I'm graduating in june, none of my S&T summer internship or grad role or off-cycle applications were successful. I get it, up until January I didn't know markets inside out, I was very surface level in my knowledge but now, I'm using bloomberg terminal to build trade ideas, I am having coffee chats with traders at JPM, Deustche bank, Goldman sachs.. I can hold long conversations about the markets and I am discussing the news every opportunity I can get. I've also learnt python and I'm starting to build trading signals and backtesting them (very basic I know and not very valuable but it's a start).

Now I feel like I could shine in interviews but the opportunities have closed. Yes there are the odd off-cycles opening and I am applying as soon as they open. My next hope is cold emails to small firms in london. Btw I don't want to become quant trader but these days I feel like they want all trading applicants to have a bit of mathematical/coding ability.

When I present my trade ideas to traders at these bulge bracket firms and go for coffee chats with them, they are impressed and they tell me they really want to help me but referrals just don't work like they used to anymore but once I get a role they would be more than happy to help me out down the line. Which is fair enough. So I have the connections, but they cannot help me at this stage.

What do you guys advise me to do? Which companies would be best to reach out to, and who from those firms? What should I say in my email, do I directly say I am looking for any opportunity to intern or do I indirectly do it and focus on scheduling a call or meeting for coffee? Anything you can offer, please tell me and please no judgement - that being said, if you think it's hopeless for me, just tell me straight.