What makes a good application
A general tick list of things that make a good application (you don't have to be 100% at all):
- Good university
- Good school grades
- Good predicted degree
- Leadership positions
- Excellence and accomplishment, e.g. sport, debating, music etc.
- Vacation and work experience (this can also include volunteering)
- Demonstrated interest in the role, e.g. part of an investment/consulting society, attended talks etc.
- Strong test scores (if part of the firm's application process)
- Well-prepared for interviews, indicating clear interest in the role and firm, and showing that you are a likeable, friendly person
Five tips
- Apply early, i.e. the week applications open up. Far too many students create spreadsheets with the names of the firms they plan to apply to and each firm's deadline. You should not care about the deadline, only the date applications are open. Most spring weeks recruit on a rolling basis and so the majority of those they take on will have applied and been interviewed in the first batch of applicants. The later you apply, the fewer spots will be left and so the standards will be much much higher. A lot of firms will even close before the deadline. If you are partway through the application process at that stage then that can be very frustrating.
- Apply everywhere. Don't be overly picky. Since this is probably your first set of applications, you're probably going to need some interview practice before you start receiving offers. Also, since you're in an earlier stage within your university timeline, you should have the time to dedicate yourself to applications now so that you are better at them in the future when they become more important (as do your classes). By applying to lots of different places and industries you can really figure out what you are interested in. All 3 of my spring weeks were in completely different fields, which really helped to narrow down what I wanted to do later.
- Keep revising your application. Make sure that when you receive rejections you note which stage you are being rejected at and you reflect on what went wrong. Sometimes it's down to pure luck, but if you find that you never pass the numerical test stage for example, then clearly this is something you need to work on. If the first 5 firms you apply to reject you with your current CV, there's probably little point in doing the 6th application without bettering your CV first.
- Before you start applying, do some networking. You don't necessarily have to have attended company events or spoken to someone at every firm you apply to, but better applicants would have. You can then drop names in cover letters, have a better answer to 'Why this firm?' at interviews, and have a clearer understanding of the culture and structure of the firm so you know what division to apply to. I would recommend going to at least 1 webinar/talk on securing spring weeks and individually speaking to at least 2 past spring interns for advice before you start your applications.
- Numbers + effort = success. You will hear that sometimes securing spring weeks comes down to luck, but it helps to have more applications for luck to be applied to. At this stage, investing so much time and effort into cover letters, numerical test prep and interview prep for a 3-day spring week probably seems ridiculous. But you need to think of it as effort in securing a job. What are 5 hours of effort in securing a role when ultimately you could be spending thousands of hours at that firm? All the effort you put into your applications will be worth it, even if you aren't successful in securing any spring weeks.
If the first few firms reject you at the CV stage, the CV review shows you what to fix before the next application.