Is there such a thing as too many internships?
I have 2 internships under my belt, plus working full time at two banks for a duration of 1 year. All these in different countries in Europe.
I am currently doing my MSc in Finance, and after graduation have the opportunity to intern in South Africa and then New York, for a combined duration of about 1 year.
From what I've heard international experience is highly regarded. Is that true? And would you say doing this would be too much? And too many internships?
This will not be in IB, more in Corp Fin. I want a career in Corp Fin/ Corp Dev. Preferably M&A.
Yes there is. Don't get too many otherwise it seems you have no firm loyalty or you sucked so bad you had to get kicked out. Please have a good story explaining why you had to jump so much.
It will also make the resume very messy - try to focus on 2 of the 4 that are most relevant/impressive
I should probably clarify that the two internships were summer internships in my first and second years of undergrad. After graduation I worked for one year and am now doing my MSc. So one more year of international internships is still a bad thing?
Because my reason would be to get more international exposure and experience. I'm originally from Sweden, so interning in South Africa and New York, would it still be too much?
This may be a bit of a dumb reason, but I want to experience living and working abroad before settling down in Europe.
Kind of like a productive gap year, rather than a hippy one.
I mean, I would understand that interning for a year after graduation in ones home country will look bad. But doing two internships on two other continents has an obvious reason to it, right?
It's all in how you spin it. You will get questions as to why you didn't return to the same firm the next year, or why you never got a FT offer. Be prepared to answer them and discuss why you took each internship.
No, never too many as long as they are all productive and applicable. Its all the way your spin it
How many internships is too many internships? Worth it? (serious) (Originally Posted: 10/10/2015)
-delete pls-
My 2 cents:
If your goal is PE, layering your resume with an additional BB internship isn't going to be a "swing factor" anyway. PE is a crapshoot out of undergrad anyway and you have to be a tremendously competitive applicant, H/W with top GPA and great experience. You should chill with the internships after you complete your current one, and focus exclusively on getting a good SA this summer at a good bank. You will land something with your resume.
Also your comment about top group at top BB/ PE --Don't be delusional and think that just because you have tons of "internship experience" you will land TMT at GS or M&A at MS. At the top, all the applicants look the same and you're not particularly going to be special, so it's really about luck and connections. Even more so with PE -- good luck getting that out of undergrad. Don't set yourself up for disappointment, so just focus on landing a good summer analyst gig and then moving from there. PS: it will also help if you actually know what area of financial services you want to work in after you graduate ;)
Hey bump?
You sound like a hoarder, except you're just hoarding internships. I don't think taking a break from having an internship will mean much, especially if you're at a target school. Just keep the GPA afloat and you'll do fine in recruiting. Most people don't even have internships during the year.
Yeah if I saw your resume I would think you are a finance robot. Take some time off and do something interesting (travel, etc.).
Is this what Stern undergrads go through??? Please take a bong hit.
I won't pretend to be an expert in undergrad anything but take a deep breath and concentrate on getting good grades. Your experience by doing all of these internships will increase your odds just because you show interest and take that interest into working but your best takeaway from these will be the network you build and rather than aiming for numbers of internships at all these places, concentrate on having good internships and building relationships at these places. Get a real relationship with a somewhat senior person at those places who will not just give you a reference but someone who will reach out for you. I've had a god awful amount of interns over almost 20 years but maybe 5 or 6 have actually built relationships with me. I give good referrals to most interns and will go to bat for them (it's actually tough to legally say bad shit about someone) but I've gone out of my way to help those 5 or 6 people because I not only thought they were very capable but because I wanted to recommend those people to my friends and close contacts.
Is this what Stern undergrads go through??? Please take a bong hit.
I won't pretend to be an expert in undergrad anything but take a deep breath and concentrate on getting good grades. Your experience by doing all of these internships will increase your odds just because you show interest and take that interest into working but your best takeaway from these will be the network you build and rather than aiming for numbers of internships at all these places, concentrate on having good internships and building relationships at these places. Get a real relationship with a somewhat senior person at those places who will not just give you a reference but someone who will reach out for you. I've had a god awful amount of interns over almost 20 years but maybe 5 or 6 have actually built relationships with me. I give good referrals to most interns and will go to bat for them (it's actually tough to legally say bad shit about someone) but I've gone out of my way to help those 5 or 6 people because I not only thought they were very capable but because I wanted to recommend those people to my friends and close contacts. Work your professional contacts hard: just be a normal dude.
If your goal is BB FT recruiting your goal needs to be the summer analyst internship. What gets you there best? Not knowing your school (although I'd assume NYU or Columbia if you can hit those places during the school year) make sure you can tick all of the boxes to get past the initial screen, GPA being huge. If not those schools, make sure that the internships you had/have will get you past get my aforementioned
You make great points, but what if I'm aiming for PE right out of undergrad? Would it make sense, then, to have more IBD experience to help demonstrate that I can be plug-and-play in a setting with little training?
[IB career advice] How many internships is too many? (Originally Posted: 10/06/2015)
Thanks monkeys
Dude, trust me. Everything will be alright. Take the internship gig, keep on interviewing, and have faith. You have beaten the odds before and are still being sought after, give it time and you will be crushing it in FT. Good Luck!
I interned 3 times before getting a gig.
Not sure there is a good number for this.....I did quite a few internships before getting just an IB SA gig.....I think recruiters and other people will look at it more from the standpoint of how a role helped you in your career development....
Is it bad to have too many mismatched internships? (Originally Posted: 08/23/2013)
Hey everyone. I'm a sophomore at a target undergrad bschool, but I'm still a bit unsure of what I want to do. I'm leaning towards strategy work, but I could also see myself in equity research/equity sales as I enjoy following the markets. Additionally, I've always had an interest in real estate. Basically, I have absolutely no clue what it is that I'll wind up pursuing. As a result, I did a generalist finance internship this past summer, so that I can easily spin it in a lot of different directions. I also may have the opportunity to intern with a commercial real estate firm this Fall (another potential career path for me).
The question then becomes, does having too many internships in different fields look too unfocused? I know that I could technically just leave an internship off my resume if it doesn't "fit" the job I'm applying for, but I don't exactly want to spend all of this time working to not even bother putting it on my resume...
What are your guys' thoughts on this? Thanks!
Veniam magni omnis odio quo. Nemo id mollitia itaque consequuntur. Neque in labore eos ut suscipit sint. Occaecati et voluptas dolorem ut nulla. Eaque aut beatae autem rerum dignissimos excepturi deserunt. Molestiae sequi et saepe modi tempore.
Perspiciatis nesciunt ea voluptatem voluptas minus officia. Esse quos veritatis rerum ad. Aliquid nostrum tempora sed voluptatibus quidem laborum at.
Quia qui sit aut. Ad voluptas quis illum itaque aliquid laborum blanditiis. Eligendi sit iste qui facere molestias dolorem facilis. Id numquam aperiam provident.
Non ea voluptatem id recusandae aliquid aut. Dolorum nihil natus eligendi aut. Voluptates totam quibusdam sunt facilis doloremque expedita. Odio ipsa sit et hic. Beatae provident exercitationem ut vel ex magni. Illum magnam expedita et consequatur enim quia sapiente.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...