Backup Plans For a Person From Non-Target

first of all its definitely not impossible to get into banking from a non-target... there are always a handful in each analyst class. Its difficult, but not impossible. you can do a few things:

1) become very proficient in finance & accounting, so you stand out in your interviews (become a modeling pro, not too difficult with some practice)

2) cold-call bankers, if your school doesn't have many bankers, you'll have to cold-call random bankers, which is obviously awkward but you have little other chance without the help of senior bankers (start on this today, literally)

3) this is your sophomore year, get as good an internship as possible this summer (BB experience an obvious plus) so you are more marketable for junior year

4) keep GPA as high as possible

It will be a juggling act, but its still possible... it'll likely be easier if you have alums in banking, if so, find them and get to know them

you seem a little too worried about this at your year. Even if your from a non target, talk to alums, learn your techs, bring up your gpa and network network network.

how much of a non target are we talking here? like a decent state school or a completely irrelevent college? from a school with any kind of rep you def have a chance. just work hard

Getting a job on Wall Street, even at a BB, is not "making it". A significant percentage of the people who start there leave because it can be a miserable existence. Like many things that sound glamorous, it's not. It's a nice credential to have on your resume and good training for certain jobs, but I often think that the people I run into at reunions (Ivy undergrad and top MBA program) that are running some non-sexy business in Charlotte, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis made the best decisions. They have great lives. Real lives with real time for themselves, their friends and families. Anyway I know this falls on deaf ears to 19 and 20 year olds who are very focused on Wall Street.

Here are my thoughts 1. Don't assume you can't get a job at a bank. LIke the previous posters said, you've got to network and make sure you in fact are a competitive candidate (strong gpa in a tough major, strong ECs, etc). 2. Broaden your networking pool. Talk to everyone you know about your interests and get leads to people you can do informational interviews (How to Approach Informational Interviews – Key Do’s and Don’ts - http://bit.ly/VCr79) with. Use LinkedIn to find people at target companies (look at points 6 and 7 on 9 Tips to Use LinkedIn to Help You Get Your Ideal Job - http://bit.ly/M6HBp) 3. Look at corporate development, business development, and finance groups at bigger companies. Many of them attract the same sharp people that could work on Wall Street. These bigger companies would likely provide good informal or formal training, opportunities to advance, and good platforms for business school applications down the road. The key to a strong business school app is not to necessarily have a McKinsey, Goldman, or JP Morgan on your resume, but to have had a meaningful impact in an organization.

Good Luck and stay focused, but don't lose sleep over this.

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It's funny - if you ever go through a resume book for a top school or do any recruiting there, a lot of people would be surprised at the backgrounds of some of the students. Sure, you get a ton of the ex-McK/GS/etc. guys but quite a few have relatively "ordinary" backgrounds. Business unit manager for a small beverage manufacturer in Chile, marketing coordinator for a non-profit in Omaha, entrepreneur in self-sustainable farming from Oregon, etc.

Of course, the people themselves are smart/hardworking, etc. etc. The basic point is if you are quality, it will show (regardless of where you worked). Get a job, make an impact, and sell your story... if you can define a vision and instill confidence that you can achieve it (with the help of an MBA), that will matter more than what tier 1 bank you worked at.

Thanks for some of the responses. If you want to know my school, check my profile (don't post it though please). It says on my school's profile that we have some alumni at good firms (they said they have people at BCG, one person had a Harvard MBA, etc.), but it's low percentage. So what are some things I can do in finance in case my goals fall apart?

plenty of kids from non targets get banking jobs ...

pm me your background etc and i can see if i can give you some advice

^Alright, I'll send you (and I guess anyone else that wants one) a PM with my info in the evening or so.

I actually have one more quick question. If I join alpha kappa psi or beta alpha psi can I still join a normal fraternity, because I'm really interested in a particular frat that isn't AKP or BAP, and if joining a non-business fraternity is going to hurt me, then I have to tell them no pretty soon. Also, is it OK to email professors who aren't teaching my class with career questions? For example, I want to get in touch with the guy who is in charge of corporate finance and investment banking from my school, so is it OK to email him even though he doesn't teach any of my classes, because I've heard from some people that professors don't like it when people do that.

As someone from a non-target, who is now in banking at a fairly well known place, I would suggest you don't take it personally that your school may limit you.

When I was interviewing for SA and FT spots at GS/MS/Lazard, I often got the question, "why should we take you over someone from Princeton?".....quite frankly because this job doesn't take an ivy league education, it just requires someone who is competent, hard working, and hungry to learn/money/whatever drives people these days. There is obviously a threshold of competency to build models, interact with clients, etc., but seriously this shit isn't rocket science, and quite often its mind numbingly painful. Illustrate that you can crank like crazy, and still be a sociable person who some of the senior guys can like. most people don't want some kid who spent four years jerking off to DCFs, they want people who are sociable but willing to crank when necessary and can get their numbers 110% correct.

If you really want it - network like crazy, learn everything you can about banking, and get good internship experience. there is no set formula to get in, but just network your ass off, use this website as much as you can (just try to distinquish the good information from the bad)

ps - not ragging on target school kids, their fine, you just have to work a bit harder to get there

good luck - its tough out there but that should never stop you

any suggestions about the major (accounting vs finance from non-target), and also, any other alternate careers that are more readily attainable from non-targets? I guess there's still some hope for me, but I want to keep my options open, so any ideas?

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