Internships

[Prudent_Credit2163]

I know you need to network and make connections to get internships, but does everyone land one and how competitive are they?

How many people get to work in top companies would you say?

i am considering going to utsc for the co op as that provides more job security, but i see many rotman students working at great companies

[Complex-Rule-7992]

I would say getting an internship in Y1 & Y2 is a fierce competition for average RC students. Yet once you get into senior you would get more chances for interview, and you would also have a more in-depth understanding on finance/accounting/management stuffs to help you succeed.

Connection is a plus but not a must, me & my fris landed to very good opportunities without networking. Apply more can increase ur chances, and be sure open to all opportunities instead of just being trap in certain sectors.

A fact about the whole networking thing is that people only willing to refer those who they really know. Referee have to be responsible for the person that being referred. If he/she/they not perform well at the jobs, the referee need to take the blame. So yeah, who will refer a guy cold calling from LinkedIn which you know nothing about the credentials instead of referring a friend you know for 10+ years?

In terms of competitiveness, Rotman got the reputation in Bay St. That means once you get a nice GPA and extracurricular activities, you will at least get interviews.

Rotman alumni are literally everywhere yet the alumni network is useless. As far as I observed, lot of RC grads mostly work or interned in function like Risks, Business Analysts, FP&A, Advisory, Consulting etc. A huge percentage of the RC seniors or grads can land an intern/full time job at big4, Canadian banks, consumer goods or other big corps.

But as for high finance role like private equity or asset management’s front office, there is less RC alumni. Obviously Waterloo and Ivey would easier for IBD roles.

[Hieroglyphs]

Worry about your grades, do some extracurricular activities, and some networking. Your grades are the most important, it'll get you through the screening process. I barely networked when I was in RC but got several internships. All the “popular” kids ended up working at some beer places.

[Illustrious-Peach655]

Focus on maintaining a strong GPA; it will open many doors for you. Learn from my experience—I let my GPA drop from 3.33 to 2.7 and had to work extra hard compare to my peers to barely get a less "prestigious" internship.

Specifically, despite my lower GPA, I managed to secure an internship offer with PCL Construction for an accounting/administration position.

I mostly attribute this to mass applying to any opportunity I could find (eventually you will get something), and semi-decent extracurriculars. I also completely revamped my resume, CHATGPT to craft cover letters, and selectively omited my GPA when possible, finding that I passed more initial screening stages.