Non-Target Advice/ Success Stories
Just wanted to create this thread where everyone can share their advice or own personal stories as to how they broke into IBD out of University. Would love to hear how you guys hustled to get where you are today.
Background
I have just finished my first year of university at a non-target in the UK and as of yet have gotten no internships/Spring weeks ( got an interview at a BB but got dinged at first stage). The reason I'm at a non-target is because I wanted to do medicine but changed my mind last second so I didn't apply for finance/econ at the top schools like Warwick/LSE/UCL. I did get an offer for KCL medicine but that's irrelevant. I don't know if I should bring up that I only switched my interest to finance quite late in my life. Is that showing I am not dedicated?
My plans
For the entire summer really I have been preparing cover letters, practising numerical tests and reading books like "Investment banking" by Rosenbaum to learn valuation and modelling (DCF/LBO etc...) in the hopes of getting some superdays and interviews for an IBD SA 2019 position. Applications for London offices open in a few weeks so just doing some prep before I send off my applications. I have been networking like crazy the last few weeks and have gotten a few phone calls from some people in IBD but nothing too great has come from those calls. i.e they didn't pass my CV onwards. Will keep this updated along the year if I manage to get even one superday.
What were your stories as to how you guys got that first gig in IBD or otherwise (for you lucky f**kers to get straight into HF/PE straight away lol).
So, funny you say you're in the UK. I'm currently at Manchester for Int'l Business, Finance and Economics, so I know what it's like to be at an objectively good school but get passed over because there are more 'elite' schools than yours. It's a pain in the ass and it means you have to prove yourself, regardless of whether you're in a finance/economics program like I am, or in another discipline, and you have to prove that you're better than everyone coming out of Oxbridge, LSE and Warwick.
So I actually missed out on spring weeks myself - mostly because my CV was a piece of shit. It has improved but I still haven't firmly secured any SA 2019 positions. What was surprising was that, at least at Manchester, very few people got into Springs or SA positions on merit alone, and the one standout case for me was a guy with 4 A*s at A-Level and a high 1st Class mark in his first year. If you make the grade - 3.5 GPA or a 2:1 - then the rest of the difficulty stems from networking.
However, I got lucky with networking and I'm working for an independent bank back home in Houston for a few weeks before term begins. It was, literally, just from expressing an interest in the firm (which had less than 20 employees, half of which were in the office at any given time), and I got called back by a VP, who is now my boss. If you aren't already, try to find smaller banks that may not have the status of a prestigious BB, but does the same work on a smaller scale.
Relevant experience is the number 1 things applicants lack on their CVs, and fortunately it doesn't matter if it's from a BB or a VC startup - experience is experience. Frankly, once you're in, the hard part is over - I've found working to be a whole lot more fun than I expected. And once you nab your first job in finance, finding a second is significantly easier.
Yeah I totally get what you mean. Coming from a non-target is always that extra bit harder to prove yourself. If only I get to the assessment centre stage I can hopefully try and show them & get an attempted at proving myself but the hard part is actually getting to that stage.
My CV was trash in first year. It was two pages long ( a huge no no ) but using the IBD templates from this site and from some people in the industry will hopefully give me a better shot.
Getting that gig at the bank in the States will definitely boost your CV & will give you a good shot at it this year for sure. Have you done any practice on the numericals?
Thankfully I did a summer school investment course at LSE this summer so I at least have one brand name on my application. Crazy that they only look at CV's for 20 seconds so making an impression is a huge deal.
Yup, you ain't the only one muddling through this cruel world.
So far nothing severely numerical, I've had to do real estate research reports for UK regions but that's about it so far. I'm only in my first week of a 3 week program so I wouldn't expect to be filling out major DCF or M&A models quite yet. I have BIWS to help me with that until I get a BB gig.
Same with me on the summer program. I actually almost went to the LSE corporate finance program but decided to do 4 weeks at Oxbridge instead. Behavioral economics, EU corporate law, Banking/Finance and Strategy. Enjoyed the course overall - and like yourself got some top-notch names on my CV - but I did it more for the names than I did for the courses themselves.
Also, which UK uni are you at (if that's where you're based out of)? I'm actually on committee for MUTIS Finance Society in Manchester and we have some big names coming to our conference this year, if you'd like an opportunity to network a little more.
Honestly, you haven't a chance. Look at the competition. Take me for example. I was swaddled in an Hermes diaper the moment I was born. After firmly shaking the doctors hand, I left the NICU and boarded a limousine bound for Blackstone's NY office, where I shadowed Stephen Schwartzman for an afternoon. Don't beat yourself up that you weren't there, old boy - only the most prestigious fetuses received consideration.
From there, I immediately decamped to Arlington Virginia on a temporary assignment with McKinsey & Company, where I promptly fired, and then stood in for, the Gerber Baby. I will always remember how raw my infant palms were from the flurry of handshakes I received after turning that enterprise around.
The rest of my life has been a laundry list of accomplishments so feted by the great and good that my resume must be printed on legal paper (but of course, kept to one page - any more shows a lack of modesty). My spot in this past summer's SA class was secured almost 11 years ago.
Don't be upset that you didn't make it, my friend. Why, there might even be a spot left in the summer analyst class of your next life (if you believe in that sort of thing). I'd hurry though - I hear that the first resume drop closed last night, and the most prestigious souls will be attending a superday Wednesday of next week.
What a dick of an infant
Non Target Success Story: MBB Summer Intern (Originally Posted: 05/11/2012)
This site has really been an amazing help along my career path and I felt that it was necessary to try and give back to the community and hopefully give some hope to the fellow non targets out there that are trying to break in. I also wanted to thank everyone on this site who have been extremely helpful in the job search, specifically IlliniProgrammer and PeterGibbons as well as all those who contribute to the forums.
I am originally from a small town in the midwest and really had no clue about IB or consulting until after my first year of college. I chose to attend a lower ranked state school because I received a full scholarship and my middle class family could not afford some of the pricier, "better" schools that I was accepted to.
I knew coming from a nontarget that I would have to go above and beyond in order to differentiate myself so I sought out a boutique investment banking internship during the school year, got involved doing research with my department, and also had a F200 engineering internship my sophomore summer.
Going into recruiting Junior year, I thought I had networked enough, but what I soon learned was that there is no such thing as networking enough when you are coming from a nontarget. If I could do it over I would have made many more trips to NYC (I only made 1 and that wasn't until January). As much as I thought phone calls would be sufficient, actually visiting NYC to network will allow your alumni to put a face to the name and really help vastly more than 100 phone calls ever would.
I was able to receive a MM IB offer with a rising bank and also turned down a BB interview because I had already accepted this offer. Also got screwed when a S&T interview request for a BB where I had made a trading floor visit to actually got sent to my school spam folder and I didn't see it for a week or so. By the time I returned the phone call my window had closed. Moral of the story, check your spam folder! Seriously though, you know your school is a nontarget when an interview request with a BB gets sent to your spam folder.
Around this time, I applied on a whim to the three MBB, and although I had tried to network here as well, nothing really concrete panned out. By some miracle one of my online apps was actually read by a real person and I received a phone interview for an MBB summer intern position.
I put in a good amount of work studying for the interviews- read case in point, wet feet guide, wharton casebook, probably did ~10 mock case interviews with current consultants + 6 during interviews total. I really focused on structure as well as being very clear in my thought process and 3 rounds of interviews later I was able to come away with a summer offer from one of the MBB.
If I were to give any advice to those at nontargets now it would be to network, network, network and that if you put in the hard work you can get an internship at ANY of the top firms. I know for a fact that the only reason I got a look from the MBB was because I kept a very high GPA and had solid test scores as well to stand out coming from my nontarget school. That said, I think one of the most important things that I learned from the entire recruiting process was how critical being likable and sociable is to securing an offer. The thing that differentiates those that get the interview from those that get an offer is the connection and fit that you potentially have with the firm. If you have trouble relating to people I really recommend focusing on that AS MUCH as you focus on fleshing out the "experience" portion of your resume.
I think I was probably the first person at my school to get an MBB position from undergrad or MBA but hopefully won't be the last. I'm looking forward to helping fellow interested students break in and know that there are bright students everywhere. Thanks again to the community and good luck to those who are looking to break in!
Timmy
Sweet, congrats!
Congrats, if I read correctly you got an interview with MBB through an online app, without networking there (nothing "concrete"), and as a non target? I guess your high GPA helped but you gotta know there was some luck involved too! But doing well at the interview was definitely not luck, good job.
Wow!
Congrats!
Congrats!
Good job
Great Job Sir!
Well done, sir.
Congrats! Good job on the prep and getting the offer
Congrats Timmy. I am very happy for you. Thank you for sharing.
Great job!
Haha, so funny and so true. Congratulations. Just what I needed to hear after sending out tons of networking emails today.
Now show them how awesome you are and why you deserve the spot!
congrats brotha
Congrats man, that awesome. How did you start networking with these NYC shops? I would assume cold calls and emails were probably the primary method, but what did you say to them in the email or phone call?
I would say that 95% of my networking came through alumni connections. There were very few coming from my school, but if they were out there I most likely found them. That said, I did reach out to several people who also had a similar academic major or non target background and everyone was generally helpful. I used a stock email from mergers and inquistions and modified it as I went. Networking is definitely something that improves with practice though. From Sophomore to junior year I greatly improved and became more comfortable with people, I'd say its second nature at this point.
I would say it is very similar, if not identical, to ib networking. One major difference would be that consultants generally aren't as available during the daytime hours as IB analysts. When scheduling phone calls shoot for Mon-Thurs evenings after 9pm or anytime on Friday. Also, in-person meetups will have to be on Fridays if the consultant is traveling on a project.
One thing that I found that was helpful was to prepare for case interviews prior to networking and ask the consultant to possibly run through a sample case with you. If you show promise in this case, as you should if you have practiced, it will indicate that you are a legitimate candidate and that it is worth their time to help you further/forward your resume.
Agreed, definitely on board with the frugal lifestyle. Part of the reason why I am glad to be in a lower cost of living city. I think a consultant's earnings in my city translate to like $180k+ in Manhattan
Congrats man! Glad to see things working out for a fellow state school engineer.
Just do me a favor and when you are making the big bucks, remember that $4 could buy you a nice lunch in the basement of the student union and do your best to save as much as you can. I don't see consulting going the way of investment banking anytime soon, but if things ever turn pear-shaped, it never hurts to have low-key spending habits and a lot of money in the bank.
Baller!!!
Congrats on your success. Do you approach MBB networking/cold-calling in the same fashion as IB networking/cold-calling?
Great to see other non-targets make it! It's a struggle, but if you put your mind to it and want it badly then you will eventually get what you want.
Wow!!! Congratulations man! Gives me hope. I just did a phone interview and hope I made it to the second round at an IBank. This gets my juices flowing.
Great news! Really good advice as well. Enjoy the next few weeks, and good luck this summer!
congrats
Non Target sub 3.0 -> BO -> FT Analyst. Long, Detailed Success Story!! (Originally Posted: 12/18/2012)
I'm not really sure how to start this post, but I'm really only posting as motivation and inspiration to all the non target kids out there who are worried about GPA, ECs, etc. This story will be a long one, but I want to give as much detail as possible, because I have been through so much and want people to know that it is still possible. I went to a complete non target state university in the southeast and hadn't the slightest idea of what high finance was, let alone what I really wanted to do with my life. I changed majors 3 times, all to completely unrelated professions, letting my grades slip along the way. Once I made up my mind to change majors, I basically said "fuck it" and didn't put all of my effort into the classes that I thought wouldn't matter. It didn't help that I was in a fraternity and partied just as the reputation states.
Going into my junior year, I was carrying about a 2.5 GPA and, once again, changed my major; this time to the college of business, MIS to be exact. I started to enjoy the business courses and was doing surprisingly well. My final 3 semesters I received a 3.5, 3.5, 3.9 GPA respectively. My final GPA came in just around 2.8.
My final semester I was in a course what required us to audit a F500 company and work on improving corporate structure and strategy. In this course I learned about corporate M&A which I had no idea what it was prior to this and it really interested me. I started to look into this topic and began to learn more about valuation and finance in general. This was when I came across this website, which soon became my bible to learn more about the industry.
After graduation, I had no hope to follow my interest in finance, I took a position as an operations analyst at a Big 4 firm in the city in which I went to school. I immediately went into the position trying to put my knowledge of networking with alumni in hopes to learn more and gain whatever knowledge I could from their experiences. I tried networking with consultants and auditors at my firm, family friends, anyone that would give me a few minutes of their time. I utilized a simple cold email that I put together and sent emails to every 2nd and 3rd connection I could find on LinkedIn.
At this point, it was November of 2011 and I was given the same response from everyone: "With your background, it is gonna be very tough, but keep in touch." Awesome, I already knew I was trying to climb Mount Everest backwards in a swimsuit with this goal of mine, but thanks for your advice!
At this point, I knew I needed to get something appealing on my resume, so I started by purchasing the Breaking Into Wall Street financial modeling courses and learn that shit like my life depended on it. I started mentioning this in my cold emails, which got me a little better overall response, but still that haunting GPA from a non target killed my hopes; I needed something else.
After the new year, I decided to enroll in an online Graduate Diploma program at a semi target school. I knew this is my best chance at a new start without taking the GMAT and committing to an MSF (due to financial reasons). I was still stuck in my BO role, but now, with my financial modeling courses and now this program, I was slowly working my way to my goal and getting more and more positive responses. I still was sending my cold emails, making my cold calls, and trying to position myself for an internship anywhere.
It was now May 2012, I was 5 months into the diploma program and I had made 238 phone calls, sent 421 emails, and applied for 93 positions online/via website (yes, I kept track of everything). I got one reply which invited me to interview for an internship in NYC. I was ecstatic! The phone call went great, they loved my drive and determination, and they wanted to meet me! It was just my luck that I was going to NYC for a weekend with 3 of my friends the next weekend, so we scheduled around that.
The interview went great, asked me all behavioral questions and a few basic accounting/valuation questions. They asked me all the questions that I studied and I killed it. The next week, once I returned back to work, I got an email stating that they want to bring me on as an intern, albeit unpaid. I didn't care about money, I was on Cloud 9. Within that week, I quit my job, planned to move in with a friend in NYC, got rid of my apartment, and packed my car to drive up north.
On the insanely long drive, my Cloud 9 went to sheer disappointment. I received a call from the firm I dropped everything to go work for. They had 2 of their large deals go to shit and no longer needed the help of an intern. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I just dropped everything to go to NYC for the summer, now what am I going to do?
I got to NYC with my friend and everyday I woke up, made phone calls, sent emails, went back on the grind. I Google mapped "investment firm, NYC" and called every single place I saw a dot for. Luckily, 1 small boutique I called was looking for an intern and invited me in to interview. I had 2 interviews with them, told my story, the whole deal, and was offered the position. THANK GOD!!
This was late June 2012 and I was finally in the position I wanted, basically 10 months into my journey, I was able to take the first step as well as complete my diploma program with a 3.7 GPA (it's amazing what one can do when you put your mind to something and have a real interest). My internship went through October 2012 seeing as how I was already graduated and flexible with duration, but then deal flow died down and they just couldn't keep me busy. So I went to live with my parents in Pennsylvania while I was back on the grind ONCE AGAIN, looking for the next position. I kept getting rejections from all of the positions I applied for, no matter how many contacts I made, it was just a tough environment out there and I just wasn't that candidate they were looking for. Even recruiters turned me down. I was getting annoyed.
After 2 months of searching again, it is now after Thanksgiving 2012 and I needed to do something. I arranged to move back to the town where I went to school and worked after graduation. I re-packed my car and drove the crazy mileage back down south. I hit the phones and emails again searching every avenue possible. I found a position as an analyst at a real estate investment firm focusing on distressed assets and applied to it. The next week, I called and followed up, two days after that I received a phone call and was given a first round screening. During the same call, they invited me to come in that same day! I went in and met with 4 people, including 2 principals and was told they would get in touch. No real difficult questions that I couldn't answer, but they were interested in the fact I came from NYC and did what I did in order to get that internship in the first place. They also liked the fact that one of my 4 majors in undergrad was architecture (true story). They were more interested in my drive and motivation than whether or not I had any solid real estate experience. They asked me for my references and I went on my way.
The next week, they brought me in to meet with them again. It was more of a formality, THEY OFFERED ME THE POSITION. A FULL TIME ANALYST!! I was happier than I have ever been before and could barely even accept. They asked me when I could start, I said "tomorrow" and have been working there for about a week now and already have a good deal of responsibility. I love it. It's a smaller firm and the people are awesome. I am so glad I made the move and firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.
Overall Takeaways:
-Follow your interests and true passions.
-Don't be afraid of rejection, call/email everyone, if they don't answer, do it again until they answer. I didn't care about annoying someone, I wanted something and I wasn't going to stop until I got it.
-Do everything you can to better yourself and learn more.
-Never burn bridges. If my references wouldn't have given me the strong reviews that they did, I would not be in this position.
-Don't hate the people who have it easier than you do. Ask them for advice and how you can benefit from certain things.
-Don't give up, but don't turn things down. I took some shitty part time positions during the past 16 months to hold me over, but it was worth it.
-GET YOUR STORY DOWN ASAP!
-Once you accept your offer, refrain from calling everybody that turned you down just to tell them to suck it. Go party with friends instead.
GOOD LUCK MONKEYS!!
You made it dawh
respect! gj.... I just graduated and have to start networking like a mofo....
Congratulations man! Seems like you finally got the break you deserved. I know a lot of people in your situation coming out of college would have probably said, "screw it, I'll just get a full time job as a bank teller and live on a measly income and wait for a better opportunity." It's great to hear that you knew what you wanted and actually made the effort to achieve it.
"It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want." - FDR
I'm glad to hear you studied the financial modeling courses intensely. The secret of success in life is to be ready for your opportunities when they come. If you never became efficient in valuation/accounting you would have never gotten that internship offer in NYC and you would not be where you are right now.
Again, congratulations.
wow dude. that's pretty amazing, congrats.
Dang, son! That's phenomenal. Way to hustle. congrats.
wow man, i'm actually feeling this story. And Tommy's not easily impressed
SB, true grit son
Congrats man!
Congrats well done, with the amount of determination you have, I expect another thread from you eventually titled "FT Analyst -> VP".
congrats? What kind of RE properties you focusing on?
Thanks a lot! The firm focuses on multifamily complexes.
Congrats!! Great story, many people would have given up after the internship offer was rescinded.
Are you in Charlotte or Atlanta?
+1
I appreciate that! I'm not in either of those metros though, I'm in the sunshine state.
I really appreciate the congrats. I wouldn't have known where to start, or what actions to take without the help of this site and the users, so I really have to say thank you to everyone here.
Congratulations! That's an awesome story. I love hearing stories of persistence (it reminds me of how I felt when I was networking to break in). That initial surge of euphoria you get when you finally achieve what you thought at times was impossible, is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Keep that hunger, and if/when the day ever comes that you are fed up with what you are doing and are frustrated, just remember what you went through to get here, and realize that "this too shall pass." I remind myself of that often, when I am at the office at 4 in the morning and all my friends have been out partying and I missed a friend's birthday, or my birthday (sucks when people plan a party for you and you never end up being able to attend). Things will get tough, but just know that nothing is ever permanent, and you will be able to get thru anything if you keep that drive!
Enjoy the job and continue to keep us updated!
Great story, and congrats!
As I am somewhat in the same boat, I was interested (maybe a stupid question) how did you get the emails of 2nd and 3rd connections on Linkedin, or are you referring to messaging them on Linkedin?
I searched here on WSO for email formats a lot. If the firm was not on here, or I couldn't find the format, I guessed using the known formats (john.doe, jdoe, johnd, etc). You name it, I tried it. Good luck!
+1 - Great point, this doesn't get said enough... not to mention this bitter, envious, woe-is-me attitude is an epidemic in America.
Great story, good for you my man!
+1 - Really good point. It is unproductive to be envious of other people because you think they have it easier than you. It may not even be true; and while your focusing on someone else, you're not building your skills or enhancing your opportunities. Play the cards you're dealt to the max. A 2 on the river can beat pocket aces with a little luck and the right strategy.
Also, I think this deserves to be on the front page.
Thanks for sharing your story.
What graduate diploma did you pursue?
This is a great story man. Thanks for this and good luck!
Thanks so much for the story and tips, gives me hope!
Good Stuff. Congratulations
I'm curious, since you said you were very interested in M&A in some of your classes, do you plan on trying to lateral to IBD?
Honestly, I doubt it now. I'm the only analyst on the acquisitions team and have a great deal of responsibility already and assist management with a lot of tasks. We are growing very quickly, so I see a lot of growth potential here.
Lol. Hands down my favorite part of the story. Congrats.
Congratulations. Remember this, so that you might always remember that success is possible. And then get back to work.
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the congratulations!
Very nice. Good luck, but don't F this up.
Posts like these cancel out all the negativity that comes from constant rejections.
Thank you and congrats.
That's awesome. You learned from your mistakes, got better, and kicked ass.
Great story! Congrats! What online graduate diploma did you enroll in? LSE?
Congrats! I think the story is one of the most important parts.
Wow, brilliant. People like you seriously inspire me.
Another non-target (long) success story (Originally Posted: 01/27/2012)
Got a SA offer. Here's the background...
I go to a complete non-target Canadian university. Have a poor GPA (sub 3.0) due to personal/family things. I had some work experience with Canadian banks from summer jobs and whatnot, but nothing very relevant.
I first realized that banking is what I wanted to do last winter, and started applying blindly to everywhere I knew, which at that time was all of the banks and a couple of the larger boutiques. Didn't receive any interviews, which wasn't a surprise. I hadn't networked and my cover letter/resume were disasters.
At this point, I realized I had to step up my game. I contacted a family friend, an MD in research, and he set me up with an Associate for an informational interview. After my first conversation with him, I realized how much I had to do and learn to give myself a decent chance at getting into investment banking.
Fast forward to this past August. I had completed a ton of informational interviews and had expanded my network extensively. I also reached out to a boutique located in the city I attend school and really hustled to try to get a part-time internship along school. After following up with them for weeks and weeks, they finally decided to let me come in on an unpaid basis. My part-time internship turned out to be 40-50 hours a week - along with my full-time school. The amount I learned has been worth it 100%.
Continued with my internship and kept in touch with all of my contacts, right up to the SA application deadlines. Applied to all of the Canadian banks, some of the US BB's (just for kicks, didn't think I would hear from them as I hadn't networked at all) and a couple boutiques. I received three first round interviews from the Canadian banks. Because of my internship, I was strong on my technicals and knew how to talk about the business pretty well.
First interview: pure technicals. Made it through most of them but stumbled on a couple. Second interview: pure technicals again. Nailed every single one of them. The interviewer actually said in the interview "You couldn't have interviewed any better." Third interview: mix of technicals and fit questions. Wasn't as smooth as the other two interviews.
Time passed after the interviews and I got pretty nervous. Then, I received denials from the second and third banks I interviewed with. Shit. At this point, I was pretty down but reminded myself how badly I want to get a job, so I got back on my horse and fired out about 40-50 e-mails to boutiques to apply for summer positions. Got a bunch of responses - some good, some bad. Still hadn't heard back from my first interview regarding second rounds, so I followed up with my contact there. I heard that since they were only bringing on a couple of SAs and they had enough qualified local candidates that it didn't make sense for them to fly me in for a second round. I contacted the interviewers and let them know that if that was the case, I would pay for my own flight because I wanted to be in the second round interview that badly.
They confirmed that I could do that and be included in the second rounds. Booked my flight. I figured that since I was going to be in the city, I may as well try to set up meetings with some of the boutiques that had responded.
The interviews went well with the bank - pretty much just fit stuff with MDs. Also met with a really strong boutique and they loved me. Found out the next day that I had offers from both. Couldn't be happier.
Thanks to WSO I learned what was necessary to break in. Networking is invaluable - without it, I wouldn't have had a chance given the awful economy, my lack of experience, and brutal GPA.
Open to answering any questions and if any Toronto monkeys wants the names of the boutiques I e-mailed, I can probably put that together for you.
Edit: Here is the list of boutiques.
//www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/toronto-boutiques-0
Good work, now keep up that ethic and receive full time offers from even more institutions when the time comes!
Can you give us more insight into Canada's "wall street"? Its a black hole to me.
That's a fantastic story. Good on you!
I'm from Toronto - could you drop me the names of the boutiques you reached out to? I'll be starting my MBA this fall, but I want to reach out to every relevant firm now itself.
Thanks! And yes, I will put the list together and PM it to you either later today or tomorrow.
Wow that's a very inspiring story! All the best for the SA!
I am in Toronto too. Can you please send that list to me too?
Will do.
Congrats on the offer....can you please send that list to me too ?
I'm in the exact same situation you were, non-target canadian school with no experience (I do have an alright gpa though, ~3.5). Do you mind forwarding the list to me too?
GofedwinAus and Unledded - I will send you the lists as well.
ThatsWACC congratulations.
Can you forward me the list as well? Appreciate it.
Sent the list to everyone who has asked so far.
Hey, i go to a semi-target canadian school, decent GPA (3.6), could you please forward the list to me?
congrats!
Sent.
Very inspiring story! canadian target here, low-mediocre gpa (3-3.3), could you forward me the list also? Thank you, congrats on your offer btw!
Thanks! List is sent.
Congrats - great story! I recognize the difficulty of non-targets trying to get something in Canada vs. in US. It's arguably more difficult given Canadian banks have a very STRONG preference for the target schools and for business/finance students specifically vs. someone could come from an arts background in US and still compete for interviews.
If you could, would love to get a copy of the list for a relative.
Wow, inspiring story. Congrats!
Are you from Rotman?
Non-Target Success Story (Originally Posted: 02/09/2012)
In the spirit of many of these success stories I have been so thoroughly enjoying I thought I’d share my story with the community that helped me achieve my goal. Also, I hope that others out there can learn from my experiences and achieve their own goals.
To begin, I am currently a senior at a non-target state school majoring in accounting. I received a FT IBD offer from a top MM firm and I will be starting there this summer.
While I was applying to colleges, tuition was a major concern for me and my family. This is not to suggest that if I had applied to ivys I would have been a shoe in but it did incite those suggestive words from a financially responsible father “Son, college isn’t worth spending $50,000 a year on these day… it’s all about grad school.” and frankly that $50,000 tuition wasn’t in the cards. Now being a naïve, unmotivated and directionless young man I decided to listen. I knew nothing of target or non-target schools nor was my interest in banking developed back then so I elected to attend a state school.
Once I started school, I enjoyed my Macroeconomics course tremendously, specifically learning about the financial sector. After learning about investment banking (IBD), the excitement of the deal, the intense learning experience and the salary, I decided that it was the career I’d pursue. Boy did I not understand what I was getting myself into. But thanks to sites like MI and WSO I learned quickly about what I needed to do.
SO I BEGAN NETWORKING AND STUDYING MY ASS OFF
After having established my career ambitions I soon realized I needed an internship in finance. So I went through the family channels and luckily my dad knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who could use an intern at a boutique investment bank. So I went in for a quick interview and was offered an internship for the summer after my freshman year. This wasn’t a normal internship though, more similar to slave labor. No pay, no college credit and I paid for transportation and late night meals. My step-father called me nuts but I believed, like an impassioned lunatic, this was a necessary first step to fulfill my relentless desire.
Once I completed my internship I came back to school with a renewed vigor. I joined the finance clubs at school and became best friends with the career placement people and the dean of the business school. This small step actually set me up for some serious networking later on. I maintained a good GPA >3.9 and continued networking through different channels. This includes the school’s alumni databases, LINKED-IN, and upper classmen.
Unfortunately for that summer, my junior summer might I add, my efforts yielded nothing. It was May. I resigned to taking classes. Then, my school career advisor emailed me and asked if I was interested in an opportunity at a boutique investment bank. I jumped at the opportunity, and then interviewed and got the job (I impressed them with my previous internship experience/ slave labor). Though this wasn’t exactly a glorious internship, I still got paid, and received nice deal exposure.
At the firm I charmed and charmed all I could becoming besties with the senior bankers, one of whom was a former bulge bracket Managing Director. I worked hard and impressed her. At the end of the internship I sat down with her to discuss my options. The boutique was simply too small for me. She offered to send my resume around to different banks and I earned Superdays at every bank she contacted including a BB. I also tapped my school’s alumni network harder and after receiving strong recommendations from my school’s career advisor, I was put into contact with the few bankers we had. This resulted in a total of 5 Superdays.
Finally at one firm, after going through a total of six and half hours of interviews, (yes, I met 13 bankers, I think it was because I was a Non-target …LOL) I got the offer. In the end, the constant networking, teaching myself finance on the side in conjunction with a full course load and coping with interminable travel back and forth from the city, I got the offer. I never gave up and it was all worth it.
(For those of you that kept count you correctly counted two summer internships… I am completing college in three years in the interest of saving money even though I sort of wish I wasn’t doing it. Additionally, I was President of my social fraternity for a year and a half, started a soup kitchen volunteer program and was a computer science TA)
Thanks to all those who provided advice along the way and please feel free to ask any questions you think I could answer. Special shout-out to Patrick for starting the site.
Whoa!! Congratulations!!! Hats off and enjoy your time at the bank. Read the WSJ and FT daily and get the Economist every week.
Hats off!
Congrats!
a.w.e.s.o.m.e !!!!
Congrats to you and also that troll porsche959 (saw his post earlier). In all seriousness, well done guys.
Holy shit Flake, WSO isn't blocked? Looks like I know where I'm coming to work. LOL.
Haha nope. Just the chat room.
congrats man! and amazing username.
truly inspiring - well done sir!
Awesome to hear. similar story to mine, except I had to start after graduation. Tear it up, man. Congrats.
Congrats!
If you could take the time and do an interview and/or company review in the http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/wso-company-database It would be much appreciated and a way to give back to WSO and the community.
So I already went ahead and did that for other places I interviewed. I don't feel 100% comfortable inputting that data for my firm yet, but once I am working for a little I certainly will.
Hustling...Very nice. Unfortunately a lot of folks don't know that is what it takes. Straight hustle, social intelligence, and hard work.
Congrats man!
U Accrete Me...classic
Congrats! Great story- well written to the point where I considered tearing up
My I ask which non-target? I'm at Texas Tech, which I'm pretty sure is non target, though my Texas pride wants to believe it's a semi-target. Anyways, congrats to you sir! Your story is very inspiring! Makes me want to study even more!
Cool man, always good to hear a success from a fellow non-target
lol wreckemfinance, I'm at Tech and it is no semi-target. But, being in Texas, if you want to do IB here for a boutique/MM, you should find plenty of Tech alum....
Kudos and keep up the good work!
bravo. I wish you all the best along with further exponential successes!!!!!!!!!
very impressive kid!!
Good work!
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