How to get a good internship?

Question

I have finished my freshman year with a GPA of 3.56 (business GPA 3.8) I am majoring in finance with a minor in accounting. I am also pretty sure I am going to get good recommendations from my professors. What do I have to do now to get a good internship for the summer of 2009? Where should I look/search for good internships?

P.S. I am going to a private liberal arts college

Answer 1

Try going to your college's career center. They have ties with alot of companies so they can help you practice for your interview, and connect you to a bunch of different places hiring. Good luck!

Answer 2

So...I assume you want to work in business?

The absolute best internships can be found at Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan. Those are known as the "big 4" investment banks--the most prestigious (though Merrill Lynch is sometimes included in that group).

Other ones that are very good but not as wildly prestigious: Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Citigroup.

For auditing, the best are Deloitte Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

Now, of course getting accepted to this programs is extraordinarily difficult. My boyfriend got an internship (and then a job offer) at one of the Big Four this past summer. If you want to compare yourself to someone who would get this: 3.8 GPA; one of the top 5 liberal arts schools in the country; Economics major and neuroscience minor; researched and wrote an independent study report in astrophysics and won a prize in astrophysics...those are just a couple of things.

You can look right on their websites on how and when to apply. However, you should talk to your career center, since many banks come to campuses to recruit (though this is usually only at the top schools.) You apply in...I believe the winter before the summer you want to work there (so if you wanted to work there next summer, you apply this winter.) You should have a GPA above a 3.6--even higher if you aren't coming from a top school. Recommendations are important, but not that important. Your resume and cover letter are everything. Make them perfect.

Keep in mind, though, that most of these programs require you to be an incoming senior--you must have completed your junior year at school.