No internship at the end of second year, panicking!

I just finished my second year at the University of Bristol and haven't been able to secure an internship for the summer. Also my results haven't been great but I'll be doing everything in my power to secure a solid 2:1 average at the end of my third year. I know my chances of getting a job in IB are as good as gone however do I still have a shot at getting a graduate job with the Big 4 or a back office role at an investment bank? I'm seriously stressing out right now and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I don't have any work experience to speak of other than a few placements here and there and have some retail experience working at a supermarket.

Is there anything I can do over the summer and my third year to improve my chances? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I just finished my second year at the University of Bristol and haven't been able to secure an internship for the summer. Also my results haven't been great but I'll be doing everything in my power to secure a solid 2:1 average at the end of my third year. I know my chances of getting a job in IB are as good as gone however do I still have a shot at getting a graduate job with the Big 4 or a back office role at an investment bank? I'm seriously stressing out right now and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I don't have any work experience to speak of other than a few placements here and there and have some retail experience working at a supermarket.

Is there anything I can do over the summer and my third year to improve my chances? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I just finished my second year at the University of Bristol and haven't been able to secure an internship for the summer. Also my results haven't been great but I'll be doing everything in my power to secure a solid 2:1 average at the end of my third year. I know my chances of getting a job in IB are as good as gone however do I still have a shot at getting a graduate job with the Big 4 or a back office role at an investment bank? I'm seriously stressing out right now and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I don't have any work experience to speak of other than a few placements here and there and have some retail experience working at a supermarket.

Is there anything I can do over the summer and my third year to improve my chances? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Go abroad and maybe do some tutoring or something? At least it will broaden your experience and make you seem a bit more interesting during grad recruitment.

I know it's stressful but the key here is not to panic. Exhaust everyone you know for ideas/opportunities. Also, I'd recommend applying to some corporates next year as well to make sure you get something, somewhere.

If you can manage it, and haven't already, go for a leadership position on a society.

Or, perhaps try and do something entrepreneurial over summer, no matter how small. Seriously even if it just baking cakes and selling them least you can say 'Generated $10,000 of revenue and went from a customer base of 0 to 1,000 in 8 weeks'. Cake baking might sound **** but when you twist it like that it sounds good if you get my drift.

Or you could do some voluntary work. Plenty of those programmes around.

Maybe learn a language or some coding?

Edit: added a few more points.

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Can you elaborate on applying to some corporates, confused as to what you mean?

In a very similar position to OP and it's soul destroying, getting very depressed about it to be honest. Go to a Russell Group Uni, end of 2nd year got a 2:1 and hope to push on and get a 1st in the end. Didn't get an internship and it feels like every door is just getting slammed in my face regardless of what I apply for in terms of IB/Consulting etc

As for this summer I'm interning in a Chartered Accountancy firm. Not what I want to do but I thought any experience would be helpful. I'm also reading up about forex trading and going to try and actively start trading. Again, I have no idea for the relevance but it will give me something to talk about and hopefully show my interest. And I'm going travelling, mainly to take my mind off just sitting here feeling down and because I have always wanted to do it.

I'm toying with the idea of doing a Masters simply to try and improve my education in absence of good work experience. In which case would you guys suggest applying to a mix of summer internships and full grad roles? Or would you perhaps focus solely on one?

The only concern is if I supply to a Summer role, and then don't go through with the masters. Would I even be allowed to do it, and it would leave my jobless come September.

Thanks in advance

In this context, I mean applying to places like P&G, Mars etc. for Commercial Analyst/Finance type roles. These are still horrendously competitive but you should find it somewhat easier than IB roles.

You should not be so hard on yourself, it is natural to feel this way and those that do not, are in the minority. I know this feeling very well. Getting a truckload of rejections/doors shutting is something you have to experience to understand. View it as character/resilient-building.

It's good that you are getting some experience though, that is the main thing here. Everything you've said will also help your application so don't be overly pessimistic.

If you want to do a Masters, it can be a good idea if you're not willing to settle for a different industry/different role but is a costly exercise if it yields no result. Whatever happens, make sure you do your Masters at a target otherwise, honestly do not bother.

I would advise against applying for grad roles as from my (extremely) limited experience this is not a good idea. It is very unlikely you would secure a graduate role having not completed a Summer Analyst Internship at any bank previously - this should be your aim. It is perfectly okay to say you intend to study a Masters and apply.

If you are left jobless after a Summer Analyst position you can apply to something Off-Cycle (I think) to gain more experience and/or gain experience anywhere else until the next cycle for graduate roles or apply for Summer Analyst while doing a Masters.

Cheers, thanks for this. I think I'm leaning more towards Broking / Trading outside of IB, but realistically I know I need to get some experience. I think I will focus on summer internships, mix in a few back office roles to hopefully provide insurance.

In terms of target Universities for Masters, is there a list I could access? The usual suspects I'm sure will be there, but are places such as Bristol, Nottingham, Bath etc held in high regard? Or is it a case of if it's not Oxbridge/LSE/UCL it's not worth it?