[yuki_i]

can anyone who has interned in the financial services industry? i'm trying to apply for one so i'd love to hear from your experience (application, resume, networking, interviews, you know, all that good stuff )

[inkstand]

What, specifically, would you like to know? If you detail the questions you want answered, I think that will help the people who ultimately want to help you.

[yuki_i]

I'm currently a sophomore so i know it's hard to get into the summer analyst programs which look for juniors only. right now i'm trying to send my resume to alumni to see if they can find me like a non-paid position. I was wondering if anyone has experience of applying for internships during their sophomore year and what helped them get it. I'm hoping to work in NYC, for Merrill or Morgan Stanley or sth like that.
Any help/advice is HUGELY appreciated!!!!

[thatbiggbadwolfy]

SEO - http://seo-usa.org
INROADS - http://www.inroads.org

Almost everyone here on soompi is Asian or colored--so you can participate in these internships that land you jobs at big ibanks, such as Goldman-Sachs, MS, MER, Lehman Brothers--even Lazard Frères.

INROADS is only available till sophomore year in college (end of it). SEO is a harder process requiring recommendations.

For other internship searches: http://www.monster.com - Keyword "Intern"

Also: http://boston.craigslist.org (You can find you own city there) - Click search jobs, and check "internship."

I recommend you do a paid internship if you are in NYC. Housing is expensive, even if you are leasing NYU dorms.

http://www.collegeconfidential.com -- Click on "forums" and go to Careers and Internships

Also: http://www.vault.com -- Requires a paid membership (I paid)

Good luck fellow Ibankers. -James

[inkstand]

I know that Banc of America securities offers internships to Sophomores for the summer. Try cold-calling and contacting the HR departments of various firms. It can get you farther than you think.

[MUSTARD*]

well i'm doing a summer intern.. and im not in the US.. but currently i'm doing a cadetship with KPMG and i haven't even started UNI yet.. i've been working for about 3 weeks..

and it's fun it's a great headstart..^^

one thing abt interviews though... here they asked one stupid question that does get some people stuck.. questions like.. "if you could be part of a burger, which part would you be and why?"

[yuki_i]

thank you soooo much, you guys are awesome. i will try all of your suggestions, each of which was very helpful. i think i gotta start digging into those vault books and read more about the industry and their practices, AND start calling people around like madly. emailing just doesnt seem to work anymore.

@ james: are you working now or still in college? you sounds like an expert btw i dun think i can apply for INROADS since im not US citizen.

@inkstand: i know MS has a program for sophomores and i alreadie apply. hafta check out BoA (ooops ) then

@mustard*: so which part of the burger did u decide to be?

@ others: i still wanna hear more advice. Thanx!

[knickstorm]

thank you soooo much, you guys are awesome. i will try all of your suggestions, each of which was very helpful. i think i gotta start digging into those vault books and read more about the industry and their practices, AND start calling people around like madly. emailing just doesnt seem to work anymore.

@ james: are you working now or still in college? you sounds like an expert btw i dun think i can apply for INROADS since im not US citizen.

@inkstand: i know MS has a program for sophomores and i alreadie apply. hafta check out BoA (ooops ) then

@mustard*: so which part of the burger did u decide to be?

@ others: i still wanna hear more advice. Thanx!

well even though i'm not going into the financial industry, i can tell you persistent is still important. Get the name and contact of the person who actually does the handling of interns. SEnd your stuff over, call to make sure they have it. Then wait a week and follow up again and just re-iterate your interest and ask where they are along the process, etc.

[yuki_i]

@knickstorm: like your avatar a lot *keee

------------

hey guys do you think this event is worth going (providing i'm 4 hours away from NYC >.< )

NASP - National Association of Securities Professionals
Luncheon/Networking Event

Date: Friday, March 24th
Place: 388 Greenwich Street, NYC - Citigroup Building
Time: 12:00 am - 2:30 pm

Target Audience: Women and Minority Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Purpose: To encourage minority and women undergraduate and graduate students with leadership potential to pursue careers in the securities industry. The luncheon will feature a panelist of minority securities professionals, who will share their experiences with the students. This event will allow students to network and develop mentoring relationships with securities professionals.

Who is NASP: NASP is a non-profit association of professionals, who have achieved recognition in the securities industry. Their members represent major Wall Street firms such as Smith Barney, Williams Capital Group, Goldman Sachs, MDL Asset Management, Merrill Lynch, INVESCO, Wells Fargo, Lehman Brothers Asset Management, UBS Global Asset Management and Piedmont Investment Advisors.

NASP was founded in 1985 by Maynard Jackson (former Mayor of Atlanta), Travers Bell (the first black member firm on the NYSE) and Joyce Johnson (the first black woman broker with A.G. Edwards).

Additional Information:
-During the event a scholarship application will be made available for interested students.
-A travel stipend may be made available to students who need it.
-Dress is business casual
-It is recommended that you bring 2 copies of your resume
-You must present an ID to security to gain access to the building

[thatbiggbadwolfy]

thank you soooo much, you guys are awesome. i will try all of your suggestions, each of which was very helpful. i think i gotta start digging into those vault books and read more about the industry and their practices, AND start calling people around like madly. emailing just doesnt seem to work anymore.

@ james: are you working now or still in college? you sounds like an expert btw i dun think i can apply for INROADS since im not US citizen.

@inkstand: i know MS has a program for sophomores and i alreadie apply. hafta check out BoA (ooops ) then

@mustard*: so which part of the burger did u decide to be?

@ others: i still wanna hear more advice. Thanx!

Hi Yuki: I'm a sophomore in college right now, though I am working too.

PS: I'd like to be the "bun" that holds everything together ... hahahah so corny!

**Oh I see, yeah Inroads only wants US Citizens. There was this korean girl in front of me, in line, during Inroads' recruitment and she couldn't do it =(

Oh, and, by the way, are you on collegeconfidential? I think I saw your name there =)

[yuki_i]

Hi Yuki: I'm a sophomore in college right now, though I am working too.

PS: I'd like to be the "bun" that holds everything together ... hahahah so corny!

**Oh I see, yeah Inroads only wants US Citizens. There was this korean girl in front of me, in line, during Inroads' recruitment and she couldn't do it =(

Oh, and, by the way, are you on collegeconfidential? I think I saw your name there =)

hey i'm sophomore too. '08ers rock on!
yah i wenta inroads presentation. was so eager to apply and then they told me "no F1 please"
and yes, i'm on CC bcuz u suggested me to check it, remember??

[yuki_i]

how's everyone progressing in their internship search? pls share some good news ahh!!! i still haven't got any interviews yet.... soo sad

[knickstorm]

how's everyone progressing in their internship search? pls share some good news ahh!!! i still haven't got any interviews yet.... soo sad

did you follow up?

i interned at cbs and ny1 in NYC last summer and I can probably go back.

ESPN i didnt get last summer but the girl said to check back which i have but she hasnt returned my calls yet. GOt an interview coming up with SportsNet NY, the new Mets channel coming up over spring break. And i just did my phone interview with the NBA today. So it's looking ok so far.

Be persistent and you'll be fine. GL

[Azngel]

at Univ of Michigan career fair, one of the first questions the recruiters asked was about your citizenship status. the international students were turned down right away because of their visas. i cant say for individual firms but this was the common occurence this year.

i did inroads last year and i ended up not doing it this year because 1. i didnt like the job i got even though it was in financial services 2. the people in there had already formed their cliques and were not welcoming to new students 3. the events they had for interns were boring and useless 4. i got an internship at American Express outside of inroads

ive done internships with washington mutual, wells fargo, and is now working at american express. my best advice as far as the interview goes is to really prepare the answers that you will give. i tried to imagine potential questions they might ask me and then prepared how i was going to answer those. i outlined my answer onto paper and brought thtat with me when i was interviewing. even when the interview question wasnt what i had predicted it to be, because i previously prepared, i could use what i had prepared to answer the actual interview questions.

if you are looking for internships with IB firms, its very very important to keep your resume to one page and make sure to make your resume easy to scan. those IB recruiters get hundreds and hundreds of resumes, they spent about a minute on your resume and if you dont make your resume short and TO THE POINT, they will just toss it. they will also toss your resume if its more than 1 page. my boyfriend who has had no previous experience and has a gpa less than 3.0 got an interview with Goldman Sachs. the key things about his resume is its 1 page, concise, and to the point. you can easily see what he has done by scanning it quickly.

[yuki_i]

@knickstorm: are u going to the journalism/communications school @SU? I heard it's very good ah.
@ azngel: u go to UM? that school is so nice i have frenz there too. the campus is beautiful, town is cool too. Lucky gal. Re your bf's GS interview, I think he's from top school rite (or he had connections). My resume is 1 page long, i think it's quite clear and succint. my biggest probs is i dun have enuf connections, alums at my school are not so helpful >_<
@james: i think you're having IB interviews rite? how did those go (if u follow this thread)?

[Azngel]

^^ he had no connections at all. he simply submitted his resume via the UM employment website and they emailed him asking for an interview. hes in UM engineering school.

[yuki_i]

@azngel: engineering is da best major for IB but I'm not one T_T

[thatbiggbadwolfy]

Yuki:

Sorry I haven't been following the thread; been quite busy. But yeah, haha, you are posting on College Confidential forums--I responded to you at CC and sent you a PM.

About BlackRock: Which area are you interviewing for? Servies, Solutions... equity, M&A, IT?

Seems like you live near Boston? 4 hours away from NYC? Haha that's where I am near too. (I got to college in Amherst).

I interviewed for BlackRock solutions as an external application (InRoads is useless to me) on Monster.com, and I got a request for an in person interview. I took the bus down to the Financial District in Boston, and met with the HR man who saw my résumé. I had consecutive interviews with him, the VP, and an analyst. Shortly after, I had a follow up phone interview. I guess 4 days passed since my interview, and I received a formal offer and a FedEx.

The pay is nowhere near Goldman-Sachs ($14K for 10 weeks, $10,000 after taxes) in New York, but I want a break from traditional IBANK internships. Banc of America Securities (as someone mentioned above) is looking for interns. I received a call from them yesterday, and well, I had to "regretfully inform" them that I already accepted BlackRock.

I would say you have a big chance at BlackRock, as it is very welcoming, an 18 year old company whose stock rose from $63 to $141 in its 52 week spread, and is gaining momentum with the Merrill Lynch merger (MER takes 49% of BlackRock's shares, and BlackRock gets MER's acquisition team).

Go to Vault.com, and read up on sample interview questions. Know your stuff. I guess the phone interview is informal, but for finance jobs, expect tough and nerve wrecking questions.

Well, I bet it won't be as hard as Lehman, GS, or Morgan Stanley (E.g., "If you were stranded on a desert Island, who would you bring? 1 Answer had chairman of SEC).

PM me or IM me later if you want, and I'll help you out. Good luck!

PS: haha, if you get the BlackRock job in Boston, we'd be working together!

~James

[knickstorm]

@knickstorm: are u going to the journalism/communications school @SU? I heard it's very good ah.
@ azngel: u go to UM? that school is so nice i have frenz there too. the campus is beautiful, town is cool too. Lucky gal. Re your bf's GS interview, I think he's from top school rite (or he had connections). My resume is 1 page long, i think it's quite clear and succint. my biggest probs is i dun have enuf connections, alums at my school are not so helpful >_<
@james: i think you're having IB interviews rite? how did those go (if u follow this thread)?

haha i'm already a junior in college

[colon]

i would advise u to join clubs related to the financial industries cuz they have a lot of information u might now have access to otherwise. also attend socials with companies. and start ASAP.