What Should I be Doing NOW?
I'm an incoming freshman at a semi-target (WashU Olin), what do I need to be doing now that puts me in a good position to get internships at the end of my freshman year? I know it's difficult to get iB internships at the end of freshman year, at least that's what I've heard, but I'm looking for something I can do to get into an industry relevant internship of any kind in about one year from now.
I have taken a summer course and will continue focusing on my GPA throughout first and second semesters but in this summer time before school begins, I am currently thinking of doing the InsideSherpa programs from JP Morgan, Citi, and KPMG. What else should I be doing and are the aforementioned programs even valuable? (I don't intend to make a post about them on LinkedIn, I will only add the certification).
In addition, given the difficulty of internships after just freshman year, what do I need to be doing on the networking end? Who do you recommend reaching out to? I have family and close friends at Deloitte who **may ** (haven't explored yet, but it was mentioned in passing) be able to set something up but I hear that Deloitte opportunities may not be the best for iB or even MBB tier consulting opportunities.
Would appreciate any and all help!
Relax my man and enjoy the early years
First, erase any mention of InsideSherpa from your resume
I’d actually like to know why people are averse to these programs during a time like this. Another intern in my cohort did the Citi one and it looks good don’t know if the material is though.
Because people claim those InsideSherpa/BrightNetwork programs to be "work experience" whereas they are just absolutely non-selective online courses that can be completed within a few hours and are not even especially useful in terms of IB knowledge. KPMG is not even an investment bank..
Yeah, I'm not too sure what I can be doing other than them? They seem to be good programs from well reputed companies? Is this not the case? What do you suggest I do otherwise?
Coming from a non-core kid, I didn’t have a structured internship freshman year.
Sophomore year, I secured an internship in business but not IB/AM focused. Also, I made sure to reach out to any alumni in banking throughout my sophomore year (and especially during the second semester).
As a semi-target kid, you will have more alum at your disposal. I’d focus on talking with them more than anything else freshman and sophomore year, as that will both help you learn more about what to expect, and get your feet wet for the heavy networking later on.
I think you’ll find, in hindsight, no internship is going to be more impactful than a solid relationship with an alumni at a bank in terms of getting you in the process.
that’s my two cents...
I appreciate this advice, it helps me keep in mind what my years should be looking like. I'd just like to do something while I have time because I don't want to regret having time then not doing anything later on.
Follow Richard.3 on WSO, he provides some great great great advice on breaking into investment banking from the moment of foetal conception.
He's gone
^ this guy will do
First, it's highly unlikely that you get a IB internship after your sophomore year, let alone your freshman year. Enjoy freshman year, drink a bunch booze, hook up with girls and have a good time but keep that GPA up.
Sophomore year, start reaching out to alumni in banking and get to know them / build some rapport. You can try to find some finance-type internship that summer but it won't really matter either way. Mainly, you want to have some solid relationships with alumni that can get you interviews for an internship after your junior year. After that, just don't fuck it up and you're golden.
Thank you so much for the advice. I know this post may seem a little pretentious with me thinking I can get Ib internships so early but I am just trying to get an idea of what I should be focusing on and when.
You're good man. It's never too early to start formulating a plan for this stuff. I just like to make sure that young college students don't miss out on the best parts of college, which can be a ton of fun. You're going to work for a long time so make sure you still enjoy being a student.
Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want and I can give some more in-depth advice to the extent that you have specific questions.
Starting hitting the gym (sounds like you haven't before) so that you can start getting some easy freshmen tail.
Lol this is great advice, I've been working out too but I appreciate the reminder
This guy knows what's up.
Relax. Freshman year is supposed to be fun.
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