Tough Spot! help!
Hi everyone,
I just created an account a couple of days ago after finding a lot of inspiration and useful information from other posts and comments made on this site. However, I want your honest opinion regarding my situation, which is as follows:
I am a 28-year-old Argentine student, currently about to finish my studies at a top university, here in Argentina.
I know English quite well, I feel I just need to tune it up and perform the TOEFL test just to prove it.
Now comes the hardest part, and that is I know I am in a tough spot, I am about to graduate from a nontarget, non-US, non-English speaking university (even though it is the top university in Latin America, I know this matters little). I know it is a long shot to even land an interview at an investment bank or even a Hedge fund (because i could relocate with no problem), but the reality is that my school is not well known in wall street. And my GPA is not that great.
So I need advice on what would you do in my position. And for your consideration, i was thinking about applying at one of the top banks branches here in Argentina (For example: JP Morgan, GS, AMEX, UBS, HSBC) and then possibly ask for a transfer to ny if i perform well (is this possible?). Also, would it help to work at a consulting firm as a way to build experience, say at McKinsey or BCG here at Buenos Aires?
I think that's what keeps me up at night sometimes. It feels like school prestige is very important in wall street, but are my options too thin? I know there HAS to be a way, I would do anything to start my career in a WS IB, but what I have in my hands, my career and the country I come from, that I cannot change.
Thanks.
Go on Linkedin and search for school alumni currently working in IB in your country. Do some networking, cold message and reach out to them. I assume you still need someone to push your resume in Latin America's IB recruiting.
If you land an IB gig at your country, save money for a few years and then do an MBA at US. Then you can go for Summer Associate at banks in US. There's a slim chance you could transfer from Latin America office to US.
Hi Luketr, thanks for the reply. Regarding the MBA, do you think it could "overshadow" my undergraduate degree? i mean, in the sense that it could maybe weigh more in the eyes of a recruiter?
At that point yes, you're MBA will be the education an employer looks at more than your undergrad.
Best shot in the short-term is to start working in the local IBD of one of the US banks and apply for an internal transfer. I have seen it been done before in Brazil (for JPM). Some teams have a mixed LatAm coverage (local and from NY) and you could try that angle.
Hi, thanks for the feedback. That definitely sounds like something i could do. In argentina we have JPM and GS, so there is a chance
Either do IB in your country, since you said that your school is the top in your country, you have a good shot there.
Or you can try at the boutique US firms and eventually try to get into the BB firms.
FYI a lot of people go into IB with the eventual exit strategy in mind of going into PE or HF.
If you have a shot, you can also try PE/HF in your country.
Good luck
Regarding exiting IB and going for a HF later on, is this strategy common in the industry? If so, why is that?
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