Best way to take advantage of finance connections?

[LetsHugItOut]

I am a college junior seeking summer internships (and, after next year, full-time employment) in finance. What is the best way to take advantage of personal connections in the finance world? I'm under the impression that I must tread carefully and not ask anyone to help me circumvent processes. What specific things should I ask of a contact?

FWIW, my specific situation is this: My contacts are fairly-to-very tenuous -- my friends' parents, my father's work contacts, my college and high school alumni networks. Is the answer different for a friend's parent that I've met personally versus a high school alum that I'm cold-emailing?

Is the answer different for a contact at a big I-bank where the internship process is very well-defined versus a contact at a PE firm that doesn't usually take on interns?

I'd really appreciate any insight offered. Thank you!

[beardedwhale]

Just call up your contacts. Tell them you're looking for an internship, and ask them if they have any advice. They will know what you mean. People like to help.

[LetsHugItOut]

[ QUOTE ]
Just call up your contacts. Tell them you're looking for an internship, and ask them if they have any advice. They will know what you mean. People like to help.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the response. Perhaps this is the only correct one and my OP was dumb, but just in case:

There's certainly not much to lose from telling, say, an MD at GS who happened to go to my high school that I'd love to I-bank for them this summer. I just feel that it's very unlikely they'll hand me a job, somewhat unlikely they'll have the necessary pull that a note to a recruiter gets me an interview or better, and likely they'll just point me to their careers website and resent me for trying. I know that there's nothing to lose even from that worst case scenario, but is there anything to gain from playing it a different way?

Edit:
To be more clear, some "different ways" I've been thinking about:
Telling a contact I'd love to just chat about his job and find out more about what he does. I might grab some sound-bytes or personalized stories for interviews.

That said: The more I think about it, the more this topic seems dumb. Sorry! Feel free to let die.

[beardedwhale]

If that's your only connection to the alum, then your odds probably aren't good. But all they can do is say no (or ignore you). I would call on the phone if possible, rather than e-mail.

It's unlikely that they will resent you. People like to help. But you may not get a lot of help from someone that doesn't actually know you.

Another thing you could try, if time permits, is to call these guys up for help on some sort of project for school. Start building a rapport with them now, and maybe they'll be more likely to help you find a job next year.