We’ve been there, done that in terms of recruiting for summer internships. Read our advice below:
| Don’t get caught up in the fray. Go after what you want and don’t settle for something because it seems safe. |
| Don’t get stressed out if your perfect internship offer doesn’t happen right away. Some students will get offers in January + February, but many more will get offers in March, April + May. |
| Approach all the speakers that you can and ask them for contacts in your desired career field |
| Start your own business, then you won’t have to recruit! |
| Don’t recruit–start your own company! |
| Know yourself. Don’t spread yourself too thin if you know it will be too much for you. On the other hand, if you are not sure what you want to do professionally and you are the type of person that can handle limitless recruiting events…go for it! The key here is to know yourself and not put yourself in positions you’ll look back on and regret. |
| Do it early! |
| Remain true to yourself: we will be tempted by many industries. Keep in mind what drives you. |
| Stay organized. Try to keep a list of people you’ve talked to and events you attended so that you don’t get them mixed up! |
| Don’t panic yet! If you plan to recruit for consulting or banking: start panicking right after orientation. For everything else: relax for the next couple of months. |
| I am not officially recruiting this year, so my advice is to talk to as many people as possible, but to ultimately listen to yourself and do what it is YOU want to do. |
| Don’t pay attention to what other people are doing, just foucus on what you want. |
| Utilize your classmates, they have a wealth of information. |
| Seek advice from second years and take advantage of all the free advice the school offers – whether its Career fellows, interview practices, cover letter and resume review (and do this early), mentors in your clubs, career clubs events, or alumni. Everyone is willing to help you if you just ask. Information and practice is key – seek it until you are comfortable with it. You will get there, I promise! |
| I can only speak to consulting and general management type jobs, but my advice is that quality is more important than quantity. Face time does not mean much, so make sure you have one or two high quality conversations with people who will remember you if you put them as a reference on a cover letter. Follow up and have coffee chats, because that is a great way to get one on one quality time with someone. |
| Leverage your classmate’s social networks. |
| Target a few people in each firm (preferably in the office you want to work) and focus on establishing relationships with them. |
| If possible, try to focus your efforts. |
| Be natural! Try to enjoy the coffee chats and random conversations and the recruiter is more likely to enjoy the talk also. |
| Go to all the club and CMC workshops. |
| don’t WORRY about it! it all falls into place at the end |
| Write handwritten thank you notes when you meet with people individually (desk visits/informational interviews). |
| As real estate (and many, many other industries) don’t recruit until the spring semester, it was important for me to immediately network, network, network. Attend as many industry events as you can, meet people in the fields you want to work in, and immediately email them after events to have coffee chats. It’s a lot of legwork, but you’re sowing the seeds of your network early on. |
| Figure out what you want and meet as many people as you can |
| Take advantage of your classmates pre-business school experiences and get their advice about the companies they worked for. |
| Keep an open mind to all the companies from September on. You never know who you will end up clicking with.. it may surprise you. Also, it’s much more competitive than you realize to get internships at many firms, specifically in consulting. So, keeping this open mindset will help you greatly. |
| Network, network, network! You would not BELIEVE how valuable a five-minute conversation with a recruiter can be. And definitely make sure to follow up! Also, be yourself and talk about the things you’re passionate about– if you’re a fit for the company, it will definitely shine through! |
| Don’t do it…start your own company! |
| Again, always have a suit in your locker – a nice one! And, make sure to follow up everyone you meet. If you had a meaningful conversation, recall it in your thank you email. If you didn’t, ask for a brief meeting or phone call in order to establish a connection. The more (positive) touch points you have with people in an organization, the better. |
| If you look at the great statistics of those who obtained summer internship opportunities, then you can see that there is a high probability that you will get a job. Don’t overly stress about securing a position – it’s only a matter of time. |
| For each company you’re interested in, try to find one person you connect with. Then spend your energy trying to build those relationships so you have an advocate at each company, rather than spreading yourself really thin by trying to meet every person at every company at every event. |
| Stick to what you are passionate about and try not to be pulled into the two-track mindset of consulting vs. banking. Also, do not panic if you do not have an internship offer in January. This happens to very few people and a ton of internships are posted throughout the second semester. Finally, be considerate and supportive of your classmates during the recruiting process — it’s helpful to have a friend who understands the process and can help you prepare. |
| If one of your goals is to check out all the options out there, that’s cool. But realize that it’s easy to over do it. A tell-tale sign is you’re booked for three events in the same 2 hour block. When in that situation, ask yourself: would you actually want to work at all three places? |
| Pursuing what you want is more important than what’s right. |
| Look sharp. Do your homework. Be genuine. Research your questions. Understand company culture quickly. |
| Polish your resume and allow yourself ample time for multiple drafts and reviews by the CMC, Career Fellows, Career Coaches, second year students or even your own peers. Talking something out to wordsmith can be extremely helpful. |
| Attend as many company presentations as possible before narrowing your search |
| If you think you want to do the formal on-campus recruiting industries, e.g. banking or consulting, make that decision as early as possible because they require a lot of commitment and preparation |
| Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get your dream job right away. If you want to be a career “switcher”, be open to being a career “transitioner” in the meantime. / |
| Non-traditional recruiting – try it. It doesn’t feel as much like speed dating (from what I’ve heard…). |
| Love the industry you’re recruiting for. |
| Stay true to yourself and your interests, don’t get caught up in it just because everyone else is going to a million events. Everyone ends up with an internship. |
| Do not get sucked into the herd mentality. Talk to your mentors outside of school and CMC to really understand what you are interested in pursuing rather than allow Watson Library conversations about banking recruiting influence you. |
| Leverage second years – they have the most intimate knowledge regarding the power players in each firm and how to manage the recruiting process. Also, don’t follow the trend! Everyone has a passion for something different – find yours. |
| If you already have a “real” interest in a specific industry/function, try not to get tempted by the crowd. If you don’t, keep an open mind but do try to identify the plan A quickly. If you’re trying to get into IB for instance, the time commitment is heavy. As someone who focused on corp finance/IB solely, I’d say any knowledge about these companies, markets, and an idea of what sectors you wish to focus on, recent developments/deals in those sectors – will only help in building relationships with the recruiters. Above all, remember recruiting is a marathon. We all wrap it up at different times, but everyone is a finisher! |
| Pace yourselves, be friendly and do your research beforehand. |
| Don’t get overwhelmed. Be strategic about which events you go to – make sure you take time out for yourself. |
| Don’t worry about how many business cards you get, or how many events you attend. Best to attend a few events for a company, and make a couple of quality connections, than fight your classmates for time with a MD or VP. |
| It will all be ok! You will get a job – don’t let recruiting take over your life. |
| Networking is key, especially if you are looking for a job inNew York. Therefore, start networking as early as possible. / In addition, if you are a career changer and want to figure out in which industry you would like to work after the MBA, join all the different clubs at CBS that may interest you. By joining all these clubs, you meet with people who have experience in the respective industry, you can attend different conferences, go on company visits, etc. I felt that this is the fastest way to find out which industry(s) you are really interested in. |
| Begin developing your recruiting strategy early, so that you are positioned to excel in the recruiting process. The CMC and Career Fellows are wonderful and accessible resources on campus, which I found very helpful. Also, connect with your classmates to learn about their career backgrounds and goals. |
| Be confident. Everybody looks super smart and more competitive than you but you have things they never have. |
| Let your heart guide you and stay focused. Many of us start the year not knowing what our next career step would be. It’s important to talk to as many people as you can and make an informed decision that aligns with your passion early on. Once you make a decision, stay focused and don’t get distracted by what people around you are doing. |
| I havent recruited yet so I dont have any advice here. |
| Network like crazy! Do the hustle…it is worth it. |
| Stay optimistic. |
| Don’t do it. Within the first couple weeks you will be forced to decide whether you’re a banker, a consultant, an S&T’er, or “other”. If you’re one of the first 3, you’re stuck. Keep your head up. There’s a lot of events. Try to figure out early which ones are absolutely necessary and only go to those. Don’t waste your time or the recruiters’ time if you don’t need to. IF YOU’RE IN THE “OTHER” camp…CONGRATULATIONS. Your first semester should be a lot less stress-filled than your peers. Don’t get sucked into it if you’re heart or head isn’t into one of those 3. Do some legwork so that you can hit the ground running in January. |
| Start building your professional networks outside of the on-campus recruiting events once the year starts. |
| Take your time in choosing an industry and focus on it. |
| Create good connections with friends who are going through the same recruiting process to the same industry you are doing, hang to each other and make many mock interviews to one another. |
