<p>I know I saw a thread on Smith Barney unpaid internship earlier but it was some sort of brokerage type so I'm a little confused right now. My question is should I apply to this Smith Barney internship if I hope to get into the IBanking field in the future? I'm currently a sophomore, and if I am chosen, I'll be working winter/spring quarter as a sophomore.</p>
<p>Here's the job description:
INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION: Working with established Financial Advisor Practice.
Daily Activities include the following:
-Helping create portfolios for current and potential clients
-Marketing to clients and prospects
-Scheduling clients meetings
-Helping with seminars
ADVISOR ROLE: Our commitment is to make sure that you are knowledgeable and educated about the financial services industry once you have completed your internship.</p>
<p>Does this seem like it'll help me in the Ibanking field? </p>
<p>If you have no finance experience, I’m sure something is better than nothing. If you already have enough then its probably not worth it. The only thing is, can you handle the time commitment?</p>
<p>I’m sort of in the same dilemma; I was offered an unpaid IBD internship but I can’t put in the 20 hours required.</p>
<p>It sounds more like secretarial work than finance, but like bankthis said…if you don’t have any finance experience (high school student or college freshman), it is worth considering.</p>
<p>If you get the internship, can you ask them if they’re up for finally making me some money on the mutual fund I’ve had with them for nearly the past 10 years?</p>
<p>Smith Barney is a good name to have on your resume and given that you are a soph, with probably very limited, if any finance experience, and internships aren’t as common for the spring/winter semesters, this isn’t a bad internship to have on your resume. That said, this experience will not help you land IBanking positions, as it will not really offer any marketable skills, nor a comparable competitive position (for example, consulting, private equity, S&T are at least somewhat comparable in terms of competitiveness to IB) to banking. </p>
<p>Assuming you have nothing else on the horizon, this is a fine internship to begin to shape the work experience of your resume. PM me if you have any other questions and good luck.</p>
<p>BankonBanking, so does it mean I should aim for an internship position in any competitive comparable position in PE/ S&T, or consulting if I can, or do you think it would be better if I just apply to any boutique investment banks in my area and intern there (during the school year if possible)?</p>
<p>Yes, and Yes. Apply to all of the above - given your limited experience, I would not assume that any boutique IB internship will be easy to acquire, nor will internships in P/E, S&T or consulting. Take a chance, and see where you earn an opportunity first - if you don’t like it, great, you now know you don’t want to do X, but you still have the experience under your belt to land a position elsewhere. Shoot me a PM if you have any further questions and good luck.</p>