Posted on 06/23/2009 9:43:50 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jonathan Dunlop managed to score an internship this summer with Morgan Stanley, but some of his Yale University classmates were not so fortunate.
Contending with a tough economy and uncertainty in the financial sector, major investment banks have dramatically reduced the number of interns they are employing this summer.
"I definitely had a couple of good friends come up empty," said Dunlop, 28, who worked in the fashion industry in New York for five years before enrolling at Yale's School of Management. "It is disappointing because it is such a long recruiting process."
Barbara Hewitt said overall internship recruiting decreased by more than a quarter at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where she helps place undergraduate students. She said a large share of the dropoff can be attributed to financial services firms, which historically have had large internship programs.
"There were plenty of students who were interested in finance, but didn't land an opportunity with some of their top choices," Hewitt said.
In the investment banking industry, some firms, like Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, have reduced their internship classes, while others, like Lehman Brothers, disappeared or merged with other banks amid last fall's collapse of the financial sector, leaving fewer opportunities for students.
As a result, Hewitt said students were encouraged to consider smaller boutique firms, unpaid opportunities, internships abroad -- or even other industries.
"For some of them it was freeing, but for lots of them it was frustrating," Hewitt said.
Having a smaller pool of interns also affects banks that rely on their programs to build pipelines to talent for future use. It is not unusual for interns in the banking industry to end up full-time hires, making college programs important investments for firms that rely on attracting top talent.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Would would anyone seeking to build a career in finance take a job at a failed bank?
Common sense is not a pre-requisite at a liberal business school like Yale.
And, where better than Harvard or Yale to learn how to down a bank... or finish one off...
many, many of their grads worked at the failing banks and investment firms.
Oh..No...now who can the aspiring business students turn to for guidance in business ethics?
some other companies are now requiring students and parents to pony-up CASH MONEY for a summer internship!
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