YOUR INTERNSHIP QUESTIONS ANSWERED: I've interned outside the UK, does this count?

Do you have questions about investment banking summer internships? We have an M&A banker and a trader to answer your questions over the summer. Click here for information.

In the meantime, here's question number one, and the answer.

Usually, I have heard that banks will not accept applicant for their graduate scheme without any investment banking experience. However, If I've completed an internship outside U.K, e.g US, HK or even China, will I stand a good chance when I apply for the graduate scheme, or will I be considered behind those who've had an IB Internship in U.K.?

Would be great to have a response by tomorrow!? Thanks and get well!

Hi there X,

That’s a really good question. London is not the only financial centre by any means, and since ours is a globalised industry, one would hope that an internship anywhere else would be valued in London.

So it really should not matter if you have an internship on your CV from New York or a city in Asia. The most important part of a successful graduate application to an investment bank is to get a toe-hold somehow, and direct experience of the sector via an internship is still the best way to do this.

Realistically however I would say that this is subject to two conditions:

1) The bank needs to be a decent name - if your prospective employer has to Google it to find out who they are, that's not good news. Branding matters in the City, just as it does anywhere else in real life. "Decent" in this case doesn’t have to mean American or European. It can be a regional firm in Asia or elsewhere, but obviously it won't hurt your chances if your interviewer has heard of it. Even better would be that they have traded with it as a counterparty or worked on an M&A deal with the institution.

2) Your experience needs to be relevant. So for example if you're applying for a role in Sales & Trading, your experience will ideally be on the trading floor. If it's not an exact fit, bring out any similarities in your written application. As an example, if you interned in Equity Research but are applying for a trading role, make sure you discuss any contact you had with traders.