Stand Out – Lessons in Recruiting for Finance Internships

              Let me preface this article by saying one thing – I am no genius when it comes to getting internships. haven’t landed a coveted position at Goldman Sachs, nor have I been a summer analyst at J.P. Morgan. What I can say, however, is that I have landed two internships in rather unconventional ways – ways that might just be useful to you. So, let me ask you a couple of questions:

Have you tried traditional internship search methods, and come up dry?

Do you not have an uncle in investment banking (like everyone else seems to)?

Do you suck at informational interviews (like me)?

              If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, this article might be applicable. If not, stop reading. Or keep reading, I don’t care. But when you’re done, please please PLEASE don’t tell me anything like the following:

“I got an internship at [large reputable company] by doing [traditional recruiting method]. You should just do that”

              If that is the case, congratulations! No, seriously. There is a reason that conventional methods are universal, but they don’t work for everybody. The following advice is for people who have done all of the traditional methods, and still can’t find an internship. Note: If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say “traditional” or “conventional” recruiting methods, go read “The 2-hour Job Search” by Steve Dalton, use his methods for a few months, and then come back.

How to Stand Out

             Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s dive into a scenario. You haven’t gotten an internship for the summer yet. You’ve known that you needed to start looking for internships since a while ago, but you’ve kind of just been blindly applying with no relevant experience; but now the pressure is on. If you don’t get an internship this summer, you probably won’t get a good job, which (of course) would mean that you have failed at life*. This is the exact situation I found myself in just 8 months ago, and here are some strategies that worked for me:

1: Stop applying for jobs

              Sounds kind of…weird. If you want a job, you have to apply for it, right? Wrong. The internship market today is competitive. Very competitive. So much so, in fact, that you can apply for hundreds (yes, hundreds) of finance internships at random and not get a single interview. Even worse, applying for hundreds of jobs chews away at your precious and limited time – so, before we apply for jobs en masse, let’s get focused.

2: Focus in

              Now, this isn’t particularly unconventional, but I don’t believe it’s emphasized enough. At the very least, we are going to need to choose a specific field and a specific location. That does NOT mean “I want to work in finance somewhere in the state of Utah” – I’m talking a specific field (for me, wealth management) and a specific municipality/area (no more than a one or two hour drive from point to point). Unsure what field you want to go into or what location to choose? Make a decision. Doesn’t matter if it’s the right one, you can fix that later – for now, we just need to focus in.

3: Make Yourself Valuable

              Within your specific chosen industry, there are going to be ways to prove your skill or value in a relatively short period of time. Get licenses, chase after designations, take exams, pursue online courses, write articles, be active on LinkedIn, make a YouTube channel, etc etc etc. I don’t know your specific industry, so it’s hard to list specifics here, but I can guarantee that there are ways you can set yourself apart.

4: Find Companies

              Now, start making a list of companies in your chosen field and geographic area. Get a phone number, address, and email for each company. I recommend using google maps to keep your search local – it can give you a well-curated list that includes contact information. Don’t get distracted by companies outside of your chosen field/area.

5: Be Unconventional

              Now comes the fun part. Normal methods haven’t worked – so let’s shake it up a bit. The goal here is to get yourself noticed by potential employers, which can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some of my favorites:

-          Cold call the whole list of companies and ask if they would be willing to take you on as an intern.

-          Deliver your resume in person. Consider bribing the recipient with your favorite sweet treat.

-          Mail your printed resume to the company like it’s the 1980s.

-          Treat your potential bosses like clients; take them out for dinner, invite them to go golfing with you, or drop them off gifts. Nothing breaks you into corporate America like a good ‘ol bribe*.

As a mark of certification, I have gotten interviews with all of the above methods. Beyond my recommendations, however, just go crazy. Set up a table at the farmers market, for all I care – the point is to make yourself stand out. Your resume obviously hasn’t gotten you anywhere, so you need to get people’s attention some other way.

6: Repeat

              If that didn’t work out for you, or there aren’t a ton of companies in your chosen area, never fear! Now you can take your chosen geographical location, shift it, and start over. You will find an internship – it’s just a question of persistence.

To conclude, don’t rely solely on run-of-the-mill methods. Start with those, but don’t be afraid to expand beyond them. Generalized advice is just that – it works for a lot of people, but not everybody. Internship hunting is tough, but thinking outside the box can open doors you didn’t even know existed. I’d love to hear what unconventional strategies have worked for you—comment your favorite ideas below!

*Joke. It’s a joke.