Candidates for Wall Street internships typically have financial job experience before obtaining a major investment banking position. Prior experience shows recruiters that a candidate has a legitimate interest in the industry, and it provides a useful basis for the candidate to understand the he or she will perform as a banker.

When seeking relevant experience, remember a few important things. First, many pre-Wall Street internships are unpaid. However, the future payoff of your Wall Street internship and analyst income will surpass the short-term sacrifice. Also, remember that big names matter. Quality of experience is important, but having experience with a recognizable company will also help catch catch a recruiter's eyes when reviewing your resume.

A few examples of local pre-Wall Street opportunities include the following:

     Goldman Sachs Operations (Salt Lake City)
     Granada Capital (Provo)
     Merrill Lynch (Provo)
     NightWatch Capital (Provo)
     Smith Barney (Provo)
     Global Financial Advisors (BusM 496 - Investment Banking Internship Class)
     On-Campus Internship (BusM 496 - Ensign Peak, Peterson Partners, JPMorgan Hong Kong, etc.)
     University Venture Fund (Provo)
     BYU Private Equity Case Competition (held every March/April)
     BYU Capital Markets Trading Competition (held every winter semester)