Networking Cold Email Templates to Land a Finance Internship

Sending a cold email is one of the best ways to land a finance internship when you have no connections within the finance industry. This is especially true when looking to land a role in a competitive field like investment banking, asset management, wealth management, equity research, management consulting, etc.

Although cold emailing has proven to be an effective method, it can sometimes be very disappointing. You may send five, ten, or more than fifty cold emails and get zero responses.

The truth is, to get responses, I have found it to be most effective to send over fifty high-quality messages (following the same few templates), to try to get as many people to respond to me as possible.

There are Three Steps to Landing a Finance Internship Through Cold Emailing:

1. Compile a List
2. Find a Connection
3. Craft the Template

#1 Compile a List

Before you even start crafting a template, start by creating a list of people you want to reach out and chat with. To land a finance internship with no connections, begin by reaching out to staff part of a company you’re interested in interning. For example, if I was interested in interning at Great Fresh Lakes Private Equity Firm (a made-up firm), I would put two or three of their employees on my list when looking for whom to call.

You can try to find these people through LinkedIn or the company website and you can use Excel, Google Sheets, or Google Docs to keep track of the people you’ve reached out to and the people you haven’t.

#2 Find a Connection

Having something in common (such as attending the same school) is a great way to improve your chances of getting a response. LinkedIn is an incredible resource for looking up a specific company, seeing who works there, and if you have anything in common.

For example, you might find that someone who works at Great Fresh Lakes Private Equity Firm also went to the same college you attend. Reaching out to this person you have a connection with is a great way to increase your odds of getting a reply.

#3 Craft the Template

Start by crafting a stellar cold email template that can be interchangeable for different financial firms you choose to reach out. We created a few examples of messages that can be emailed or messaged through LinkedIn to a staff member at a financial firm of your choice.

Note that changing this example to sound like yourself and to have a unique message is essential.

There are Three Crucial Parts to a Cold Email:

1. Introduce yourself politely (and quickly)
2. Ask directly (most likely asking for a call or coffee chat)
3. Say thank you

Remember, you don’t want to be wasting their time.

If you eloquently and concisely craft a template with these three parts included, you’ll have a much higher chance of getting a response. The average response rate generally ranges between 1% and 5%. That means if you were to email one hundred people, on average, only between one and five people would respond, which is why it’s imperative to make sure your emails are short, sweet, and respectful.

Example One:

We made a template you can use to send cold emails to whomever you want to intern with, but we strongly encourage you to change it to be as personal and unique as possible which will maximize the response rate.

Subject Line: (Your First Name), Coffee Chat / Internship Program (University You Attend)

Hello (Full name),
‍
I'm an ambitious and hardworking first-year student at (school) with an avid interest in finance. Since I was a freshman in high school, gravity has pulled me closer and closer to finance, and I am eager to learn more while exploring different aspects of finance.
‍
I attached my resume and would love to know if you would be willing to chat with me over ZOOM and provide some advice about the industry, as well as explore possible internship opportunities. I'm highly interested in interning with (firm) because (something unique about the specific firm) and because I have always been interested in finance and (location).

I look forward to hearing from you, thanks for your time.

 Also, check out my LinkedIn Profile:
(Insert Your LinkedIn Profile Link Here)

Best,
(Full name)
(Email)
(Phone number)

Example Two:

This is an unedited message I sent via LinkedIn (intended as an email) to a staff member of a company where I wanted to work; she was someone I had never met, and she responded to me, and we met for a virtual coffee chat. Even if she wasn’t the person who ran the internship program, I sent the message knowing that it would still be beneficial to connect with someone who could talk about the company culture, the internship program (if they were a previous intern), and general advice when trying to break into an industry.

Hey (person name),

I am a current (college you attend) student from (where you’re from) and would like to know if you would be willing to have a coffee chat over ZOOM whenever your schedule permits. I (worked/interned) for (a place you worked or interned prior) in (year) and loved it. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day!

Obviously, you’ll have to take this message with a grain of salt. Every message you send may be slightly edited if you want it to be the most effective. If your sibling, parent, friend, cousin, or someone else you’re close with went to the same school as the person you are reaching out to, be sure to put that in the email to make it more personal.

If you don’t have any industry experience, that is perfectly okay. Omit that part of the message, and you can make up for it by trying to find a way to talk about a club or class that may be connected to the finance industry. One idea may be to take a finance course online, which you can say sparked your interest in a finance internship. If this sounds interesting, definitely check out our beginner-friendly Complete Finance and Valuation Course.

Example Three:

This is another unedited message I sent to an alumni over my freshman summer and received a reply relatively quickly that he would be happy to meet over ZOOM.

(If in email format) Subject Line: (Your First Name), Coffee Chat / Internship Program (University You Attend)

Hello (person name),

I am an incoming (grade) at (school) and wanted to know if you'd be willing to chat for ten or fifteen minutes over Zoom? I have a couple of questions and strongly admire your career path. Have a great week, and thanks for considering the opportunity.

Best,
(Full name)
(Email)

How to Effectively Follow Up with Emails that Receive No Response

If you haven’t heard a response for the past 6-8 days, sending a follow-up email is appropriate. Sending a follow-up to a cold email around seven days later can lead to a higher response rate.

Some key things to know about following up with a potential cold email:

1. Keep it short: If you decide to follow up, ensure your second email is way shorter than your first email. You may get a response a few days later from the person you emailed saying they have been swamped over the past couple of days, and that they would be happy to meet.
2. Be respectful: One of the unspoken rules of networking is always to be polite. The people you are reaching out to you have hectic jobs and being respectful and polite can lead to higher chances of getting a kind reply.
3. Personalize your Message: Find ways to make your follow-up unique and personable. You want to come across as a real person, not a robot sending out a hundred emails.
4. Don’t email the same person more than three times: Emailing a person more than three times may lead to a negative reputation on your behalf, plus it’s inconsiderate. Even a third email can be a stretch when following up with someone, but if you spam the person, it may come off as rude and harm your chances of getting an internship at whatever financial firm you aspire to join.

We created a follow-up email template you can use when kindly following up:

No Subject Line (should reply to original email)

Hello Person’s Name,

I just wanted to follow up on the email below and see if you had some spare time to chat about working at firm.

I’m a student at (school), and I would greatly appreciate the chance to speak with you and learn more about firm.

Thank you so much in advance for your consideration,
(Full name)

Don’t Forget: Play the Numbers Game

The most difficult part of sending cold emails is the very low response rate. You can increase your odds of getting a reply by finding a connection the two of you have in common and simply sending more requests to more people.

Once you have a coffee chat secured, come up with a list of questions, and great job! If you want to learn more about getting an internship from this step on, we highly encourage you to read this article about securing a freshman internship.

Additional Resources

If you want to learn more about the recruiting process, Career Principles is the place for you! There are dozens of articles and several courses available that you can use to build a strong foundation for your career.

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