Turning down would be having a conversation and saying that your heart is set on IB, but you appreciate his offer and would love to consider his company after giving an IB stint a shot.
the money you make in the first 3 years our of college is small compared to the skills and relationships you make in the same time for the balance of your career.
As an intern this is a no brainer - take the internship - work hard and let him fig out a way to retain you given you do a good job.
Something to keep in mind: is the CEO a young guy, or older and on the verge of retirement? The benefits of that relationship will compound the longer he works as a F500 CEO.
Although what you said above has some merit, the amount of support he can give you just by being a F500 CEO who loves you, regardless of his remaining tenure at a company, is immense and still outweighs what a single IB internship can do for you.
I was in the same boat as you, both money wise and being led by a mentor into less paying role. I was denied a loan for my senior semester of school and had to make as much money as possible junior-senior year summer. This put a lot of weight on money for the few offers I had, but I ultimately received the advice that a lot of the folks above mentioned.
One offer I had was given by an SVP at the firm who was like a mentor to me throughout college/hs. He was department head and controlled where interns were placed. While this internship was 55k prorated, versus the 75/80k other gigs I was offered, I took it knowing that my mentor would put me in the best position to succeed.
In hindsight, I'd make the same decision again. He put me under the best performing manager on the floor and I was able to learn a lot, especially compared to the others in my class. When I sought for any kind of advice, whether it be career based or just understanding the space, I could always go to him. These types of relationships are worth an incomparable amount more than any gap in a 10-12 week pay period. I'd even go the length to say for FT positions as well.
As far as money, I found ways like working at the local liquor store and bartending as supplemental sources of income while there. F500 role should give you a lot of freedom outside of work ( there is a major value element here too). These type of side gigs are easy to find. If you put more thought into than me, you could probably think of something even more creative than bar/liquor store.
Good luck.
You can also be a Board Member/Advisor for startups. My current CEO at a PE-backed company worth $1B+ has been on at least 3-4 as per his LinkedIn. Was a senior exec industry hire. Not sure what his comp is but probably $1M+ all in.
If this is post sophomore internship then f500 is a no-brainer.
If you are truly poor and at a target you won’t get to keep summer earnings. You will report higher earnings on your fafsa and therefore your grants will decrease. Being poor at target is great. Tuition and room and board should be like 10k/year.
Then can do ib after junior.
Unless you're absolutely certain you want to end up in the highest echelon of a very specific path that you've never experienced (IB/PE), take the corporate gig. I understand your money-now thought; but, over the long term, the value of this mentorship will significantly outweigh the difference in compensation over the next few years.
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