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Making The Most of an Internship-less Summer

Making The Most of an Internship-less Summer

April 24, 2024

Today, in 5 minutes or less:
👉️ No internship? There is still hope
👉️ What you should do this summer
👉️ Content picks of the week (ft. Taylor Swift)
👉️ StepStone event lineup
👉️ Job opportunities you should care about

You didn’t land a summer internship? Now what?

April is drawing to a close and finals season is fast approaching. If you’re anything like we were in college, you are probably getting ready for a three-week library lockdown purely fueled by a diet of breakfast sandwiches, Celsius, and questionable fruit cups from the library cafe. But amidst the chaos, remember, summer break is near.

For some of you, summer break means starting your first (or second) internship. That’s awesome and we hope you crush it. Today’s newsletter is (mostly) for the rest of you who didn’t get so lucky in the application process. We’ve been there, it sucks. But trust us, there is still hope. You can still make the most of your summer and come out with valuable experiences that will look good on your resume and help you land your dream job.

Are my chances of getting a good job ruined?

This might come as a surprise, but what you do and where you intern doesn’t mean as much as you think it does. Is it a great feeling to convert an internship to a full-time offer? Absolutely, but that doesn’t disqualify you from landing the same role if you didn’t have the internship. Most of the big accounting firms, consulting firms, and investment banks extend full-time offers to their interns, but 99% of the time there are additional openings. You may be thinking “I have nothing lined up for this summer, what are my options?” We’re glad you asked.

❝

Didn’t get the job you wanted? Good. More time to improve.

- Jocko Willink, Author, podcaster, and former Navy Seal

As we mentioned in last week’s newsletter, success is where preparation meets opportunity. Here are the top 5 things you can do this summer to prepare for the next recruiting cycle:

Network, network, network: Reach out to industry professionals via LinkedIn, alumni networks, and cold emails and ask to hop on the phone. Make sure to bring your A-game to those chats with thoughtful questions and a strong base knowledge of their industry. Pro tip: steer clear of easily Google-able questions (seriously, no more "What does an investment banker do?"). Wrap things up with a polite ask about potential opportunities. Take, for example, this email we received from a high school senior just last week 👇
Talk about a hustler… even though we don’t have an internship for her YET, we know she is going places.
Get a job: I scooped ice cream during my freshman summer. Not kidding. If you don’t land an internship this summer, get a job. Doesn’t matter if it’s waiting tables or working a bar, you can spin any job into a positive experience on the resume. Don’t believe me? This was an actual bullet on my resume that landed me an internship my sophomore summer
“Maximized profitability and customer retention by introducing seasonal promotions and refining service processes at the ice cream parlor, leading to a ~7% revenue increase within three months”
Not bad, right?
Stay informed: Staying up to date on news is like investing. Rarely has immediate benefits, but always, always pays long-term dividends. I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates and am always impressed when the student knows what’s going on in the financial world, especially when they can articulate a viewpoint. You’d be stunned how far reading a 5-minute newsletter every morning will put you ahead of your peers. We recommend Morning Brew and DealBook in addition to StepStone, obviously.
Summer school: Enrolling in summer classes is another great way to get ahead. Taking tough courses (cough, Calc 2, cough) will free up your schedule during the fall so you can focus on recruiting and crushing your other classes. Plus, in an interview, you can show employers that you stayed productive all summer.
Courses and certifications: Time to show recruiters how dedicated and motivated you are. Interested in investment banking? No better way to show it than learning how to build a discounted cash flow analysis. Need to figure out how to effectively pitch a stock for sales & trading interviews? Learn the art of the stock pitch. Want to learn more about accounting? Complete a job simulation created by PWC, (Big 4 accounting firm - more on PwC in future editions...) to show them you’re a motivated candidate.

At the end of the summer, you should look back and know you did everything in your power to move yourself closer to your end goal. If you set a goal to network, find a job, build a habit of consuming news, get ahead in classes, or complete online certifications, you are guaranteed to have made yourself a stronger candidate come the next recruiting cycle.

What we’re reading

📈 NYSE contemplates 24/7 trading

🎟️ What do Taylor Swift tickets cost after ‘Tortured Poets Department’ release? Bonus chart of the week 👇️

What we’re watching

💡 The one question this billionaire asks in every interview

💰️ Best hedge fund investment of all time

What we’re laughing at

Context: There is a running joke at consulting firms and investment banks (usually not a joke) that analysts are more competent than MBA hires

StepStone event lineup

Introducing our event lineup. Throughout the summer and school year, make sure to check here for new and upcoming informational and networking events. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn about different career paths and network with professionals.

📢 Intro to Sales & Trading and How to Break In (Late May, RSVP link to follow)