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Application timing for Summer Analyst positions in London

S

SAhopeful1

New member
Aug
6
0
Hi guys,

I'm looking to secure a summer analyst position for 2015 in IBD in London and have a few questions.

I'll be starting a MSc at the LSE in October. I've already done 2 BB offcycle internships in Switzerland so I'm not quite aware of the application procedure when it comes to summer internships. When should I start applying?

The career fair at LSE is in mid-October. Also, I'll surely be joining a few societies there so wouldn't it be better to wait a bit before applying so that I can include my society memberships on my CV?
 
Some summer internships are already open such as DB, CS, GS, RBS, Lazard and Greenhill (who have already started interviewing). However, most are opening tomorrow (September 1) and they are on a rolling basis. For this reason, it's best you apply as soon as you can.

Applications take a long time to do and again, they recruit rolling basis. Do you not have any other society involvement from your previous years? If so, there is zero point in waiting to join more societies just to throw them on the CV.

So, in summary, it's a difficult balancing act but I'd apply as soon as possible for the bulk of your applications.

Read this article: Part I, Part II

You can also get a discount on test prep material here: Test Prep
 
Mr. Exclusive said:
Some summer internships are already open such as DB, CS, GS, RBS, Lazard and Greenhill (who have already started interviewing). However, most are opening tomorrow (September 1) and they are on a rolling basis. For this reason, it's best you apply as soon as you can.

Applications take a long time to do and again, they recruit rolling basis. Do you not have any other society involvement from your previous years? If so, there is zero point in waiting to join more societies just to throw them on the CV.

So, in summary, it's a difficult balancing act but I'd apply as soon as possible for the bulk of your applications.

Read this article: Part I, Part II

You can also get a discount on test prep material here: Test Prep
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response.

I see. I will only be arriving in London around September 25th. I'm on holiday abroad up until mid-September. Should I wait a bit then? If I apply let's say in 1 week, will they ask me to come to London before September 25th?

With regards to societies, no, I do not have prior society involvement, we didn't have those at my undergrad uni...
 
SAhopeful said:
Thanks for your response.

I see. I will only be arriving in London around September 25th. I'm on holiday abroad up until mid-September. Should I wait a bit then? If I apply let's say in 1 week, will they ask me to come to London before September 25th?

With regards to societies, no, I do not have prior society involvement, we didn't have those at my undergrad uni...
Click to expand...

Your situation is very tricky. I would still apply to at least a handful of before that date, if nothing else, just to get you into the swing of applying (as you will notice an improvement as you go along). Regardless of when you apply, no one will invite you to London before September 25th, or at least, I highly doubt that. Banks can also accommodate if you are abroad anyway (Skype interview etc.)

Do you have any kind of involvement in anything? What does your overall profile look like? If it is very weak, it could be worth applying until you can get some society involvement but it could also be too late. It's also unlikely your society involvement will be substantial enough to make any difference to your overall application.

So, I would apply to a number of banks now but save the best ones (the ones you most want to work at) until a bit later.
 
Mr. Exclusive said:
Your situation is very tricky. I would still apply to at least a handful of before that date, if nothing else, just to get you into the swing of applying (as you will notice an improvement as you go along). Regardless of when you apply, no one will invite you to London before September 25th, or at least, I highly doubt that. Banks can also accommodate if you are abroad anyway (Skype interview etc.)

Do you have any kind of involvement in anything? What does your overall profile look like? If it is very weak, it could be worth applying until you can get some society involvement but it could also be too late. It's also unlikely your society involvement will be substantial enough to make any difference to your overall application.

So, I would apply to a number of banks now but save the best ones (the ones you most want to work at) until a bit later.
Click to expand...

I'd say my profile is decent:

-Bachelor in Economics (swiss uni)
-1 six-month offcycle internship at a BB - financial accounting and control dep. of IB
-1 six-month offcycle internship at another BB - FX Salestrader
-English/french native speaker
-former semi-pro athlete
-invited to this year's European Finance Association annual meeting by UBS on CV selection
- and of course I'm starting a MSc at the LSE this fall.


what do you think? I know it's unlikely my society involvement will be substantial enough to make any difference to my overall application but I just thought it would give it a small boost, dunno...

From September 6th to 14th I cannot even do a computer test, I'll be on holiday on some island. Should I prepare my motivation letters now and send them once I get back?

You said a few banks are already interviewing. Does that mean they are already inviting people for physical interviews in London?
 
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OK here's the thing: you got a great profile so if you don't fuck up other parts of your applications you are going to get quite a few interviews. Listing a society membership adds 0 value to your resume, it adds some only if you actually had some responsibility -> that in your situation is impossible because of the timing.

Start right now and prepare most of your applications before you take off on your holiday (5 days is plenty of time). Once you get back on 15th, send them off. Then you get the invitation for the online tests (which hopefully you'll ace) and then the interviews (the chance to convert them to summers).
 
lofaszjoska said:
OK here's the thing: you got a great profile so if you don't fuck up other parts of your applications you are going to get quite a few interviews. Listing a society membership adds 0 value to your resume, it adds some only if you actually had some responsibility -> that in your situation is impossible because of the timing.

Start right now and prepare most of your applications before you take off on your holiday (5 days is plenty of time). Once you get back on 15th, send them off. Then you get the invitation for the online tests which hopefully you'll ace, and there you go you have interviews coming up: which you can then convert to summer internships.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your advice.

That's what I'll do, prepare everything now, CV is done.

Is it smart to adapt each motivation letter to the company? like talk about a specific deal that they recently did (I'm aiming for IBD)?

I know a good motivation letter will not get you an interview but a bad one can hurt your chances.

I always used the same template for all my motivation letters with regards to my 2 internships here in Switzerland, it seems like it worked, not sure if this will work for IBD summer intenrships in London though.

Do they really read these things?
 
Is it smart to adapt each motivation letter to the company? like talk about a specific deal that they recently did (I'm aiming for IBD)?
Click to expand...
It's not smart, it's a must. Every cover letter should be tailored specifically.
I know a good motivation letter will not get you an interview but a bad one can hurt your chances.
Click to expand...
Yep
I always used the same template for all my motivation letters with regards to my 2 internships here in Switzerland, it seems like it worked, not sure if this will work for IBD summer intenrships in London though.
Click to expand...
If I were you I'd use the same template, it does say something if you have already landed 2 BB internships so don't start from scratch.
Do they really read these things?
Click to expand...
Skim through them yeah.
 
Ok thanks.

When you say "tailoring", what exactly do you mean? Talk about the strengths of the IBD? the overall health of the bank? Recent challenges? or should I really go deep and mention specific deals?
 
I meant that each cover letter (although the format is obviously the same) should be different to each bank. So apart from the para where you are talking about what you can bring to the table, the content should be specific.
Check out the last part of the SW guide part I.
 
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