Finance Accelerated Timeline

Financial Services firms hire for interns extremely far (more than a year) in advance. This can create a process that can be stressful and often overwhelming for students. To navigate this unusual recruiting pattern, it’s important to be aware of tips and strategies for preparing.

~START EARLY & Stay up to date on ever changing deadlines:

• Make a profile on the company’s “careers” page or “student careers” page and sign up for alerts about the type of position you’re seeking. Some firms will only post on their own website, so this is a must!
• Follow the company on your social media channel of choice. This will help you hear about recruiting news and keep up-to-date on what the firm is promoting and is a great way to prepare for informational (or regular) interviews. Plus, firms keep track of engagement in these spaces, especially on LinkedIn.
• Favorite the company on Handshake, which will then notify you when the organization posts new positions.
• Be sure to set up a search alert on Handshake (by simply saving your search parameters) for finance-related internships or job postings to catch new listings from firms not on your radar.
• When searching, do a keyword search for the following summer (e.g. “summer 2024”)
• Reach out to Swarthmore alumni at firms of interest to learn more about changing hiring trends

~KEEP IN MIND:

• Prepare & Apply Sophomore Fall/Winter for Sophomore Summer Internship.
• Apply Winter/Spring of Sophomore year for Junior Summer Internship. Check again in Fall of Junior year for Summer Internships.
• Sophomores are frequently searching for their sophomore and junior summer internships simultaneously. Leverage our resources and support to successfully navigate this process.
• Most offers of full-time post-graduate roles within financial services (at large bulge bracket firms) are made exclusively to rising seniors in their summer intern pool. These are called “return offers.”