Bank of America’s summer internship doesn’t come with an AI job crisis. But good luck trying to get a spot.
The bank is hiring about 4,000 summer interns and full-time new employees on campus this year, a roughly even split between last year’s numbers. About 240,000 people applied for fewer than 2,000 internships, for an application rate of about 0.8%, said Josh Bronstein, head of global talent.
Bronstein said the increase in filings this year is likely due to both AI tools that make filing easier and a genuine increase in competition.
CEO Brian Moynihan previously said the company, which employs more than 213,000 people, has cut operational and processing roles but continues to hire in key areas such as relationship management, technology and cybersecurity. Bronstein told Business Insider that hiring younger people remains a strategic priority, especially as the bank looks for “career-minded” applicants who will stay with the bank. He said the “vast majority” of interns typically receive offers to return.
“We are very intentional and thoughtful about making long-term investments through hiring,” Bronstein said. “This includes our campus classes. We believe this is an important pipeline. This is an intentional approach.”
Bronstein said he can’t predict whether or how the number of junior hires will change in the future, “it’s hard to get a crystal ball,” but said the financial sector has weathered other waves of technology change and the bank remains focused on recruiting entry-level talent.
This summer’s interns are entering a changing Wall Street as AI reshapes workflows and career trajectories. Previously, interns helped draft pitch decks and build models that could be processed by AI tools, but many will now use AI for those tasks and spend their time on higher-level tasks.
AI will change hiring
Bronstein said Bank of America is seeking young applicants with strong “people skills” such as judgment and agility as the “half-life of technical skills” continues to shrink. He said that not only is it important to have the right technical talent, but also the ability to perform the tasks that remain after AI automation.
Moynihan echoed similar sentiments in an interview on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, saying the bank is looking for candidates who demonstrate “intellectual rigor” and “curiosity.”
“Study something deeply and learn about it, but keep that curiosity directed toward many other subjects,” he said.
When Bank of America interns start Monday, they’ll become the latest Wall Street employees to use AI from the moment their training begins. Bronstein said interns will receive job-specific AI training. The company is considering how to train young people who will no longer do the manual, basic jobs that once defined the early days of Wall Street.
“We’re seeing a change in the entry points where teammates come in,” Bronstein said. “We have to quickly give people simulated experiences so that they can now, or soon, use AI and other technologies to provide the judgment that they would have had by performing some of these tasks in the first year or two.”
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