Got their Business card. What now?
About 3 weeks ago, my dad took me to a meeting he had with a BB bank. It was a very casual meeting, so I ended up talking to a couple of the bankers in the meeting most of the time. At the end I mentioned that I was thinking of applying to a sophomore internship at their bank, they said they would gladly help me and gave me their business cards. I'm now raging at myself for not sending a thank you email after the meeting, but 3 weeks have passed now so I guess I can't do that anymore. Applications for sophomore internships aren't till December or January, should I just email them around that time? Or how should I follow up now?
Follow up now. Tell them it was a pleasure to meet them at whatever the meeting was called and ask them if they would have 15 minutes to spare so that you can learn more about their experiences and the bank.
If you wait til December, you're fucked.
Thanks for the fast reply, I forgot to mention they are now in NYC and I'm in Canada so it would be impossible to meet up personally again.
Ask for a quick call.
Definitely follow up now and ask for a call like previous posters said. They'll still remember you now, they won't in a month or two and definitely won't by December. The fact that your dad had a meeting with bankers is a definite plus for you. Bankers love kids whose family can bring business in.
Thanks a lot guys, after that how long should I wait till I contact them again?
After you ask them for a phone call? You'll contact them again when you call them. Then after that it depends on how the phone call goes. If you talk about anything that would come in a current events type of thing, you could shoot them an email saying "hey, did you see this, how do think it will affect XYZ?" sort of thing. This keeps you relevant.
Then you'll contact them again closer to the recruiting season where you could ask them how best to position yourself and yada yada yada.
Thanks a lot guys, one last question. I know it might sound stupid, but I think they could take it in the wrong way. The meeting was conducted in Spanish, however I know that they speak English as well. I feel much more comfortable emailing them in English, but I do not know if they will take this as if I don't think their Spanish is that good.
I think English is a safe bet. Also on the note of staying in contact just try and reach out to them about once a month for something. If you don't have anything to talk about then come up with something.
As the other posters have said, get a call now and then just come up with something up to contact them monthly via email and reach out on the phone again in the autumn. Whatever you talk to them about, their industry group, a deal, some general economic thing, recruiting, etc, research it, stay on top of the news for that topic and have something to talk to email them about. You don't necessarily need to expect a reply but you simply want to say something intelligent and keep your name in front of them.
edit: English should be fine even if you conducted the interview in Spanish.
What should the subject title in the email be?
Okay to Call Investment Banker (VP up) with number on card you got from them cold to set up time? (Originally Posted: 01/18/2018)
Hey guys-wanted to know your thoughts on this.
I met a VP up at a BB in IB at a networking event. I got this individual's card, and emailed them to set up a time to speak. It took a few emails and response until finally I got a response saying to coordinate with assistant etc to set up time.
I contact assistant and no response. Contact again no response.
Email 1-2 times again to assistant and once or so to the banker... (course of year lol)
Still have not got a response. I REALLY want to meet with this person as they have an extremely similar background to me and do exactly what I want to do.
Is it okay for me to call the cell or desk number on the card of the banker? As in is it okay to call during the day and say hey this is so and so-could I schedule a time to speak/meet with you?
Would appreciate thoughts. Thanks.
Personally wouldn’t call the banker
That seems a bit pushy. I usually won't contact someone again after 2 failed attempts and I hear that is the general line. Depending on how long it has been I would wait a few more months to reach out one last time, and depending on how confident you feel email the assistant and CC the banker, such as "Hi 'assistant', I'm reaching out again etc etc, I understand you must be busy, 'banker' CC'd above indicated I try to set up an appropriate time to speak with him with your help. Please let me know if any of the following times work: x, x, x."
Hope that helps.
Call his office number and see who picks up. I'd be willing to bet that his office phone goes to his assistant. Explain your situation to the assistant and see what she says.
If you're really worried about it being tied back to you, use a friends phone to do this.
1) I'd say number one, it's clear you're at the bottom of his priority list 2) If it were me and a kid tried that hard just to talk to me on the phone. I'd give him 10 minutes.
That's a terrible assistant. Should have at least told you something. If the VP copied you on an email to his assistant, then it's kind of her responsibility and she should have done it. Perhaps the VP switched assistants? Or perhaps he left the bank? I would email the VP one last time.
P.S. perhaps download streak for gmail. You can track whether or not they opened the email, and when/how many times.
Thank you all for your thoughts and recommendations.
Got a business card at a school event - how to ask for an internship? (Originally Posted: 05/18/2013)
I went to a career event at my school and a senior manager at a consulting firm was speaking there. We talked for a bit after and he gave me his business card. I'm looking for a summer internship - how do I make use of this card?
Also, do large firms/companies ever hire interns unofficially or is there too much red tape for that? I know that summer internship hiring process is finished for them but I'm willing to work without pay.
Thanks
Stop being a bitch and reach out to him. The worst thing he can do is say no. It's not like he's going to flag your resume to every company out there because you asked for an internship.
Reach out to him ASAP because internships begin in less than a month.
Basically, if you reach out to him he's going email all of his friends about how annoying your request was, and you'll probably never get a job in consulting.
Just kidding, you should just tell him you are interested in interning with him. If you've had a conversation, he clearly liked what you had to say enough to give you his card. He met you at a career event, he knows that you are probably interested in an internship.
Thanks all, I will be emailing him. But this is my first time with this stuff so I'm not sure what exactly to say. Should I make it sort of like a mini cover letter and sell myself? and should I include my resume with the email?
No need for an official cover letter, just tell him why you're interested in an internship and why you think you'd be good. You should attach your resume too.
MD Business Cards (Originally Posted: 11/18/2008)
When we meet an MD, is a college student going to look like a tool if he asks for MD's business card?
I love this forum haha
............................No
its too late. u look like a tool for even talking to him. true badasses dont need to meet MDs. what a joke
Be assertive, the worst that could happen is he says "no". Thanks for the the helpful posts by the clowns on the board.
I had a BB interview last year, went great. MD didn't even bother to talk about timeframe; just shook my hand afterwards and said we'd love to have you join us after graduation, seems like a good fit.
Then I asked for his card and immediately wished I hadn't. Will never forget the look of utter disgust that slowly crept over his face. Never heard from him again, now I'm working back office at Jefferies. Fucking Jefferies. Be careful when asking for a card.
...well done.
I heard MD business cards are like the Ark of the Covenant, if you look at one directly, your face melts. That happened to a buddy of mine... poor ol' Faceless Brett now works Quiznos.
MDs' business cards at my bank are better quality than the rest of ours, slightly raised text and I think a bit thicker. Not that I care but was surprised when I first noticed.
As for asking, it's a hard one. In my experience it was always a case that senior people who wanted me to have it offered themselves. But then again a friend of mine got his job as a result of getting a senior guy's card and then a year or so later contacting him, so who knows....
Question regarding Business Card FollowUps (Originally Posted: 09/09/2011)
So I've been working as a Financial Consultant for just about a year. I promised myself I'd stay here for a year and then start looking elsewhere...so that's where I am right now.
Now the interesting part about the team I work with is that we ONLY market ourselves to people in the IBanking, HF, PE world -- thus I have a significant amount of business cards ranging from Analysts all the way up to CFO's at numerous different banks / funds throughout NYC.
My question to you guys is two-fold: Is it weird if I use these contacts to help get my foot in the door? and if not, what do you think would be the best way to go about it.
Also, keep in mind that some of these people have become clients, good clients in fact, and I have a few in mind that I have good relationships with that I want to reach out to (again, is this weird seeing as they are already my client).
Appreciate the help.
Anyone?
Contact well-known HF manager? Have his business card. (Originally Posted: 10/12/2007)
Hey - this summer I happened to get a business card from the well-known manager of a well-known stock-picking hedge fund. I didn't meet him personally; he was handing out his card to those of us in the room.
So I have his email address. He seemed like a fairly easy-going guy.
Should I ever shoot him a brief email? ask him his advice on getting into the business (or into his fund)? or do you think any email to him would be crossing a line? He doesn't know who I am. btw, I'm still in college.
Thanks.
Contact him. Tell him you heard him speak at _______ and would like his advice on how to get into the industry.
send him an email telling him where you guys met, how he inspired you and that you are creating a career path for yourself and you were wondering if he could give you any insights. also try and send him a good stock analysis idea now and then, obv. he doesnt need your help but you will show passion and competency in finance.
yeah definitely send him your pitch, ask for a few minutes with him on the phone at his convenience
sending a stock pitch is way too "Wall Street," i think.
Hey, to clarify, I'm still in college, so I'm not spending most of my time researching stocks.
If the guy handed his card out he shouldn't be surprised that people like you may contact him. Otherwise, he shouldn't have handed the cards out in the first place. Closer121 has the right idea about the approach. The more constructive you can be in your e-mail the easier it will be for him to write you back. Just make sure that if you send a stock analysis you check you calculations and proofread your analysis. The worst thing that you could do is shoot yourself in the foot upfront with an obvious error.
I don't have much in the way of stock analysis ideas - I'm still in college, without much time to research.
If that's the case, what (besides money) makes you want to work in hedge funds or for a firm like his? He is going to want to see evidence of a passion for investing or something related to investing. If you tell him you are too busy to research a few stock ideas than he might not take your interest very seriously. I'm sorry for being so critical but you need to figure out a way to stand out among the others that may be e-mailing him from the same event you attended.
interned at a well-known buyside shop, where he came to make a pitch to us. i was in the room with him and maybe 15 people when he was meeting with us. I was the only intern in the room. perhaps i'd stand out for being an intern there?
Perhaps. Let's hope he rememebers the meeting and came away with a positive impression. Good luck.
What would you think of me waiting to contact him until I'm closer to applying for jobs (I'm not a senior)? I doubt he remembers me; I didn't say a word.
This is why I am wondering whether it might be crossing a line to use his contact info.
SeanC has it right. Just shoot him an email saying where you met, maybe mention something from his speech that stuck with you, then ask for some advice or contacts that would be willing to talk with you about getting in the industry. I used this tactic multiple times when I was in college when we would have presentations from some of the big banks. It works best with guys at the Associate/VP level who are sometimes eager to guide a college kid into the right position, but it might even work on someone more senior.
On a more general note, if you ever have a chance to talk to a specific member of a recruiting team during a larger presentation, it helps if you can discuss something that will stick in their head. I had a buddy that would somehow find a way to connect with recruiters over the most odd subjects...skiiing, working out, WSJ articles, vacations...basically anything out of the ordinary. While this didn't necessarily show off their finance skills, it did give the recruiter something to attach to him when they saw his resume ("oh, this is the guy who I talked to about..."). Shoot them an email the following day, reference something you talked about, and it will go a long way toward seperating you from the rest of the resume stack. I used this tactic to get an offer from MS, and my buddy used the same thing to swing an offer from Lazard. Sounds stupid, I know, but it works....
Massage his balls, (Figuratively) and tell him he inspired you.
Stock analysis, not for content but to demonstrate compentence for someone our age. Very impressive to guys like him.
Some interesting article you have read recently. (Use WSJ, IBD, whatever.)
Thank him for his time.
Good luck man!!!!
dont send your stock picking ideas. that is not the way to go. just ask questions about your career, his career, why he's interested in stocks, etc. if you send him stock ideas you risk sounding like an idiot - which is probably the most likely scenario (not cause of your intelligence, but u are not at the right caliber yet).
he will most likely try to set u up with one of his friends that is looking. and thats what you want.
zonk, i agree that my stock picks would be immature at this point. my concern is that he'd have no reason to set me up with anyone, and he'd just get irritated... he's running above 5bil in assets and he's probably got other things to worry about.
Don't send him stock picks. Just send him a feeler at this point. If you're gonna be in awe of these people then you'll never get anywhere. I've sent emails to reputed HF managers and formed relationships from scratch just through emails/phone calls, and they aren't even alums or people I had met before.
If you're concerned about how the email might come off then post it on here or pm it to a couple of people to get their opinions.
you're in college and you don't have time to research stocks? aaahahahaha.
ok now that i got that out the way...yes, just send him a brief email. say hello, i met you the other day, nice to meet you, etc, im looking forward to getting into finance, do you have any advice. don't overdo it with pages of research or how you have a shrine to him in your bedroom. he probably won't have anything for you because you're younger but you can send him emails with "questions" once in a while to keep up the connection
I have a stack of business cards (mainly junior bankers) from fall '09 presentations. How can I "re-connect" with bankers? (Originally Posted: 06/17/2010)
Long story short, I have about 12-15 business cards I've collected when I attended banking presentations @ nearby target school (I was a senior).
I did not to enter FT/SA recruitment because 1) I wanted to attend a 1 year grad program @ target school 2) MD from my boutique promised amazing experience if I were to stay one more summer 3) There was too much of uncertainty and lack of time (had to study for GMAT, write essays, phone interviews with grad schools, finishing up senior year)
I e-mailed to few bankers back in the Fall, but that's about it. What's the best thing to e-mail to those 12-15 bankers? All of them are from West Coast (SF, LA, Menlo), while my grad school is on the East Coat.
Reach out-- it doesn't hurt.....
Yeah, I would just shoot them an email, maybe see if you can arrange a bunch of meetings for coffee and fly out there. Touch base so you are fresh in their mind coming recruiting season.
LinkedIn, also consider calling or emailing.
Business card follow up (Originally Posted: 09/09/2011)
Never really been to any events because my university never attracts the big names.
However at a general event I met someone who I emailed a thank you follow up to. His response was along the lines of;
'I must be missing the second half of your email, I look forward to hearing it'.
What the hell do I say! We got on but, meeting up is too much too early, asking for help with application is obviously a no-no, asking more about his job will just piss him off....
It's one of the small opportunities I've got so would really appreciate how to progress with this, bb ibd contact if you were wondering the division.
Are you a senior? Ask about FT Are you not a senior? Ask about Summer 2012.
If someone actually wants to hear from you- its never to early. Unless I'm missing something? Why is it too early to meet up?
I found a directors business card. What do I do? (Originally Posted: 09/10/2011)
Was at a restaurant and there was a bowl with business cards in it. Saw one on top from someone at a top BB(think GS, JP, MS, etc). Person is a director there. I copied down their email address but don't know what to do?
Should I email them or just disregard?
Was thinking I could say I came across you while browsing on linkedin or something like that
You're creepy
mail, what do you have to loose
hahahah that IS pretty damn creepy. With that being said, do what you gotta do to get where you need to be...
Kinda creepy, but it's still good thinking. Maybe come up with another way of how you found out about him ha.
for the record, do you think someone of importance would put their business card in a fishbowl? doesn't really seem like something a hot shot would do. I'm not saying the guy isn't important, but think about the kind of person that would do such a thing.
bump.
LIBOR nailed it. If he's such a baller, why's he trying to win a free lunch? Was it IlliniProgrammer? Probably a director in IT or something.
Better than an AIDS walk list.
free office lunches are fantastic. this summer one of the traders won lunch from qdoba. dont be hatin
He is going to be pissed off at you when he finds out you took his business card out of the bowl and he is no longer in the running for the free lunch.
I suggest the following: Email the guy. Tell him he has won lunch for himself and nine co-workers. Tell him it is fully catered and that the food will be delivered to his office. When the day arrives, buy the food yourself and bring it to his conference room. You then have the attention of 10 bankers and you can make your pitch as to why they should hire you.
You know, I started typing the above as a joke, but hell, it could actually work....
What's funny is that I had the same exact thought--a first I was like oh that'd be pretty funny...but it actually COULD be effective, and so much different than anything anyone else has ever done. Especially because you don't actually have any connection to the guy.
I dunno, I'd feel a little weird hiring a guy who does something like that. Though I'm sure others feel differently.
It's a good thing you didn't say which BB he works for because I"m fairly sure I know who it is
Don't know what to do with this business card... (Originally Posted: 06/13/2012)
A few months ago I randomly met the VP of ER at a BB just sitting in a building. We talked for a bit, exchanged cards, even emailed each other a few times. The last point of contact was in April unfortunately.
The time has come to look for another job. I've been getting the wheels in motion with some people at boutiques but I haven't e-mailed this cat yet; partially because I really don't know what to say/how to approach this.
Any thoughts/experience with something like this?
Any advice is uber appreciated gents
Interested in this as well, I have quite a few people I only spoke to last summer and didn't keep in touch with..
Expedita quia quibusdam facere. Possimus rerum rem animi veniam. Velit incidunt deserunt possimus minima voluptas autem.
Tenetur voluptates dicta quis repellat commodi. Sequi aspernatur nihil dolores sint quasi. Est aut quis corrupti odit. Aut at tenetur qui animi illum assumenda a ex. Esse aut incidunt quia iste molestiae est.
Nihil soluta voluptatem dolorem aut magni. Ipsum ipsam qui velit architecto et et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Autem sint aliquid in quas incidunt qui sunt. Eaque harum atque qui qui voluptas quis asperiores. Quasi deserunt laboriosam repellendus est commodi et. Velit ut consequatur ab et adipisci similique perferendis.
Facere dicta officiis maiores voluptas. Asperiores et in ipsum commodi in et repellendus. Et illo commodi optio sint dicta. Vitae ex sapiente nulla ipsa magnam cupiditate eum et. Ex voluptatem aut voluptas voluptatibus aspernatur quibusdam.
Hic quidem sequi nulla ex consequatur dolor est ut. Illum itaque eos vero autem molestias aut. Accusamus hic illo velit rerum voluptates maxime velit.
Pariatur eaque temporibus itaque tenetur fugit. Voluptates ad eligendi magnam enim sunt et ullam vero. Aut officia deleniti quod corrupti et ut. Eius voluptate maiores omnis.
Odio cum animi et sit et earum minus. Dolorem dolor blanditiis est ut esse. Possimus occaecati earum saepe tempore. Eaque qui atque aut omnis ea eos quia aut.