anyone having trouble connecting with Alums?

the way you are coming off here at least makes it seem like the Alums owe you something.... They dont.

i emailed about 12 alums and only received 4 replies had one push my resume with no luck. fuck em. I went to a non target. for mba its top 10 or bust.

Maybe you can elaborate: are you looking for FT or internships? If FT, it's a little difficult to just start building these relationships now...

What you need to do is focus in on the alumni that are or have been in the field you want. Is private banking where your interest is? You should focus on one thing. Or, you should get better at making it seem like whatever it is that who you are talking to does, you want nothing more than to be that.

From there, it really depends. If you talk with alumni who are in investment banking, they understand why you are calling. Whether they can help you really depends. Focus on any alumni at boutiques. Ask them engaging questions, make it clear you are applying, but do not be pushy. Alumni-calling is a game of numbers, you do have to talk to some 20 alumni before 1 will be genuinely helpful.

You're playing the game completely wrong... if you don't understand how the rules of the game work, you'll never become a playa.

you have to show some respect and ask them if they're available to talk further. then, if they ask you what your plans are, tell em, and if they offer to help or you show interest in their company, you'll get your resume forwarded.

agreed! most of the alumni I contacted replied to me for info interviews. Your goal should be strictly an informational interview. you can't expect from someone who doesn't know you to pass on your resume to HR and vouch for you.

After a couple of casual phone calls or meetings, if the person feels you have potential they will offer what they can do.

Don't give up, keep contacting them and you will get someone who will actually help you.

I know that they don't owe me anything and I definitely appreciate their time. My initial question was that I'm just don't know how to take it one step beyond. I ask them about their career, what they did after leaving college, what their thoughts are on the market, what advice they have for me. They tell me to just try hard. Then I say "Ok. Thanks! Good luck to you too"...

Now what? What's the next follow up? What would I even say in the next phone call?

try connecting through your friends too.
this is how most of the business fraternities operate.

i heard one story where a guy went jogging where all the senior bankers went jogging and got to know them that way. not sure if it's true.

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investment banking news

Do you guys think that an informational phone interview with alumni is worth it? It seems to me that it would be really difficult to make that much of an impression over the phone.

I am going to school in the Midwest but would like to work in New York, and that is where a lot of the alumni are in finance are anyway, so an in person interview is not really possible right now. I was thinking that if I end up working in New York in the summer I could do a bunch of in person alumni interviews then. But that is still a ways off.

Bingo.

wrong. with an alum, you have a receptive audience to your sales pitch, and the only thing you should focus on is selling yourself. you can easily get his/her good favors by being able to speak confidently about the industry and showing maturity.

should phone informational interview questions be any different than in person questions?

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a similar question; is it worth networking with alumni right now? I feel like it would be a sour time to be trying to sell yourself when the alumni you're trying to sell yourself to don't even know if they can keep their own jobs, let alone put your name in for one.

I had an insider at Wachovia. We all know how that went.

it is worth networking with alumni now. i've sent out about 40 emails, got around 12 responses. So far i've talked on the phone with maybe 5, and another 3 or 4 offered to look at my resume. The impression that i've gotten from all my correspondence with alumni is that it is a very difficult time and even for them it is very uncertain. Not to mention, these people are very busy to begin with, so the extra pressure of keeping their job makes them more likely to feel less obligated/forget to help you out more.

I second looking for alumni at boutiques. They will probably have more leverage in deciding to give you an interview.

true, with the market being as it is, helping out students isn't high up on an alum's list of priorities.

First off, Alums know why you are calling, but like a previous poster said, if you don't know how to play the game you will never win. I would suggest not using all of your question on your first call or in your first email. Ideally you want to open a line of communication with this person and not just get a interview from HR. After speaking with them, just ask if it would be okay for you to contact them in the future if you have any questions. Most likely they will say yes, thus leaving the door of communication open. I tend to ask people questions about themselves and why they choose the path they took and what are their likes and dislikes about where they are and things they would do different or areas they would like to work in the future. People usually enjoy talking about their success so this should be an easy way to build a relationship.

Don't forget to ask them to look over your resume and critique it for you. Make it clear to them you realize how important it is that the resume is perfect, and any feedback they have would be great.

Shouldn't have to say this, but make sure it's already perfect. This gives them an excuse to look it over and is far better than asking them to pass it along after one phone call.

Again, they know why you're doing this. Play the game and you'll get where you want.

all the listserv stuff i've gotten from wharton has been either i) how to ask for help, ii) how you can be of help