<p>I'm currently a freshman at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and I'm interested in working for a hedge fund or investment bank after graduating. I know that employers want to see that I didn't waste my summers so I'm trying to decide what I should do. Right now I'm debating about getting an internship working for a small bank back home (in the midwest), working for a large natural gas company in the energy trading department, or simply taking additional classes so I can get a higher GPA or graduate in 3 years instead of 4. What would you recommend I do to stand out?</p>
<p>Don’t bother with the extra courses. You are better off with the energy trading internship to get some solid experience under your belt and then build to better positions in better firms next summer and junior year summer. </p>
<p>PM me if you have other questions.</p>
<p>IBanker</p>
<p>Hi Bankon Banking,</p>
<p>Thank you for your response! I have done so many internships in the financial sector in European companies…all in all, I have more than 30 months of working experience…I am also studying at a top uni…I called more than 1000 firms in NYC…sent out 50 applications…and got rejected from ALL!!!</p>
<p>I am totally frustrated because I am working on my CV since I am 16 and it feels like all was for nothing!</p>
<p>This is my entire story:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1082566-its-shame-my-story.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1082566-its-shame-my-story.html</a></p>
<p>Please advise me!!! I would really appreciate your help!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot,
Laila</p>
<p>Laila,</p>
<p>Send me a PM so that we can get into more specifics and figure out what is going wrong together</p>
<p>IBanker</p>
<p>I think what is going wrong are two things: since its so much harder to obtain visas with new regulations, the fact is that US companies dont want to take someone that doesnt have the right to work in the US after graduation and also Edingburgh is not of the caliber of Oxbridge, LSE or even St. Andrews in the eyes of US companies.</p>
<p>I agree with mhmm. Visa regulations have been reworked thanks alot to TARP restrictions(banks who took federal aid), so most banks now aren’t hiring international students. The really good and impressive ones are being sent to their big offices outside the United States (London, Dubai,etc.). You also have to keep in mind that ever since the financial crisis, analyst recruitment has taken a hit.</p>
<p>networking is a huge deal. Especially for international students like you and I. Im only 17 (1 more semester till I finish highschool!) and this summer I will begin my 2nd banking internship. How did I do it? I wasn’t shy about it. I cold-called and did everything any other Sophomore would do. Except I really shined when it came to interviews. They liked how passionate I was about finance and how easy to talk to and sociable I am (I actually invited the analyst and the intern for a game of 2 on 2 basketball…and that’s only within 40 minutes of talking to them!), and how much I really knew despite being in highschool (all the people that interviewed me said that I knew more about banking, finance, and economics than 90% of college students and even college grads who applied for the same position.</p>
<p>So sometimes it all boils down to very subjective things. Whilst it might be that the usual recruitment culture here (Saudi Arabia) is different, being “out there” is really important. The names on your resume dont matter at all if you can’t answer basic questions in a good way.</p>
<p>Send me a private message. We can discuss this more privately if you like. I know some large regional banks here (saudi arabia) who would die for someone like you.</p>