A few important advices to all of you wanna-be-monkeys
I've noticed a surge in topics along the lines of, "I have interviews with A, B, and C. Please rank them," and "I am pretty sure I will get an offer from X and Z. Which one would you pick?" Let me tell you something kids
Treat every single one of your interviews fucking seriously Don’t act like this is your last chance, but do act like this is your best chance.
1. The economy is shit; half of the BB are on an official hiring freeze, the other half are on an unofficial hiring freeze. Same shit goes for well-known boutiques.
2. I predict fewer than usual FT offers given to SA, and definitely higher than usual retention rates. In fact, over the last few years retention rates have been high at every BB, not just GS/MS.
3. "I've had 5 superdays and have 2 outstanding offers," sounds much better than "I've had 17 first round interviews." This one bit me in the ass last year: I fucked around during half of the first round interviews thinking I am all hot shit. Had very few superdays, and just got lucky with my offer (that being said, luck does favor those who work hard)
4. Apply anywhere and everywhere. Investment banks are like girls, they like those who are in demand. An offer from Big 4 TAS/Oliver Wyman/McDonald’s corporate is always better than nothing. Just make sure to say, “I’ll be honest, investment banking is my #1 choice, but the current economy is piece of shit on a fuckstick, hence I am just being careful and applying to other relevant to corporate finance positions.”
Even if you are interviewing for a position at a in a , treat it like you are interviewing with GS TMT/KKR. Truth be told, you can lateral pretty much anywhere after a year of slaving away, as long as you slaved for a bank that was mentioned at least once in WSJ over the last 3 years.
My final advice might be controversial, but whatever. For the next 6 months pretend that you want to be in banking for the rest of your life, pretend that you want to become a BSD MD. During the superdays mention that PE & HF are for pussies and you want to be a badass banker for the rest of your life (obviously sugar coat it, but you get the drift). Senior bankers will definitely take a note as long as you are great at acting or somehow fooled yourself into thinking that you do want to stay in banking.
*slow claps* people have to
*slow claps*
people have to understand that not many people in the world are able to have an opportunity like they have....be grateful monkeys
I banana back
I really agree with this. If
I really agree with this. If you get a job offer that's good, just fucking take it.
+1 Way to take a shitty
+1
Way to take a shitty experience and use it to empower other people. Kudos to you sir. He's 100% correct, and this should be for everything in life, regardless of economic cycle.....go for the kill every time.
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
Thanks for this, I had no
Thanks for this, I had no idea why people were getting so far ahead of themselves and choosing what firm they were going to accept before a first round interview..
Excellent post. As an Oliver
Excellent post.
As an Oliver Wyman guy myself though, I'd like to think we're the first choice of some people, at least!
But no seriously excellent post.
Phenomenal post, great to
Phenomenal post, great to keep the kids on here in some kind of perspective. It's absurd how fucking entitled some people are. "I have this and this and then conditional on that I know I will get this." Work your ass off from the start, nothing is deserved, only earned.
A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.
Definitely a wake up call for
Definitely a wake up call for me... thanks for the post. +1
Excellent advice
Excellent advice
The dragon dozes off in the spirit which is its dwelling.
This is definitely true -
This is definitely true - i've messed up interviews before due to lack of preparation on the basis that they weren't that great - and realised in retrospect with more experience, that they were in fact great opportunities.
My two cents to throw in
My two cents to throw in here:
Leave your arrogance at home. There are 50 others like you walking in the door over the next few days with the same credentials. This DQs SO many people. The line between confidence and arrogance is pretty thick. The really smart guys are already out there running their own companies and making their millions.
Try not to look like some scared kid who is wearing a suit for the first time his cousin's wedding. This is hard, but I can usually tell the guys who had some sort of real work experience by the way they walk in the room. They don't have this awkward gait about them as they walk in a suit. This isn't a disqualifier by any means, but a guy who walks in the room looking and talking like he has already worked there for a year gets a significant +1 in my book.
Always be ready for the "why do you want to work here?" When I was at GS, the wrong answer was "you are the #1 investment bank!" It wasn't necessarily wrong, it was just generic and what everyone said. A better answer is citing specific good moves the bank has made that you admired. This requires a little research, but shouldn't take more than an hour or so.
Great post Phantom. I
Great post Phantom. I remember someone who was an underdog in FT recruiting in my class - he only had maybe 2 interviews, but he completely nailed the first one with a great firm and didn't need the second, while some meeting with 5-10+ firms were swinging and missing for awhile before they got something. When people have a lot of interviews they could easily slack thinking they're covered by numbers... or have too many positions to really prepare for. Not so much skimping on the technicals (but obviously very important), but really thinking about 'why bank A' or 'why PE firm B' or even 'why this role' can be real dealbreakers if the answer's unoriginal or lackluster - fit goes a long, long way.
Nice post. Puts things into
Nice post. Puts things into perspective and is some really good advice.
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
great post
great post
Wrong Thread
Wrong Thread
as someone who was admittedly
as someone who was admittedly an entitled elitist ivy league bastard coming out of school... someone who decided one day they wanted to work in finance and had my dad line up multiple interviews at BX, etc, the following week.... I can tell you that fucking up some of those interviews was extremely, extremely stupid... and extremely, extremely unnecessary... Looking back on it is painful... despite the fact that I've ended up in a good spot.
I learned something from it, but the knowledge I've gained is not worth as much as I would have gained from starting a career at BX... anyways, sigh