Need some career advice
First of all I am thankful to anyone reading or replying, this website has some very smart and helpful people. Thank god I stumbled on this Oasis, literally felt like I was in a desert of confusion.
I will try to keep it short and to the point, sorry for keeping it tabular.
Goal:
Ambitious to get into IB, PE, M&A, HF or Wealth Management
Profile:
-International student
-Non-Target School,
-MBA/Ms-Finance Dual degree graduating in May 2012
-GPA: 3.8 (Mostly will graduate with that)
-No FT offers as of now
Work Experience:
USA:
-2nd year of MBA/Ms Finance worked as a Co-Op (Business Process Improvement) for a F50 company in Chemical Industry
-3rd year of MBA/Ms Finance working as a Co-Op (Marketing: Innovation and Strategy) for a F300 company in Chemical Industry
-No IB or Hardcore Finance Work Experience
Home Country:
-Managerial Experience of a small company for 4 years
Dilemma:
-I am not sure if my qualifications are fit for an Analyst Position
-Need some perspective on how to break in, or is it even worth trying
-What are my best options and is it a little late on the timeline
Once Again thanks for the replies
You say you "need some perspective on how to break in, or is it even worth trying". I mean absolutely no disrespect but that is a piss-poor attitude. If you have high aspirations to break into IB/PE/HF/AM/PWM in the US then the answer to that question is yes it is worth trying. It sounds like you have a good academic background, now you just need an opportunity. My best advice to you would be to Network, Network, Network....but since you are from another country, you are going to need to be very creative.
Sure its late in the game, but you cannot give up. Keep applying everywhere on OCR and online...really wherever you can. You need to start cold calling boutiques and small MM shops near your school looking for internships. Worst case scenario you could shoot for an internship and hopefully it can turn FT.
I really just want to stress to you that nothing is impossible and you really shouldn't give up. It is up to you how hard you are going to work...how bad do you want it?
Thanks PIKE for your reply and motivation.
I was up almost all night going through WSO success stories, I am certain that I want to get into IB/PE/HF/AM/PWM and I understand I have to go full steam ahead.
My concern after reading some material are: -Am I too qualified for the analyst position, an associate position will be unlikely without any relevant experience? -Should I target Summer positions which could lead to FT immediately or target FT for next years recruiting itself? -Given the constraint of time I should be only targeting small firms and boutiques or i should also reach out to BB ? -Probably the biggest concern in my H1b sponsorship, I will need an employer who is willing to sponsor me after May 2013, any insights into that area (who will sponsor and who will not)
-There is practically no OCR by IB, some companies such as JPM, recruit at the undergrad level at my school but I am in Delaware so fairly close to Philadelphia, NJ and NY. So my best bet is informational interviews. I will finish absorbing information today and will make a plan over the weekend and start executing it from next week.
Any other insights will also help:
Hate to say it but getting someone to sponsor you will probably be your biggest issue. There aren't a lot of visas to go around and you will probably have to focus your search on the bigger players.
Since you have your MBA and some other experience you are better suited to applying for associate positions than analyst positions. Try to networking with industrial, mining, or energy groups to leverage your experience at chemical companies.
Have you considered consulting? Your background seems more tailored to a consulting job than IBD in my opinion.
^ illiniPride is, unfortunately, right about the sponsorship issue.
I know a couple of international students who were shot down from interviews/internships just because of the sponsorship dilemma.
But it seems to me that you have quite a bit of experience. Keep trying, man. I'm really happy to see these aforementioned friends of mine who keep pushing despite the prominent issue.
So from what I read in the above comments, I should probably focus on big banks and should try to shoot for associate positions. I am sure that I will at least learn a lot of networking traits.
With your MBA, banks wouldn't consider you for an analyst gig.
That being said, as mentioned above, visa issues would be the main stumbling blocks and I know the big banks tend have an easier time making arrangements than smaller shops.
I would try and get some experience under your belt ASAP. Hit up local boutiques as relevant experience definitely helps.
At the end of the day, if you want it bad enough, you'll engineer something.
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