Dippin' in My Tesla...
...or Dippin' into the finance job market.
http://www.razume.com/documents/15888
Hi! I am a rising sophomore at Duke University. I am interested in finance, especially in areas that would expose me to day-to-day market dynamics (perhaps trading, strategy, or research would fit the bill) and/or provide nontrivial industry knowledge (investment banking, private equity, and the like).
In addition to the courses listed on the attached résumé, I will take a graduate-level mathematical finance class next semester as well as courses in econometrics and microeconomics. I am also learning VBA from Simon Benninga's book, and I've applied to help a professor at our business school analyze industry data, though I haven't heard back quite yet.
I realize my GPA is not my competitive advantage (though I'm confident it will increase significantly after fall 2010), and my lack of experience in finance is not helpful. So, for now, I have just a couple questions:
(i) How can I demonstrate, more compellingly, my interest in finance?
(ii) Which firms should I focus on in applying for summer 2011 internships? Do I have a nontrivial chance with bulge brackets and investment boutiques, or should I seek an internship in (non-financial) industry - perhaps in business analysis or sales?
If you have any other suggestions - perhaps about my résumé - I would love to hear them as well.
Finally, thanks so much for all the information all of you have aggregated on this website - it's very exciting to be making my debut post.





This has got to be a joke.
This has got to be a joke.
"I'm not sure what the four 9's do, but the ace, I think, is pretty high."
Use Razume.com --no one can
Use Razume.com --no one can read your resume.
pm me
pm me
Head over to the resume forum
Head over to the resume forum and compare your's to what other people have posted and look at the comments on their stuff and compare it to what you have. That should fix a lot of the problems you have right now. And yes, plese upload it to Razume.
See my other WSO blog posts
First step: Build a thick
First step: Build a thick skin and take no prisoners.
Yours truly,
The Young Investor
don't worry about your GPA
don't worry about your GPA dude, your robotic work ethic will more than make up for it.
Even with all the zoos I've
Even with all the zoos I've been to, I haven't seen nearly as much monkey shit as I was just thrown. Ha.
jc100021 and olafenizer: As per request, my resume is on Razume: http://www.razume.com/documents/15888
BlueHorseShoe: What part(s) of this post/resume specifically irk you? I'll address those issues if you let me know what they are.
olafenizer: I'm definitely hopping in the resume review section, but it seems like there are some particular portions of my resume that irk you. Can you comment on those?
The Young Investor: Hahaha. Thank you.
noonies: Are you saying that I should trash the soft skills section entirely? The reason I included it is because many job descriptions I've seen seem to focus on teamwork and strong work ethic and whatnot. However, I agree insofar as it doesn't seem like the best use of space to me.
Can not compute. Regards
Can not compute.
Regards
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan
Apologies. Seems I may have
Apologies. Seems I may have misread the intention here.
Two biggest things that jump out at me: Voracious learner / Robotic Work ethic. 86-these.
Combine/consolidate the piano stuff. More details/numbers about the non-profit work (get some details for bullet points).
Quantify your contributions at the other state employment agency.
Can't tell if various words are bolded (eg. Leon Fischer/Grand Prize), but it leads to a lack of uniformity.
Good things going on: You clearly have the aptitude to work in finance (as evidenced by being valedictorian and receiving a full ride from Duke). Your "sub-par" GPA is a 3.43 which isn't bad and can easily be brought up over the next few years. You are fluent in French and can speak Mandarin, which opens up international opportunities.
What would really help your resume (read: YOU), is getting involved with some finance type activities at school. I'm sure Duke has some good clubs that can serve as an introduction to the field. Additionally, you will be able to apply some of the concepts you've learned in the classroom in a more realistic setting. One or two of these activities will go a long way towards indicating your interest in the field.
"I'm not sure what the four 9's do, but the ace, I think, is pretty high."
Thanks so much,
Thanks so much, BlueHorseShoe. Your post is extremely helpful.
I will definitely get involved with the investment club in the fall. The reason I didn't this past year is because I was exploring a variety of options (and clubs), including consulting, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
In fact, I have some entrepreneurship experience: One of my college interviewers partnered with me to start a web-based company. Within a few months (and 0 expenditure, aside from time), I let it fail, because there were too many established competitors in the space. However, my friend and I are in the early stages of another site. Through the first experience, I was able to talk to VCs and learned to develop a business plan/revenue model. Should I include a line on my work in this area, or should I refrain from doing so until my friend and I get quantifiable successes for the second site?
"voracious" just.. no.
"voracious"
just.. no.
Est-ce tu parle francais
Est-ce tu parle francais bien? Some firms may do your entire interview in that language. So only list languages you can speak well enough that you could understand Econ 101 in. The robotic comment comes off making you look like a tool and it isn't impressive. People who want to work on Wall Street generally work hard, the way to distinguish yourself is to work smart, everyone else has the same drive.
Epictetus: Duly
Epictetus: Duly noted.
futurectdoc: "Est-ce que tu parles bien français" *. :) Yes, I should be able to interview in French. That being said, I'm not sure I would understand Econ 101 in French - what are the French words for "quasilinear" and "homethetic?"
Out of curiosity, which firms would conduct an interview completely in French? Are you talking about, for example, the London office of BNP Paribas (a French bank), or would Morgan Stanley in New York be just as quick to to the same?
Additionally, the part about looking like a tool is duly noted.