Getting a Wall Street Internship

Instructions

• 1

  Undergraduate degree

  
  This one ought to be pretty obvious; if you’re looking to land an internship on Wall Street then you will usually need to have a business degree or be studying for one in either finance, economics or accounting.
• 2

  Financial courses

  
  You should take as many mathematical and analytical courses such as calculus, business statistics and econometrics. These courses will help prepare you for the highly mathematical world of finance and will also help convince recruiters that you have prepared well for your desired internship on Wall Street.
• 3

  Achieve a minimum of a 3.0 GPA

  
  Most firms on Wall Street will specifically ask for applicants to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and above. A lot of firms will actually set the bar higher at 3.5, so if you really want that career defining Wall Street opportunity then you need to make sure you impress with your grades.
• 4

  Prior Experience

  
  As noted earlier, getting an internship on Wall Street requires that you stand out as much as possible from the crowd of applicants. If you have had some prior work experience then this could potentially be a strong differentiator for your application.
  
  Any finance related experience you may have had, such as writing a finance column for your school paper, could help show potential employers the depth of your passion for, and knowledge of the finance industry.
• 5

  Focus on significant achievements

  
  Chances are, no matter how stellar your educational achievements may be there are probably going to be a bunch of other candidates with similar achievements. In order to truly standout, you may need to highlight any experiences you have had where you were able to demonstrate certain outstanding traits such as leadership or organizational skills.
  
  In writing your Resume, remember that no experience is worthless: it really just depends on how you spin it to suit your position.
• 6

  Demonstrate knowledge about your selected firm

  
  Do your homework on the industry. Make sure you have extensive knowledge about the firm you are applying to, particularly if you get invited for an interview. This will go a long way in convincing recruiters that you really want the job and that you are conscientious and willing to take initiative.
• 7

  Personal contacts

  
  If you know someone who actually has a full time job on Wall Street, then you may speak to them about getting an internship. Usually such people have information about available positions or are able to guide you as to what sort of competencies will be expected from you as a Wall Street intern, even before you get the position.