Challenging Break-in! What do I do?

Hi WSO!

This is my first post. I am super fresh here and eager to earn some bananas and reach that King Kong status. I could also really use your advice, so I'm going to lay it down here and have faith in your answers. Since I joined WSO in May, I've been very impressed by the community, and I'm very happy to be getting started. Please reach out to me at any time if you think there's something I can help out with.

This post is going to read like a report/resume so that I can quickly introduce myself.

My Past:
I spent two years living and working in Alaska, and teaching English in Turkey before starting university at the age of 20.

My Resume:

  • I am a senior at Columbia double majoring in Financial Economics and Middle Eastern Studies.
  • 3.5
  • I'm currently interning at a corporate bank in Amman, Jordan, where I am leading projects in the SME Business Development Group.
  • I founded and directed a growth driven and selective finance organization on campus.
  • I did research and wrote a senior thesis in my junior year (since I'm a double major, that is how the timing worked out).
  • I volunteered for 2.5 years, with senior ranking, on the student-run ambulance.
  • I am highly proficient in Excel, Access, Word & PowerPoint; I have intermediate proficiency in Matlab, SQL, and VBA.

My professional outlook:

  • Like many of the people here, when I graduate I'd like to get a full time offer from a BB IB firm.
  • In the longterm, I want to build a career in an aspect of finance that is focused on investment, it is too early to say exactly which role is perfect for me.
  • In the short term I want all the exposure that I can get, to everything related to finance.

The Circumstances:
In my freshman year my fiancee suffered a stroke. That event sidelined all my professional pursuits for the next 2 years as I struggled to mix school in NYC with visits to Turkey, where she was getting treatment and recovering as a Turkish citizen. The result was that I wasn't able to do a finance internship until this summer, the summer before my senior year.

My questions, O superior and more knowledgeable primates:

  • How do I get to where I want to be?
  • What do I do, starting today, until I get that BB IB job?

I think I am in a tough spot right now, and there are a few more steps between me and a top job, so everything is on the table.

I will appreciate any and all answers that are written in good faith.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Cheers,

GreenPeels (Hoping for Greenbacks!)

 

Network, network and network. When you speak to someone, don't ask for a job, ask for A I R

Advice - what does it take Insight - what's your take on it Recommendations - what should i do next/who should I talk to

When walking out of the meeting, make sure you get name of 2 more people that you can talk to. This approach has done magic for extending my professional network and speak to some very interesting people about my career inspirations.

 

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