Eligibility/ Intro

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Summer internships are usually aimed at penultimate / final year students of any discipline across undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Internships are a form of work experience offered by any firm in any industry to give students the chance to undertake real work and gain the skills to secure full time roles after graduating. Internships are the best way to learn about an industry and to find out if the role and firm are a right fit for you.

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Back in the day you really only needed a university degree to secure full time jobs , but now as many people have access to university the competition has gone through the roof. So you will need prior work experience to help you stand out from the rest of the crowd  

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Most of the time these internships will lead to full time job offers so they are quite a big deal if you are trying to break into some of the most competitive industries.Now , Employers know that many students will not have had the chance to complete any prior work experience so you are not expected to have any relevant work experience but instead an obvious interest in the industry of your choice. This can be done by participating in relevant societies at your universities .So if you are trying to break into investment banking, then joining the investment society or any finance club at university will help you stand out. 

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Pedagogy:

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Summer internships will provide you with a wealth of skills and knowledge about the particular inudstry. Since you are engaging in the day to day activities you will have the chance to network with a lot of professionals in the workspace who will help you succeed in the future. You will be presented with actual work responsibitlies and expected to carry out duties as if you were an employee. You will also undergo any training required for the role to make sure you can be trusted with the responsibilities. You may also be given the opportunity to deal with clients which may be an exciting task.

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You may also be paired up with a mentor who will make sure you are doing ok and will always be available to you in case you need any help 

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End Results:

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Most of the time if you can impress the firm you are interning with you will be offered a full time job after you leave university which will be a huge weight lifted off your shoulders as we enter the most competitive job market in the next few years. You could also be offered the chance to intern or work in a different department of the same firm if you find that you are not enjoying the current department 

Timeline:

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Application for summer internships tends to open in the summer before the internship begins. So if you are looking to complete an internship in 2023 now is the time to begin preparing. As the year goes on, more and more internships will open up.

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Summer internships can last anywhere from 1 week to 12 weeks across the summer holidays once you finish your exams. In most cases, if you are not based close to the offices you will be provided with both transport and accommodation for your time

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Application Process:

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The application process for summer internships do vary from firm to firm but most of them follow the same pattern:

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• Filling out an application form and uploading your CV/Resume and sometimes a Cover Letter may be needed or some questions asking basic questions like why this industry or why this firm.
• Online Tests: these can range from quantitative reasoning to qualitative reasoning and situational judgement. The best way to prepare for these is by practising.
• Hirevue: this is a simple video interview where you are asked a series of questions where you will have 2 minutes to record a response. So you need to do your research before 
• Interviews: these can be phone or video interviews and can consist of 1 or 2 rounds. Since you will be at the beginning of your studies you are not expected to know the technical skills but some basic technical knowledge may be useful or even seen as impressive and go a long way in your favour 
• Assessment Centres: These are a collection of activities that can include interviews, group projects, individual presentations and tests/case studies 
•  Offer

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Major Recruiters:

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For Finance : 

• Bulge bracket firms :
• International Boutique firms.
• Local Boutique firms.
• PE firms.
• Other Financial institutions.

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For Law : 

Law firms like Simons & Simons, White & Case LLP, Osbourne Clarke and TLT LLP

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For Consulting:

Firms Like Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman and Mckinsey and Company 

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Additionally, you can also reach out to smaller firms and request to do an internship there. This is called applying speculatively and you can learn more about how to structure your cold emails when doing so by joining the Cross Path community. 

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How Cross Path can help?

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It may be useful to familiarise yourself with the technical skills needed for the role to improve your chances of getting hired and getting the summer internship in the first place and this is where Cross Path can help you. With access to many professionals across different industries you can have the chance to learn both the technical skills and the soft skills needed during your internship. For example, if you are looking to break into Private Equity or banking then you can enrol in the technical and financial modelling courses.

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