I hate to do this but i figured it was worth a try. I'm a junior in college right now (Rider University), i'm double majoring in Finance and Management and having trouble looking for an internship right now. Obviously, with the financial markets the way they are, its hard. I was just wondering if anyone on here could help out in any way? I'm looking for some kind of internship that will expose me to the real financial industry. I am very interested in investing and started investing in stocks as soon as i turned 18. While my investments have fluctuated since, my desire to learn the markets and to grow as a trader has been increasing ever since. The problem is that i don't have too much real experience in the financial field which is why i'm looking for an internship. Of course, this is a double edged sword because a lot of places won't look at me because i haven't had much real financial exposure yet. I assure you that i have a huge interest in finance and have more than 15 books on investing, stocks, forex and fiancial markets that i'm in the process of reading. I get the Financial Times, Wall Street journal delivered on a daily basis and read it before work as well as business week and various other fiancial websites. I have been interested in this since i can remember and now that i'm 21 and a junior in college i want to get myself out there. There are numerous members on here who can attest to the kind of person i am. I am a dedicated, hard working individual with a genuine interest in finance. Just today, i was told at my current job i was working too much and had to cut back by a few hours a week. All i need is for someone to give me a chance and to let me show them what kind of a person i am. I'd be willing to commute by car up to an hour away from where i am now (Lawrenceville/Princeton, NJ) and could easily commute by train to the city from my local train station. I'm not looking for any kind of pay (although i wouldn't turn it down), i just want to get exposure to the world of finance. Feel free to PM me or email me at [email protected] and i can provide references and my resume
Well, you have to be more specific. The financial realm is massive with many different fields and varied professions. Since you mention trading, I'll put this out there; it is a dying profession with all of the ECNs coming into play. If you want trading experience you can look into prop trading firms, but be wary as they can be shady businesses. Regarding internships, I hope you have been looking since at least last August. If you just started now, you shot yourself in the foot. Start searching THIS August if you didn't last time. The most likely position you can land is in wealth management as they seem to be the only positions in abundance right now. And, considering you're in CNJ, there are a bunch of WM firms looking to hire. Good luck, PM me if you still need more guidance.
Thank you for the reply I wouldn't say its a dying profession but it certainly is changing and i believe there is no better time to be getting into it than right now. So many things are changing and this whole situation is unprecidented and there is so much to learn. My real interest is in investments. My dream internship would be at some kind of hedge fund or "risky securities" firm. I'm intersted in fixed income securites too but don't know as much about them as i do forex and stocks. I want to get experience and come out with a greater knowledge of how things work. I know that nowadays its rare but I don't want to be getting coffee for people or delivering mail. I'm ready and willing to learn. I'm not sure i understand about the August comment. I have been casually looking since last November and have applied to 3 so far (didn't hear back from any, despite follow ups). I'm looking for an internship that i can take before i graduate (next May) so i'm looking for one that i will start in the fall (September) so i have a solid 3 months to look. I've been looking every day for the past few weeks and obviously will keep looking until i manage to snag one. I'm also planning on taking the CFA next June (2010)
Just to clarify, I am referring to floor traders. If your dream internship/profession is in Hedge Funds get a start on building a very strong quantitative background. Look into high level math courses that apply to finance. Don't sell yourself short; sometimes you will have to get coffee or do some errands in order to work your way up the ladder. Regarding snagging an internship for the fall, I think you may have a shot if you intensify your search now and get out at least 50 applications. Friends and I used to send out over a 100 per season, many times we only heard back from about 10 firms. If you can find the time to study, by all means go ahead. But, realize it is a waste of time if you cannot allot 2-3 hr of time per day for six months prior to sitting for the exam. At least that's what I have been told from individuals who have sat and taken their CFA examination. Look into joining this and becoming a student member: http://www.nyssa.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=How_to_Join&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=13420
Thanks Thanks. I need to get to work. 100 apps is a lot This is 1 thing i've been planning and looking forward to for a while Thanks. I will definatley look into this
May I suggest that you try to go out of the box a bit and contact individual executives at companies that are of interest to you instead of going through HR? There are several (many?) firms in the Princeton to Plainsboro area, particularly in the private wealth management field. A former ML bigwig lives in Princeton - he's a Porsche guy but, who knows, the car connection might still help you. Do some digging and get some names.
Exactly what I was getting at previously. Not only is there a minefield of PWM firms, but, they are looking to hire right now. At least in terms of full-time. But, that is a good sign if they are looking for full-time FAs.
Right - Bloomberg is right there in Skillman, NJ - plenty of Rider alums working there. Reach out to a manager or exec there, you can't go wrong.
Thanks. There is an a well known investment bank down the road from where i live. I was going to email them about internship/shadow/mentor oportunities I don't have the magical 3.0 (2.8. I had a rocky freshman year) and i don't have much financial job background (his words) as i said. I've already talked to a guy from Bloomburg (exec). I might try and reach out to someone else
Thanks. I've been working on my linkedin profile for a while now. I do need to start reaching out though
Do some googling and get names then contact them directly. Example: a few years ago I had a problem with a major company and was getting exactly nowhere through customer service. Googled some PR pieces on the company and got the name of a senior VP and the format of their email addresses. Guessed at his email address and fired off a nice polite piece to him. Within hours the matter was resolved, with an apology from the senior VP that he was traveling or it would have been done sooner. Got to go outside normal channels to get things done. Get some names of executives and find a way to contact them. Email to HR or online resumes make you just one of the herd.
i work at one if the fastest growing investment/boutique banks. we hired almost 25 interns a month ago and i am sure they continue to look for more. the company has hired 50 employees since april. anyway if youre interested pm me a link to your resume and i will gladly pass it along.
Just had the phone interview. She said i sound like someone they will want and will pass my info along and recommend an in person meeting at the branch i'd work at (which isn't actually completed yet) which then may turn into a internship offer