Bank on Banking

Will a PT wealth management spring internship and a summer internship with a Big 4 give me the path to break into IB? Am I better off with a high GPA and no WM internship, or a slightly lower GPA and a WM internship for breaking into IB?

The spring internship in WM will not hurt you unless you are indeed fairly certain that your GPA will suffer. If your GPA is going to take a big hit, I would advise against the internship. Additionally, if you think you are going to be miserable, then again, don’t take it, as it will not help you much in terms of building quality experience, good recommendations and contacts, etc.

When it comes right down to it, an internship in WM is neither going to really provide you with a strong outlet to network with bankers nor create a strong avenue to leverage your position into an IB opportunity. Beyond that, your Big 4 internship can help you, or it can do little for you depending on the group you are in. If you are in audit, it won’t help nearly as much as if you are in more of an advisory role or something similar. At the very least, however, the Big 4 internship will put a strong name on your resume, provide you with some solid experience and give you an internship for the summer (as opposed to nothing – which will definitely NOT help you to break into IB).

The bottom line is if you think you can keep your GPA up (which doesn’t seem to be the case) and think you will enjoy it, take the WM internship as it is a solid opportunity. Otherwise, drop it, as a strong GPA will definitely help you more than a PT WM internship in terms of breaking into IB.

In order to earn a FT IB slot with a BB firm, do I need a SA internship in IB with a BB (I am thinking of enjoying my last summer of peace)?

While it certainly helps to land a FT offer, you can definitely break into FT BB without doing a SA program. Just as you would when going for SA programs, the key is in networking and delivering a strong resume. The difference here is that you will be competing with many applicants who have IB experience as a result of their SA positions (whether with a BB, boutique, etc). The biggest benefit to the SA program is that you can earn a FT spot and then not have anything to worry about during your senior year – no recruiting and interviewing, unless you don’t want the position, as you have already locked up a FT offer. Beyond that, the SA program will offer concrete IB experience that will help you to stand above many other applicants from target and semi-target schools (whether you attend one or not).

The bottom line is if you earn a SA opportunity (again with a BB, boutique, etc), it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take it – if for no other reason than to make sure that IB is actually for you and that you can and want to handle it and make it your profession for the next year, 2, 3, etc. If, however, you don’t land one or really don’t want one, then at the very least I would work the networking channels and try to land an internship either in boutique IB or at least something related to IB – advisory, corp dev, consulting, etc – something calling on a similar skill set and fairly competitive. If you can land a solid position such as something listed in the previous sentence, you should position yourself pretty well to land a FT IB position with a BB – especially if you attend a target or semi-target (if not, this will still certainly help you to level the playing field).

For breaking into BB IB, is it better to accept a summer P/E internship or a boutique IB internship as a freshman/sophomore (before SA IB recruiting)?

As a freshman/sophomore to land either of those opps is incredibly impressive and neither option would hurt you. That said, just as with all opportunities, you want to go where you will build the greatest skill set and have the broadest experience in order to continue to position yourself in the best possible light as you move towards FT recruiting. If the boutique seems to offer you transaction experience and such, then that would definitely be a great path to take in terms of preparing yourself for BB IB and ultimately, FT IB. If, however, the P/E job seems like you would be working on more transactions and concrete projects, while the IB role seems a bit more juvenile in nature, then go with the P/E shop. Bottom line is both opportunities sound solid and both will help you as you move to pursue SA IB and then FT IB – go with whichever seems to offer the greatest experience set and don’t look back.

Why didn’t I get more offers – is this a tough year or am I just making the wrong moves?

I honestly can’t say why exactly you didn’t get too many offers. It is always a very competitive process selecting from pools of the most intelligent and capable people. Just getting interviews is impressive and beyond that it becomes a matter of fit and interview technique. You might want to consider some of my interview prep services that I offer ahead of his FT recruiting as I have helped numerous candidates impressive their interview skills and land offers. Besides interview technique and interview question responses there is also a “luck of the draw” factor to consider. There are many talented and capable students, but only so many slots – sometimes the fit isn’t right, sometimes a few small missteps can add up and sometimes you fall just a bit shy of the stronger applicants at that particular superday (not even overall – just that day). Keep your head up, stay focused and driven, and try to avoid common interview missteps.

I was wondering if you have any idea about the best course of action regarding smaller boutiques because most of the time their websites don’t mention anything about internship opportunities.

Generally speaking, I would recommend that you draft a strong letter of inquiry (check out my cover letter and resume services) and resume to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward. Besides that, you need to search the usual suspects (Craigslist, efinancialcareers, etc) and then perform general Google searches for boutiques closer to you. Don’t be afraid to make some phone calls and send out inquiry emails to ask about internship opportunities. Additionally, make sure to have a solid elevator pitch ready to go highlighting a few key skills and accomplishments as well as your interest in banking for when you get bankers on the phone. It will definitely be a tough road, but it is absolutely possible – reach out to firms looking for FT analysts, interns and even those firms that don’t have any need listed – simply put: cast a wide net. Paid or unpaid, the biggest thing here is to just gain some solid experience.

Is it too late to reach out as a sophomore who has not yet received any opportunities?

It’s definitely not too late to reach out. At the end of the day, even if you don’t earn any position, it is great practice – you want to be comfortable cold calling and you want to be comfortable on the phone, discussing yourself, different companies, technicals, etc.

The key here will be in getting to the point and being prepared to showcase your skill set as well as your interest in the company. Do some research, prepare some questions and get right to it – fire out some inquiry emails, or make some cold calls and be flexible. Explain that you are interested in the learning opportunity and chance to witness the profession firsthand, rather than making money and such. Focus on your talents and how you can help them, even on a PT basis – if that’s what they need. What you want to avoid, however, is sounding desperate. There is a line between driven/hungry and desperate. You don’t want to beg for an opportunity, you don’t want to go on and on about how you’d feel privileged just to sort papers, make copies, get coffee, sweep the floor, etc – part of selling yourself is in having goals and standards. Yes, you might be asked to get coffee and make copies – but you should be vocal in your goals to learn, to grow and to contribute to the team.

Learn about the company, know what you are looking to get out of the opportunity (but be realistic – don’t expect to close a bunch of deals, run models, etc as a soph on a cold call) and be comfortable, yet persistent. There are a lot of boutiques out there and if you can work unpaid, you might actually get some solid experience ahead of junior recruiting. Remember, worst case scenario is you are in the same position as you are in now (no offer). In other words, give it your all – no one is going to hold a grudge, no one is going to reject you next year because you cold called a few places this year.