AU
Failed to land a summer internship at an investment bank? Believe it or not, it’s not the end of the world.
Myths and realities
It’s true that if you land a summer internship at an investment bank during your penultimate year at university, you’ll have a far higher chance of getting a full-time position upon graduation – most banks look to hire 50% or more of their full-time hires from the summer intern pool.
However, it’s also true that if you haven’t got an internship at an investment bank already, you won’t get one now – deadlines passed in June/July last year.
While an appropriate internship will definitely help your cause, not getting one need not be the end of the world: any kind of summer work is better than nothing.
Claire Strik, graduate recruitment manager at KPMG, the accountancy firm which also has a corporate finance arm, says summer work in McDonalds can be beneficial in terms of communications skills: “I think having McDonald’s on a CV is GREAT.”
And if you don’t want to spend the summer taking orders for Big Macs and fries? There are other alternatives, which may still be available even at this late stage.
Option number one: boutiques
Boutique investment firms and specialist corporate finance advisory outfits are probably your best bet. We’re talking small firms, often with fewer than 20 employees, who might be able to benefit from a little ad hoc help over the summer months.
For a list of likely contenders, click here.
Timothy Li, a student who’s just finished his final year of study at the University of New South Wales and has been offered a place on JPMorgan’s graduate scheme for next year, spent last summer as an unpaid intern at Emerging Growth Capital, a boutique investment bank focused on the biotech sector, which fitted with his biochemistry studies.
How did he do it? “I cold called, and was asked for my CV and then to an interview,” he says. “Financial institutions don’t expect cold callers. They are impressed with the initiative.”
Option number two: big (and small) accountancy firms
Big accountancy firms like PWC, Deloittes, E&Y and KPMG often have short-term vacancies for accounts payable, data entry and other clerical positions. Try temping agencies, or check their websites for information.
Option number three: data providers and ratings agencies
Think Reuters, Bloomberg, Morningstar, Thomson Financial, Moody’s, or Fitch: many offer full and part-time jobs to students, although casual summer work can be harder to come by – unless you want to continue with the position during the next academic year.
Option number four: exchanges
ASX offers casual work during corporate governance review time, and in September and October actively targets students for these roles.
I didn’t have an IB internship but landed an IB gig. The big 4 have excellent summer vacation programs (that are actually decently paid) in all their major lines of service (tax, assurance and advisory), so I would highly recommend getting that on your CV if you can…however, spots in M&A tax/advisory are few and far between and highly competitive.
Kudos to Tim – frankly, I wouldn’t have been able to work an entire summer unpaid…asking my folks for money to buy a McDonalds happy meal might somehow have made me pull my own hair out (unless, of course, they were filthy rich…then I would be living the high life with Big Mac meals!).
Bottom line is getting into IB is very, very tough…I know it was a damn nightmare going through the endless interviews and there were many banks that knocked me back, even at the online application stage. I must admit that I found one thing really interesting…In the final round interviews I made with 3 banks, the last 15-20 people at one bank were completely different to the final pool of candidates at the other – completely! Weird how that works. I guess that boils down to culture.
I’m a non-OZ student doing my masters in Sydney. How do I get myself a summer internship when most banks and the big 4 are looking for Aussie and NZ citizens or PR? I can’t go to any other part of the world for an internship at that time either.
V, if you don’t have PR then forget it. There is simply no chance of you landing a job at a top-tier institution, regardless of how much of an academic ‘star’ you are. My advice: pledge your allegiance to that kangaroo and emu and land a grad role (most banks don’t really hire masters students for their intern programs). Good luck!
i am finishing my Masters in Professional Accounting in march 2008 as looking for better oppourtunitu in my field.but having same proble don’t have PR can you help me or how to apply? or any recruitment for fresh students?thanks
Hi,
I am a contractor with Suncorp. A cousin of mine is looking for internship at Suncorp in Retail Banking or Marketing side. She is doing her MBA from London School of Business and Finance. Please let me know if such opportunities exist in Suncorp and if yes, What is the process to apply for the same.
If you read the above comment then you wouldn’t have needed to ask your questions…no PR = no chance of an internship/graduate position at any reputable company. You may also wish to have a chat with an Australian recruiter in finance/accounting to get their point of view.
Hi i am a first year student at SA University for a Bcompt Accounting Science and i am passionate about accounnting and i need to know what is the entry requirement for one in order to qualify for being applying in your recruitment agency.
Just to clarify…we’re not a recruitment agency and we can’t provide specific info on jobs at Suncorp!
I am currently working in ANZ as a service consultant, while i am still in uni. I wonder is it worthwhile to apply for IB internship. Or i should stick with my job until i graduate? I still got 1.5 years to go
hi i am doing my 2nd year of undergraduate in IT security i am looking for a job in the smae field just get some experience (salary is not required).so if any one could help me .
hi i am lookin forward for a masters in prof accounting in australia….and i am looking forward for an internship before going…..so could you suggest what kind of internship should i do here that would help me get a good job there later on…..
Hi, I have completed my Chartered Accountancy from India and came Australia on PR. I have working experience as a Settlement officer and as Research Analyst in Religare Securities, a group of Fortis Finance. During my job hunt it came out very clearly that I need to have Australian Exp. So I don’t understand how to give that experience if no company will provide an opportunity to people like us. Is there any way that I can have that experience? I am ready to work for no pay. I just need a platform rest I do have the derivatives market’s knowledge and experience.
hey, just saw the above comments that international students cant get a job in the firms to do their internship just because they dont have pr, but whats the point of studying here if u cannot get a job, until and unless we cant get the job how can we get the experience.i mean i just dont understand, we struggle here,paying high fees so that we can get a respectable job,but the answer we get is that we dont have experience and our bad luck is we are an international student, what if we are better in terms of other candidates?
LOL, is that the ANZ in gladesville?
what the other said about pr. if you haven’t got it, dont even think about applying to a high-end firm. one of my mates is a structured products tutor at melbourne uni… he said the same thing. these firms are putting in $$$ to train you up; if you can’t be bothered getting a pr, why should they train you. why hire a foreigner when a close match that’s an australian (more likely to stay, less visa bs, from the culture itself)?
solution: find a placement back home first