Deciding between internship offers

Hi there! 

First off, congrats on having strong offers to choose from, that’s always a good position to be in. Both roles have a lot to offer, it just depends which type of experience feels more valuable to you right now.

At the large bank, you’d likely benefit from structured training, exposure to senior teams, and insight into large-scale transactions. It’s a great place to understand how global processes work and to build a strong network. The downside is that interns often work on smaller parts of big projects, so you might not see the full picture.

At the boutique, you’d probably be closer to live deals and involved in more parts of the process. You could gain hands-on experience with modeling, research, and client materials while working directly with senior professionals. The flip side is that the pace can be demanding and the learning less structured, since smaller teams often work very lean.

If your goal is to break into full-time investment banking, the M&A internship at the boutique is generally more valuable. It gives you stronger deal exposure, modeling experience, and direct interaction with clients—skills that IB recruiters prioritize. ECM at a large bank offers brand name and capital markets exposure, and it’s also more execution-focused. Unless you’re specifically drawn to capital markets, M&A will give you broader and more transferable skills for full-time IB roles.