What to do summer before sophomore year?
I'm currently a freshman in college and I'm exploring my options for the coming summer. This past summer I did a finance-related internship at a small firm. I wanted to hear your suggestions for what to do in order to best set up my career.
Some options I'm considering:
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As an aspiring ibanker, I want to do something ibanking-related, preferably in NYC. I know it's near-impossible to land something at a BB as a rising sophomore, but I hear there may be opportunities at boutique firms. Would the best path of action consist of cold calling/emailing people at boutiques and expressing my interest?
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I've heard PWM is possible at BBs for younger kids like myself. Is this a legitimate possibility?
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Summer school somewhere like LSE, taking finance-related courses.
I'd love to hear other suggestions as well.
All three of these would be great options for a freshman. At your age, just remember that the most important thing should just be to build a strong GPA base. I don't know where you go to school, but if you network with alumni, the first two options should be achievable.
Something at a boutique ibank would be good, though it'd likely be unpaid. Getting something in BB PWM should be pretty easy - they're all over the place, and can always use some help, and are not going to have difficult interviews. Assuming you go to a target school, LSE summer school won't add much - given the choice between that and having a free summer with your friends, you should choose the free summer.
Counselor at lacrosse camp, no doubt.
Or this:
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If you're not a business/finance major (which you may well be if you already know you want to be a banker), then I'd recommend doing a summer business program. They have them at Stanford, U-Chicago, Dartmouth and other places too (though you should go to one of the above). I did that and I found it to be a ton of fun (like summer-camp for college kids - and with a lot of casual sex) and I'm also pretty sure it helped me land my tougher to get, more important internships later in college (it demonstrated I was interested in business, I also took accounting and other essential subjects I didn't focus much on as a liberal arts major).
All of them is great. What you have to be able to do is to tell them why you did what you did. In fact, if you end up doing something unique, like own an ice cream cart and sold it for the summer, it'll be something that stands out on your resume. (An investment banker once told me this... I believe it was in Perella? Not sure)
Ultimately, show that you can juggle life, work, and more work, and you try to keep yourself busy, and banks like to see that. And if you can add a little flair to your resume, it's a good thing. Remember, they have to go through so many resumes that it helps to have something unique.
Bumping this thread up.
I've been to a few information sessions at my school as well as the career fair. Unfortunately, all the firms I talked to are looking for juniors/seniors, not freshman.
How would a freshman like myself go about getting a desirable internship in ibanking, or at least PWM or the like? Also, it seems most firms are recruiting for full-time now. When do they start recruiting for internships?
Some things I've considered to break in:
-cold call/email -trip to NY -leverage the contacts I have now
so what the hell did you do your sophomore summer? (Originally Posted: 03/03/2007)
dartmouth math/econ with a 3.5 here desperately looking for something to DO this summer.. tried to apply for a bunch of internships through university recruiting and got a few interviews. performed well, but got shafted once they found out I was a sophomore. last year I took summer classes and worked on-campus doing econ research (got published too!) but I don't want to do the same this summer. should I try to look locally for a job? what did you guys do?
I cut grass for my Town's Parks Department. Soul destroying mindless work with low pay and low hours. Please do something better than what I did.
Worked at a no-name boutique IB in NYC.
Hi, how was your experience at that boutique and could you please assist me in finding some no name boutiques. I'm an accounting major from a non-target school but due to my current internship in a boutique i have been very interested in IBD. I know i cant transfer from within but i would like to work during school in NYC at some "no name" boutique that would be willing to hire somebody willing to learn all about IBD. I can build models and do comp analysis.
Thanks!!!
Worked at a specialist firm at the NYSE, along with 11 other interns (most sophomores). Given the recent layoffs and all, however, don't know what the opportunities would be like this summer.
Monstertrak.com
Worked as an RA for an econ prof. If you want to take this route, I would recommend emailing your favorite profs.
worked at Rolls Royce baby. sweet as hell.
I am from a non-target and worked at Ernst & Young on the internal audit side. Most companies won't care if you are a sophomore or junior if they think you are good.
You should hit up the career advisory network (on the alumni affairs website), and find MD's at tiny banks. Blitz them, and tell them your story. I know a freshman from D who got a job freshman summer this way at a regional boutique. It won't look nearly as good as a job at a BB, but you should be able to get some skills and a better idea of the industry.
I'm pretty sure that this is THE best thing you can do. Any boutique is fine - it doesn't matter how low you have to go.
What about freshman summer? It doesn't look my first round interview went very well for JPMorgan. Would volunteering be a good option?
I was basically in the same boat as you with the same options. Ended up applying to an oil company and got in. Great pay (just as much as IB pays during the summer), didn't really do anything, lots of events. Not a bad way to spend your summer.
the option to do econ research is always open to me-- the professor happens to be a friend of the family -- but I'd rather not, seeing as how I already did it one summer. I'll try hitting up some of the alumni.. although when I asked my advisor about that, he was like "FUCK NO, DONT DO THAT YOU MORON, THATS NOT WHAT THE DATABASE IS FOR!" according to him, I should only use that DB for questions about jobs, not for actually applying to one.
I wonder if I can maybe do research for someone at Tuck, but I'd certainly like to get a legitimate job this summer if possible.
Econ research is more than a legitimate job. Most kids you will be competing with next summer will have just done some bullshit pwm/"financial advisory" shit for Smith Barney in Piscataway, NJ.
And your advisor is right about the database. But what you can do is email him talking about how you're a sophomore interested in the industry who would appreciate any advice whatsoever on how to get in as a sophomore. You might also want to add that you would be very grateful if he could take a look at your resume and issue some brief pointers. 4/5 guys may just not give a shit or have the time to give a shit, but it's all a game of numbers, so if you get one, you're set.
Talking alumni is the way to open doors. You don't ask for a job when you are talking to them, you are presenting yourself in an intelligent manner, showing that you have an interest in the industry, and are competent at doing the work...basically the same things you try to convey in a real interview.
Usually if you can sufficiently impress an alum, that opens the door to a conversation about possible opportunities.
Corporate Strategy at a F500 Tech Firm.
You should have no problem connecting with alumni since D is a small, tight knit group, but prestigious.
Anything requiring you to use half a brain is better than waiting tables - don't worry so much.
Worked at a small Startup in the Valley for 10 weeks; travelled and played a lot of golf the rest of the time.
Freshman year I just played a lot of golf. Waited tables.
in PWM for Smith Barney in nyc
usually woke up around 1pm, played 18 holes at my friend's country club, started pounding beers on the golf course, continued pounding beers into dinner (usually just grilled some steaks outside the frat house). napped from about 7-9, showered, started drinking again at 930, passed out by 3-4 am. once in a while, the afternoon trip to the golf course would be replaced by sailing, hunting, or video games.
how about some honesty people, this isnt a job interview.
don't get used to that life too much.
I woke in PWM-Controlling for a BB. It was a boring ass job, but it gave me a lot of time to go out at night in NYC and just have fun. Turned that into a boutique IB internship the fall of my junior year (I go to NYU).
Doing something good for the resume is important, but if you go to a top school, it probably becomes less important. But, everyone knows that not working in PWM is fratty as hell.
I literally didn't do anything my frosh and soph summers.
"But, everyone knows that not working in PWM is fratty as hell."
what do you mean?
Also, TheKing.. was not being in Stern a huge disadvantage? What's your GPA if you don't mind me asking?
I'm highly considering NYU econ Thanks
I'm in the same position as the OP. Even at the internship fair, none of the companies seemed to be interested in sophomores.
Worked in a Ministry of Finance in Russia. Man, those people literally don't do shit.
BlackRock. They had a good number of sophomores.
Hey Im a rising junior at a target school with a good gpa and good extra curriculars.I'm currently interning in the treasury operations departments over at Merrill Lynch. They give me a lot of pretty substantial work to do and a lot of responsibility. just like everyone else on this website i want to do i-banking. Do you'll think working in the operations department this summer will help me get an internship at a BB bank next summer after my junior year. thanks
Its the whole picture, not just one internship - for example, a fraternity president position will get as much or more weight as a shitty financial advisory internship IMO.
ML on the resume looks good, did you mostly do reconciliations?
i was actually put in charge of managing databases and i assist in the processing of ML Capital's mutual fund transfers, daily funds flow estimates( interest payments) and i help with debt issuances(CP's, Bonds etc.).. Do you think this will help
Yeah, that is a good deal of responsibility. Can you quantify it in terms of amount of funds you watched over on a weekly/daily/monthly basis?
Currently working at BNY Mellon in Pittsburgh, in the global securities services department. My interest in the job is cyclical to say the least. When working on a project, it's fun, maybe even stimulating at times, but in between projects, it can be absurdly boring.
Yeah so I worked at KKR for 10 weeks and then Citadel for the rest...haha...j/k
I worked in operational risk for BNY, boring, well paid, but didn't learn anything (I don't think anyone in my group actually knew what ops risk was)
ballin at a hedge fund.
I learned about sales and trading of futures (currencies). It was hard at first but now i enjoy it a lot
Worked in the finance department for a decent sized city (~$500M budget). Drank heavily. Spent weekends at the beach house. Had plenty of sex.
Get something in finance that won't completely bore you to death. See if you can work at a boutique full time or at least 25 hours a week. If you can't get that, then get the best paying job you can find, do some volunteering, and party.
I smoked a bag of meth
Worked at a foreign merchant bank (same as Ibank) in NYC, which just opened its office a year before. Comps, performed research, investor sales material = pretty standard stuff. Then at a hedge fund doing basic ER in certain sectors.
But keep in mind that you need to drink and smoke a lot of cannabis on weekends and 1-2 weekdays a week, just because its summer and your not trying to get FT yet. Apartment roof tops are best for blazing.
Btw, question:
If you did two internships in one summer, would you just put the months you did each one...or maybe the months or the shorter one and "Summer 06" for the longer one or what...just wondering. Also on your resume, should you put the level of assets under management for a hedge fund.
ThoughtMan, I would put months for both--probably makes the most sense. I'm in a similar situation to you in that I'm working for a hedge fund this summer as well. What I've been told is that if the AUM is >$1B, then list, otherwise don't bother.
azwe, thanks man, what stuff are you doing right at your HF? research?
Worked as a camp counselor and partied, no need to do an internship.
I'm at a PIPE fund (private investment in public equity)--very unique investment strategy. I've been analyzing potential PIPE investments, I put together some comps which were included in a PPM (private placement memorandum), and I also authored an industry report which was published in another PPM and on the internet. I've been learning a lot and it's pretty sweet stuff--not quite banking, but definitely interesting. What have you been doing?
My HF internship was last summer but I also made comps comparing investments, compared forward ratios using estimates, put everything into excel, a great deal of data gathering and compiling so that research analysts could figure out what companies to pursue.
I liked the HF internship much more than banking in terms of how useful it was in gaining market knowledge.
Private Equity analyst for the investment arm of an insurance company.
Private Equity analyst for the investment arm of an insurance company.
good exp
I just finished my internship. Investment Banking SA at a BB firm
Figuring out what to do this summer (undergrad wharton sophomore) (Originally Posted: 04/21/2015)
Hi guys. I wanted to start out by saying my bad on any etiquette mistakes I make. This is my first post. A bit of background-I'm finishing up my sophomore year as a wharton undergrad in an uncoordinated dual degree. I've got somewhere between a 3.75 and a 3.8 and the other degree is in an unrelated science major. The goal is to end up doing as well as I can in junior year ocr for banking/PE if I can swing it. This summer I was lucky enough to end up with options and it really came down to two. I'd appreciate any advice you have.
I got into a GS/MS/BX Asset Management program. I've done asset management in the past and I don't particularly love it but it really feels like the right resume/career move for what I want to do in the future. On the other hand I have an offer at a really cool startup that isn't remotely applicable to finance. However I know that I'd learn a lot more and enjoy it quite a bit. Deep inside I know it's where I want to be this summer.
So here's the question. How much am I hurting myself if I turn down the top tier asset management group. I'm worried about the number and quality of ocr interviews that I'll get. Current and past Penn students will probably have the most insight into this.
Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.
What to do this summer? Sophomore. (Originally Posted: 05/08/2014)
It's May 7, I'm a current sophomore, and I have yet to arrange plans for the summer. My GPA is not bad (>3.5) and I'm in the finance program at a target school, relatively involved on campus. The goal is to do BB IBD next summer, then full time and go into PE after getting an MBA, but I decided that finance was the goal a little late in the year. The logical thing to do, of course, is get a summer internship at an MM/boutique IB, PWM, etc, but again I decided to do A) finance as a career and B) to do an internship over a study abroad both too late. None of these worked out -- at first they were unwilling to give positions to a sophomore, now it's a matter of positions being filled. I have an interview process going on now, which is nice, but I think they are unwilling to give the position to somebody who doesn't want to do part time next school-year.
Now it comes down to this -- do I take classes, ask professors about research positions, or just keep cold-calling/e-mailing PWM and boutique IBs? I'm kind of leaning towards taking a couple of classes -- pricy, but I'm going to need to get surgery that would put me out of commission for 1-2 weeks, and waiting until the school year is off the table.
I've read as many threads re: internship-less soph-junior summers, but I guess my question is this: is it still possible to do BB IBD SA next summer without financial internship experience this summer? And what would be my most productive use of the summer as far as next summer and beyond goes?
Sorry, kind of just a rant, but I've been getting very anxious and upset about not having a summer internship. Thank you for any thoughts and advice!
Unfortunately very tough to get IB SA junior year without some sort of somewhat relevant experience sophomore year (to my knowledge) - I could be wrong, and your target school etc might be mitigating factors. You'll need to do something this summer to get IB next, and asking here was a good move - I bet people will be able to provide some good suggestions re: what to do. I won't weigh in in case I'm wrong re: chances
If you cannot find a relevant please do something interesting.
yes definitely this
What kind of thing would be "interesting?"
I have an internship this summer as a rising sophomore, what to do next summer? (Originally Posted: 07/01/2010)
Landed a summer internship at a well-known and highly ranked boutique investment bank as a rising sophomore.. It's a 10-week program that's pretty comprehensive. I'm given great deal exposure and learning a very good amount, and am starting to become pretty well-versed in the industry. I go to a top ranked liberal arts school.
Advice on what to do for next summer?
Doing a sophomore rotation almost makes the most sense... how valuable do you think my experience here is when applying for those? How confident should I be having already completed a full internship (where there are 3 other interns who are all rising seniors)? How do the rotations compare to the Jr. internships in regards to hours/expectations/etc.?
Would it be smart to try and work for another boutique? A PE firm maybe since I still have so much time? Any other ideas?
Lastly, assuming next summer would be my big junior internship (which it isn't just to clarify, I'm class of 2013), how much weight would my working at a boutique hold when applying to the big banks or even to another boutique?
Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.
Given that you're working at a strong boutique now as a rising soph, as a rising junior, you should be networking towards and applying to actual SA programs with the BBs. If you are interested in IB post U Grad, then definitely make the push for a BB SA position. Doing this will allow you to both gain incredibly strong experience on your resume ahead of junior year, in addition to exposing you to the BB IB life as well as that particular BB. This will set you up well for your next summer as a junior, when the FT offers will be coming. You will have the opportunity to go back to your previous BB or try a new one if your experience wasn't that great with your first BB.
If you can't get into a BB, then push for another strong boutique. Landing this series of internships ahead of FT recruiting could very well set you up to not break into FT IB, but even FT P/E with a good shop. I wouldn't go with a rotational program unless you really aren't sure what you're interested in. Given your solid experience so early, if you know what you're interested in (in other words if you're interested in IB or PE), then I'd push for the straight path - top school, good GPA (I'm assuming here), and a great jump start on work experience makes you competitive for sure.
Good luck
Appreciate the advice. Good stuff.
Still open to other ideas for how to spend my next summer..
And I'm pretty set on going IB, only reason I mentioned PE was because I basically have a summer to spare and thought maybe IB's will hold 2 internships (1 being IB, 1 being PE) in a higher regard than 2 internships that are both IB. Maybe not though
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Bump..
I am in a very similar position... i am also a rising sophomore and intern at a boutique but it isnt as well known. I am looking to try to land an internship with a bigger boutique over the course of this year and eventually at a BB. What do you recommend i fill my time with in terms of internships self learning etc to best prepare myself for a bb
I'm thinking of taking sophomore summer off - just packing my car with some luggage and traveling across the Americas. I too have Ibanking internships under my belt as a rising Soph.
Just to clarify I am in the summer after my freshman year not after sophomore
CNB90... Just sounds like a waste of a possibly HUGE competitive advantage. Having 1 internship under your belt when applying to BB's after Jr. year is one thing, having completed two is another...
I really want to take advantage of the extra summer, still open to ideas
Gramsquad,
I have two internships already. I rotated for 5 weeks in one bank (ibd/pe/IM) and then another 5 weeks in the IBD of another Ibank - I built and worked on various models and heck I even saved the value and viability of a deal with an idea of mine that I, without order or notice, created a model for. In short, we're young once and our careers will consume 40 years of our lives - I might travel for a few weeks before my internship next summer should I have one, or I might just say F it and travel longer - I'm sure I'll make the right decision, if any bank has a problem with it, they can kiss my ass, I can always go back to the bank I interned at this summer.
How on earth did you guys even get interviews at these firms let alone offers, only as rising sophomores? I have more work experience/harder classes/higher GPA than most of my peers, but I'm pretty sure HR throws out my resume the moment they see the c/o 2012.
Family connections - Plus it was in the mid east.
nice freshman/sophomore internships are super competitive
I applied to many firms on craigslist and did a lot of networking.. even though my networking didnt have anything to do with landing this job it helped me get comfortable talking to professionals
What to do sophomore summer? (Originally Posted: 03/06/2014)
Hi,
I was looking for some advice as to what to do sophomore summer if I hope to intern in investment banking during junior summer. I currently am looking at interning at a venture capital firm in Israel, a trading firm in New York or a hedge fund in Canada. I appreciate any and all advice. Thanks
If you want to do IBD, do the closest thing to IBD as possible (or just IBD itself). I would say the hedge fund, depending on what type, would be closest to investment banking.
1) Are you at a target? 2) If you know, what IBD group do you want next year 3) More description of your role in each would be nice
Sophomore Summer - What to Do (Originally Posted: 05/04/2012)
I am in a tough position right now. Recruiting has been brutal and I didn't get any offers. So I have two options:
So what do you think is the better option that would position me better for an internship after junior year? I'm a sophomore right now and go to a semi-target.
Thanks!
I would see if you can get some financial experience, probably head home
Seems like I will be doing the internship with the entrepreneur. His mentorship will be really valuable, and I'll get involved with running the business since the company is practically new. I will be able to spin it off on my resume in the end.
Update here: just received an email from an M&A boutique back home. Said they don't have an internship program but can give me a few projects to work on and meet them occasionally to coordinate the work. Because they have clients and a small office in my town, I can work from there. Will talk to them on Wednesday. Is it worth it to go back and do that instead of the entrepreneur thing here (it's just 2 days a week)?
If the M&A guys are cool with you putting your experience down as an internship on your resume, I would save your money and go home.
What Should I do for Sophomore Summer (Originally Posted: 09/13/2009)
Hello,
I'm a sophomore who hopes to get on a trading desk at a BB for my summer after junior year. My dream would be something like working on the emerging market trading desk at Goldman.
What should I try for this summer that would best position me for applying to these positions next summer? I'm thinking something on the buy-side would be best, right? Should I try and find a hedge fund or mutual fund to intern at?
I interned at a L/S Hedge Fund sophomore summer. Spent this past summer interning at a BB in S&T. If you are able to contact a small hedge fund, they are usually open to bringing on someone to help. Finding a HF that trades EM Credit/Rates/Currency would be ideal given your aspirations.
Thanks for the comment.
Did you have any work experience prior to your internship at the HF? I'm asking because I have absolutely zero relevant work experience. I do go to a target school, so hopefully Ill be able to get the internship on my grades and expressed interest alone.
Also, did you offer to work for free? Was your HF internship paid?
I had no prior work experience, and not a great GPA. I did not explicitly state that I would work for free (Although I would have) and was paid $500/Week. That is essentially chump change to these guys.
How did you go about finding the internship? Did you search your alumni database? Or did you just search for firms over the internet and cold email?
work at aldo to get an employee discount. that way you can build your shoe wardrobe for next summer, when it really counts.
jackdaniels, you're an asshole but you crack me up with your posts.
Alcohol...just drink every day.
What can freshmen do over the summer? (Originally Posted: 12/28/2009)
What did you do over the summer after you completed your freshman year? I'm trying to remain productive, but there really is not much being offered for freshmen. I'm thinking about registering for summer school and boosting my GPA...
I was fortunate enough to land an internship the summer after my freshman year. However, a lot of people i know went on to wait tables or work similar jobs to keep the beer money flowing. For your career, you're certainly not expected to do anything amazing. While improving your GPA never hurts, going to summer school is a drag. I'd say, spend 80% of your summer working some standard job, and then spend a week or two doing some traveling. It's always fun to spend a week with high school buddies that you haven't seen much since going to college.
Lots of people do study abroad during the summer
I was also pretty lucky to get an internship my summer after frosh year. It wasn't paid but provided great experience, which became a great plus when getting interviews the next few years. Biggest tip is to be hungry and be willing to network hard. Feel free to look beyond your regular ibanking/pe places and include private wealth management and anything finance related.
unpaid internship at pwm
I did an unpaid private equity internship.
I did a paid internship at a fortune 25 company, that said though, I was lucky to land it... most of my friends waited tables... but what you could do is also try doing unpaid internships as mentioned before, and if you really want to boost your gpa, you can get a part time job on the side so you have some money coming in. Traveling isn't bad either, I would suggest backpacking, bankers love that shit.
Landed an internship in trading.
If you can't find an internship that's paid (ideal) find a standard job to generate some cash. Then go look for someone who will let you come in and shadow them/do menial tasks for a couple hours a week unpaid for some exposure (private wealth management comes to mind). Use the money you make and the free time you have to start investing in reading materials on finance topics/careers that interest you for the future. School is school, as long as you're not behind or have a subpar GPA, don't do summer classes. I learned more about trading/banking by reading Hull, tinkering around with Damodoran's models, etc. than from the stuff you learn in school. Then use the knowledge base you build to begin reaching out to alumni and exploring what's out there. Network early and often to begin casting your net as wide as possible.
Don't forget to enjoy yourself either though.
I would do an unpaid internship. Where do you suggest I look?
I drank beer and slayed ho's.
Find out who your parents know. Find out if there are any alums working in the area who could point you in the right direction. Call local wealth management branches and see what the prospects are.
People w/ jobs and w/ jobs lined up - What did you do your freshman summer? (Originally Posted: 03/21/2008)
The title pretty much says it all. After reading that some people are willing to spend 10k on a finance prep summer thing, I thought it'd be pretty funny to hear what some people who have FT jobs/offers or even SA offers did their freshman summer...or I could be wrong, but anyway -
I was a waiter at a "mexican cantina" and spent much of my summer drunk off tequila, serving margaritas to forty year old women who tipped pretty well. Somehow, I've managed to turn that into an SA offer. Any others?
I interned 3 days a week at Smith Barney... Not too exciting
Temped at a couple of places doing brainless work.
sales/marketing for a juice company...also unexciting
Doing random low value add crap; easy to sell though.
i worked in a grocery store - mainly to pay for gas/ganja/beer - it was a fun summer, and i'm glad i did something fun before i began doing internships the next summer
i had a holiday
Banking
I worked at a summer camp freshman summer and the same summer camp sophomore summer, sailing and playing with kids all day long, and had no problems getting very good SA offers...
Sometimes I think people stress a little too much haha :-)
Worked at a treasury department of a small commercial bank for a month, then partied for the rest of the summer.
took xferable classes at a community college and worked at banana republic, both were memorable experiences in their own special ways...
------
"its the running joke now, we now have fair trade with china so they send us poisoned sea food and we send them fraudulent securities."
Cold-called for Smith Barney
Did an internship with The TJX Companies -- was pretty legit, mostly juniors / sophomores. Of course, I slacked and spent my sophomore summer shucking oysters behind a bar.
same as one of the guys above...worked at a summer camp and had a great time. Never even thought about doing a finance internship to prepare for the SA offer I got. Some people on here are trying to prep too hard in advance. i never even thought about wall street freshman year.
Intern at a ratings agency (S&P/Moodys/Fitch)
.
Lifeguarded after my freshman and sophomore years - way better than getting a legit job.
Come to think of it, it was actually better than my current job in some respects. Kind of depressing actually.
Unstructured internships in corporate business development and m&a freshman and sophomore summers, IBD junior summer. Now S&T FT offer. Freshman and sophomore summers were in my parents' home country, so had an awesome time and learned a lot about the country, the people, the culture and made some good friends there. And working hours were flexible (you could come in between 6am and 10am and leave between 2pm and 6pm). I chose 6am to 2pm, so I had time to hit the beach on most days. It was awesome!
"It is a fine thing to be out on the hills alone. A man can hardly be a beast or a fool alone on a great mountain." - Francis Kilvert (1840-1879)
"Ce serait bien plus beau si je pouvais le dire à quelqu'un." - Samivel
I came home from school and did nothing for three months except house sit for my neighbors. In hindsight, I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten a job. I had at least a few interviewers give me a hard time about not working after freshman summer.
My advice: do something, it really hurts having that gap on your resume.
I'm going on to an IBD job at UBS HK this summer. Did 8 weeks M&A at a boutique in HK. I guess it did help with the UBS app the year after. I hear relevant experience matters a lot more in Asia than in NYC though.
I just took classes and hung out all summer, I don't think there is any real rush after your freshman year. I would just chill out and have fun because you aren't going to have many summers after that.
Whether you take classes, work as a lifeguard, or travel the world - the imporant thing is to just have something to speak to.
nystateofmind nailed it, i studied abroad and had a great time w/o learning anything at all, but it gave me something to talk about. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something you can point to. Just don't sit at home by the pool the whole summer. Get a part time job, travel, classes ect. so you have something to talk about down the line.
worked 6 hours a day in a prop trading firm in manhattan. scalpers. a very fun summer though.
worked at a sailing camp
BB IBD
met a nympho and spent most of my summer in bed while struggling to make ends meet
Would working as an intern to a financial adviser at a place like Edward Jones be a good sophomore internship vs. working at a place like FXCM doing research? I know neither are glamorous, but that's all I got so far.
and not much else
took a class went to bahamas couple days a week PWM internship doing complete BS work
worked in a medical call center, worst job ever
Freshman: I worked at fedex unloading trucks from 5-9am then delivering packages till about 3pm. Some days I would also lifeguard.
Sophmore: Worked at the library, took a class, went to Australia
Junior: MM PE/buyside search
Real world: BB IBD
It takes all kinds people, stop stressing out.
freshman summer: worked on capitol hill in congressperson's office
Currently a sophomore- doing a sophomore internship this summer with a BB
Worked part-time at a company that did on-site tech support for small businesses. Basically, we were their IT department, and they didn't need to hire their own people.
While I wasn't at work I screwed around and went to the beach. Don't take yourself too seriously.
Landed a IBD internship and FT offer, but took a FT offer at a different bank.
I didn't have ANYTHING business related until my sophomore summer. 3 internships: sophomore summer, junior fall, junior spring. Then BB position. Honestly though, pre-sophomore summer my experience was at a coffee shop and places like that...
worked at the Fed & cocktail waitress-ed on the weekends..
the Fed? thats awesome
------
"its the running joke now, we now have fair trade with china so they send us poisoned sea food and we send them fraudulent securities."
Worked as a receptionist for a family friend who's a pediatrician part time. That and spent a lot of time at the beach.
Unpaid work experience at 2 different BBs, 8 weeks total, not IBD/S&T.
EE - the Fed is significantly less fun to work at than people would imagine, but it was a solid name to have on my resume, opened a ton of doors for me down the road.
i'll bet. wish i did something as cool as that my post-freshman summer.
i worked on an exchange floor my post-soph summer but that didn't open too many doors, surprisingly enough for me at the time
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"its the running joke now, we now have fair trade with china so they send us poisoned sea food and we send them fraudulent securities."
How did you get the Fed internship?
Taught tennis my freshman year and interned for little pay at a commodities based HF for soph year, but as other people have said as long as you have a passion for finance/markets and something to talk about in the interview you should be fine.
I worked a few days a week, but mostly just hung out with my friends.
going to work at BlackRock pag
.... you'd think a guy like me could pull that sorta thing off
worked in ops at a BB
I worked for a direct marketing company (aka going door to selling promotions) for a couple of months. Then my best friends and I went on a 20-day road trip across the country from coast-to-coast. Best decision ever. I've got an internship at a top boutique this summer.
chilled in europe
Can't recall exactly, but may be a summer janitor gig at a public school at a rich town? Taught me the values of hard work...$11/hour...not to shabby lol
Should I be listing non-finance related "work experience" on a resume just to show I'm not a lazy bastard over the summer?
I don't think it really hurts as long as you don't have anything better to put in its place. If you can spin it as "relevant," then by all means list it...
For example, I put my high school job as a short order cook on my resume - During an interview, I actually had the question "walk me through the various positions you have listed on your resume, and tell me one important thing that you learned at each" - I used the obvious "being able to handle stress in a pressure-filled environment" for the cook position.
Language study abroad.
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