Most important factors in getting IB or banking jobs?
Hey guys, I'm a true noob at wall-street related business, so I would really appreciate any help I can get here :)
I'm about to start my sophomore year at USC as a business major (planning to do finance concentration) and I was wondering, in order to get a good IB internship/job or just about any finance related job, what are the important factors I should take care of, and what factors are not so important? From reading around, I have gotten the fact that networking is the most important, so I will definitely try to take care of that. But how important are the following other factors?:
1) GPA
2) extracurriculars
3) freshman/sophomore year internships
4) intensity of courseload
5) minor(s)
6) undergraduate school
thank you in advance





1) GPA - definitely
1) GPA - definitely important..above 3.5 at least
2) EC's - somewhat important but you're probably better off spending your time networking
3) internships are a vital part of receiving an offer in IB..freshman or sophomore internships can better position yourself for a BB internship your junior summer
4) intensity of courseload - not sure what you mean here but not relatively important as long as you're learning the finance
5) minor - not important, can give you an extra edge but don't ruin your gpa for one
6) UG school - very important. USC is a good school and you can probably get offers for BB's on the west coast if you bust your ass.
I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
In order of importance: 1.
In order of importance:
1. GPA and Undergrad (equal in importance)
2. Internships
3. ECs
4. Courseload intensity
5. Minor
GPA gets you through the
GPA gets you through the screening, then, it's all about you. You need to show your the cool guy that's going to work 90hrs a week and still be cool about it.
1) Undergrad 2)
1) Undergrad
2) Extracurricular / Internships
3) GPA
Like Dibbs said, GPA gets you through the screening. However, typically anything north of 3.5 will get you into anything. But as they look through your resume, you need something to jump out at them. If you are ranked in karate, put that down. If you have a sailing license, put that down. You will have to differentiate yourself from other kids at your school from the moment the resume hits the recruiter's desk.
--Meliora sequimur
So extracurriculars should
So extracurriculars should ideally be something that "stands out" instead of finance-related things?
So is it useless for me to join business clubs and stuff like that?
Quote: So extracurriculars
So extracurriculars should ideally be something that "stands out" instead of finance-related things?
Interested to know the answer to this as well. If you intend to do internships in finance anyway, is it even necessary to be a part of the business/finance clubs?
I think joining
I think joining business/finance clubs makes sense if you aren't a business/finance major. If you're engineering or along those lines, then you want to show your interest by doing these activities. However, it probably doesn't make sense to list that you're in a finance club if you're a finance major unless you hold a leadership position.
^ Thanks. But, what if you're
^ Thanks. But, what if you're an Economics major? [My school does offer a 'Financial Economics' major, but it's just a less quantitative + 3 finance courses version of the Economics major, so I'm not too interested in it.]
Depends. Does your school
Depends. Does your school have a business undergraduate program? If so, then I would say join the finance club. If not, then I wouldn't bother, since most econ majors at your school would be gunning for finance anyway.
Another factor I would put
Another factor I would put forth is the strength of your network. If you feel you are behind others you should reach out to alumni and take a trip to meet them and chat. They will pull for you. If you are from a semi-target, non-target this is one of the most important early steps. GPA is important but it is just a hurdle to be cleared. Once you've cleared it move on to the next obstacle.