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MBA little expierence
 

Chonch1224's picture
O
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 10:29am

Little background info:

1 year MBA graduate in upcoming July with a 3.45GPA at Widener University
Undergrad in Econ/Finance at Widener

I would really like to get into some kind of Financial Analyst position or something along those lines but it seems every job I search that isnt entry level pay is looking for 3-5 years expierence. Anyone think that the MBA can cancel out some of the years of actual work??

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup Talent is hitting a target no one can hit. Genius is hitting a target no one can see.
hartfordwhalers84's picture

Do you have work experience

CO
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 11:08am

Do you have work experience before your MBA?

Chonch1224's picture

Not too much, I have about

O
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 12:30pm

Not too much, I have about year and half two years as a Customer Service Rep at TD Bank and have a few connections there but thats about it. At least for things that are revelant.

"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup

Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.

cphbravo96's picture

You are in a tough position.

PE
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 5:45pm

You are in a tough position. Most places that recruit fresh MBAs do so on the campus of top schools. Build a good size list of the employers you would like to work at and just check out their career pages on their websites. Most employers should have some sort of way to submit an application online.

What type of jobs are you looking for?

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

Chonch1224's picture

I have been searching for

O
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 6:08pm

I have been searching for something in the field such as a financial analyst or credit analyst. I feel they are the easiest to get into to get trained and get a few years experience under my belt. I would love to get into IB after that or get into a managerial track. Which ever presents itself first or I find the most interest in once I am in the field.

I understand getting into those kind of programs are very difficult and the only real connections I have is a few Senior level suits at in TD Bank, reason why I am searching there first. I am in the running for the Commercial Credit Analyst Training Program there.

"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup

Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.

cphbravo96's picture

I'm not 100% sure how the pay

PE
 
Points)
 on 5/29/12 at 6:47pm

I'm not 100% sure how the pay structure is in credit analysis. I know that for IB there are pretty set guidelines about pay and there is a very clear jump...I don't know if that is the same on the credit side since it seems a lot of people are trained in house and probably move up through the ranks. I suppose there could potentially be a 'credit analyst 3' position, or something of the sort, that might offer more pay but, again, I'm not sure how your education might substitute for work experience.

I will say that you shouldn't underestimate how rough the job market is right now and getting a position as a credit analyst, even if it isn't paying what you would like, might be worth taking (assuming you don't need to make a certain amount to pay off loans, etc.).

Honestly, I've never heard of your school before looking it up a few minutes ago and (no disrespect intended) that isn't a good thing. Breaking into associate level, post MBA positions might be hard coming from a school that isn't widely known. That may be another reason to 'settle' for a job that isn't paying what the averages might say. I think credit training can be a great place to learn because you often become very good at cash flow modeling and the accounting aspects of the modeling process...things that are useful in IB and PE.

If seems that you have your head on right and, at the very least, are being realistic about doing something that interests you, as opposed to something that is going to pay you the most money.

If I was you, I would do a search on Indeed.com for 'credit analyst' (or something very similar) and search all of the major (NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA, etc.) and mid-major cities (Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Minneapolis, etc.) and see what pops up. Like you said, you can work for a few years, get your training and then take it from there. Maybe at that point, with that experience, you could lateral into an associate roll at an IB and make some more money or potentially find a role at a larger lender that does senior and/or mezzanine and/or bridge loans, etc.

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

Chonch1224's picture

Thank you for all the advice,

O
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 5/30/12 at 11:42am

Thank you for all the advice, I will definitely take everything you said into consideration while I continue my job search. Like you said I may have to "settle" for less pay so i can not only get some valuable experience but begin to pay off my undergrad loans.

I understand that my school not being very well known is not a good thing, yet I was given the opportunity to complete my MBA in 1 year while having the school pay for it in full, so I could not turn that down.

One last question I had is do you know anyone that went trough a similar training program or who is a credit analyst? Mainly because I was curious of the normal work week hours and such.

Thanks again for the great post

"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup

Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.

In reply to Chonch1224
cphbravo96's picture

Chonch1224: Thank you for all

PE
 
Points)
 on 5/30/12 at 12:05pm
Chonch1224:

Thank you for all the advice, I will definitely take everything you said into consideration while I continue my job search. Like you said I may have to "settle" for less pay so i can not only get some valuable experience but begin to pay off my undergrad loans.

I understand that my school not being very well known is not a good thing, yet I was given the opportunity to complete my MBA in 1 year while having the school pay for it in full, so I could not turn that down.

One last question I had is do you know anyone that went trough a similar training program or who is a credit analyst? Mainly because I was curious of the normal work week hours and such.

Thanks again for the great post

I don't know if anyone that has done it, but I've read about WF's program and it seems very extensive as far as the training is concerned...which is great. It looked as if you do a ton of training and then, if you are good, they send you back for more advanced training...so, it seems as though you get paid to get trained and I don't think you can beat that.

Maybe search "credit analyst" here in WSO and see if you can find any relevant posts about particular programs or the day-to-day of someone in the position.

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

dec-jun-jun's picture

The work week hours can be

 
Points)
 on 5/30/12 at 1:24pm

The work week hours can be very different depending on the firm and the nature of the transaction. If you are in commercial banking credit which is for small and medium size business lending the hours are fairly routine at around 50 hours a week. Higher up in the more complex mid-market or even corporate credit the hours would be longer and of course the pay higher as you are working with quite complex transactions.
I am assuming that a role such as the one you described is for commercial banking credit analysis, which will give you a decent exposure into analyzing financial statements, real estate transactions, financial ratio's and some basic modelling. The ratio analysis is essentially as larger transactions its the legal and the financial complexity that change in calculating those ratio's, so learn what you can and like any job it is what you make of it. With an MBA and that job you could move up the ranks to mid-market or corporate lending, but most likely a move to an account manager role, where it is possible to make over $100K a year in commercial banking after bonuses as an AM.

Chonch1224's picture

@cphbravo96 - That is a good

O
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 5/30/12 at 2:42pm

@cphbravo96 - That is a good suggestion and good information about Wells Fargo because I know they compete with TD Bank so i would think they would be similiar. Thanks

@dec-jun-jun - The position is for TD Bank, not sure if you or anyone knows anything about their inner workings, if so I would love to hear about it. And thats kinda what I was expecting just wanted to double check but thanks for the response.

Moving up into an Account Manager role would be a great goal to hit in my career, happy to hear that a job and training in that field can lead to that. Thanks for the info

"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup

Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.

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