Connections

Just like in West Virgina, lol. Seriously though, it just depends. If she is well connected she could have tons of pull and if she isn't well connected, or well liked, she might have little or none. Obviously no matter how much pull she has you would still have to meet some criteria to get interviews and perform in those interviews if you wanted an offer. The market is bad and knowing people is a great foot in the door, but you better believe just about every bank has their pick of the "Ivy litter" this year so the likeihood of them picking a somewhat unqualified, or under-qualified, person is less than ever. Good luck.

Ohh, is she hot? That might help...maybe.

It certainly could help you get an interview, but that's usually as far as it goes. Once you get the interview, you still have to perform and compete against plenty of Ivy/target students.

Once you get into the interview, nobody gives a damn about where you went to school. Sure they have certain quotas to fill at the HYPS schools but after that it's open season. And yes, a SVP can go a long way to getting you an interview, but you better not perform poorly in interviews or she will look really bad.

BTW, I forgot to mention that she's in the HK office. I go to a top 25 school, non-target. How will this affect my prospects?

Well, do you speak Cantonese/Mandarin? That would obviously help. How is your school a top 25 college but not a target? It is a super liberal arts (ie- Amherst/Williams)? If so, they get plenty of recruiting trips from BBs and quality boutiques. If you have no banks coming to your school, I doubt it's top 25.

Yes. I can actually speak,read, and write both. Not sure if that would help though..

Well, BBs do come to my school, but they're mostly for regional offices.

So do you think she can help me get an interview at least? Also, how's the competition in HK as compared to the States?

bump.

bullshit spouted from a certified user... yet, I am not surprised... why?

I know multiple schools in the top-20 that are not targets... I went to one.

This isn't completely true. I had one instance in particular where I made it to the final round and didn't get an offer. I requested feedback from one of the MDs that I formed a connection with during the superday, and he informed me that while I was a solid candidate that he ranked near the top of his list, other senior bankers had concerns about my school's lack of prestige (not a target). Essentially, I interviewed just as well as those that received offers, but I needed to surpass them to make up for school.

If you are coming from a non-target, it just makes it all the more important to really blow people away in your interviews. As long as you can totally destroy your interviews then the school is a lot less important.

How much of an influence does a SVP really have? Is the most a SVP can do is talk to HR and possibly arrange an interview for a SA position? Or do they have the power to automatically place an applicant into the program?

Does it also depend on the region? For instance, in Asia or Europe, is it more anti-nepotistic, thus making it harder to utilize connections?