Non-Target School Success Stories (dedicated to those who worked harder to break into BB's)
(Baboon, 119
Points)
on 8/16/10 at 2:56pm
This thread is dedicated to graduates of non-target universities who made it into the coveted investment banking departments of our favorite bulge brackets.
If you fit this description, please respond to this thread so we can pay homage.





i know a guy. he broke in.
i know a guy. he broke in. nontarget. hope that heps.
Non target and non finance
Non target and non finance major. Broke in this year with a little bit of luck.
What bank? I am just
What bank?
I am just curious to see if there are any on WSO.
I don't think they get enough credit for what they have accomplished in the IB industry.
Hawke1 wrote: Non target and
Non target and non finance major. Broke in this year with a little bit of luck.
Details?
dude it's not a big deal man,
dude it's not a big deal man, breaking in from a non-target school. my school is semi target LAC in US. each year, 4 of 9 who want to work on Wall Street end up getting an offer from BB firms. Even this year, three of the people got summer analyst internships at CS, BofA ML and USB. And to make u feel even better, their GPA were in the range 3.6-3.7. Networking is what counts if ur from a non-target school. having said that, my school has a number of alums on wall street so...
Not rocket science to get in
Not rocket science to get in so long as you don't to somewhere like SE Louisiana State.
(1) Have a high GPA (3.7+); for most schools, it's not THAT hard to major in econ or something and get this
(2) Get some internships your freshman/sophomore year that have an accounting / finance background, even if unpaid
(3) Talk with professors about students who managed to get into banking - if your school is remotely respectable, there was probably 1-5 kids out there who got into i-banking
(4) Spend a few weeks searching on Google, your alumni database, wherever you can to find people with connections to you in banking. I am sure some friend or alumnus will pop up. When they do, call them, ask pertinent questions about getting to know the industry and I am sure they'll do what they can to help you if you sound eager, smart and respectful
(5) Study the Vault guides and sites like M&I like crazy. Know it front to back - 90% of interview questions come from here. Practice your questions and avoid canned responses as much as possible
That's about it. I went to a small LAC who would send a few kids to i-banking a year out of a class of about 1,000 students. Worked at a corp dev / M&A division of a F500 company near home as a junior, got banking contacts with a few guys who had done it before switching to "the good life" in corporate, and was off and running. At the same time as this, I also cold called dozens of alumni to get advice and contacts, leading to 2-3 more interviews just through hustling basically.
Once you get the interview, it's up to you. But the interview spots are out there. i-banking classes are usually 120-150+ kids; sure half to 3/4 are from target schools but that still means at 6-8 major banks there's about 30-40 spots they leave up in the air for non-core and non-target students. It doesn't take a PhD to do the job so it's really about proving you're not an idiot to the right contacts and working your butt off to get in touch with them.
Guess that makes me a rocket
Guess that makes me a rocket scientist. SW Louisiana State grad to a BB.
Did all 5 of the above mentioned items and cold called banks after googling people's numbers. Just asked them to at least give me a phone interview. That led to a live interview, which lead to a superday.
Not impossible to get in, but once you are in, you realize how lucky you got because the whole process can be a crap shoot.
Non-target ENGR friend just
Non-target ENGR friend just got FT offer. New York, New York.
three guys from a non-target
three guys from a non-target this yer had summer internships at top bulges, one in S&T and 2 in M&A. i know one got return offer but the others i haven't spoken with: i'm almost positive they have received offers.
all had high gpa (above 3.8) and relevant internships.
Joshua.D wrote: Hawke1
Non target and non finance major. Broke in this year with a little bit of luck.
Details?
I worked my ass off in terms of networking and that's what really got me in. I also had a fair amount of experience with finance internships. The contact that got me my informational interview stressed to me that once the interview process started his input would mean nothing, and it was all on me. Just come off as being enthusiastic and intelligent and you'll be fine. In terms of details...I'm at a BB in NYC and I'm in IBD.
Florida had summers at
Florida had summers at Goldman, Jpm, evercore, baml, and citi as well as 5 or 6 at wells Fargo. All had good gpa's and a decent internship the previous summer.
ChuckFinley wrote: Florida
Florida had summers at Goldman, Jpm, evercore, baml, and citi as well as 5 or 6 at wells Fargo. All had good gpa's and a decent internship the previous summer.
They were all MSF kids.
insight123
Florida had summers at Goldman, Jpm, evercore, baml, and citi as well as 5 or 6 at wells Fargo. All had good gpa's and a decent internship the previous summer.
They were all MSF kids.
Sure, but they all are florida undergrads doing a combined degree. Not a target except maybe at wells fargo.
I'm from a non-target trying
I'm from a non-target trying to get into a BB, and I feel like I'm doing things very similar to what you've said. I have a 3.7+ GPA, interning at a regional IB, have been talking to alumni that work in the industry, etc. I've actually set up meetings with them and will be meeting a few of them soon.
My problem is, there's not ENOUGH alumni from my school. They're mostly in one bank, so I feel like I'm not casting a wide enough of a net. I've been thinking about cold-calling, but who should I call? Random analysts or the HR department?
Both. There's literally no
Both. There's literally no downside to doing this. I ended up with an offer at a major MM bank after cold calling one of the analysts after being redirected to him when I called the front desk asking about recruiting. Got a bit lucky that the kid even listened but we had a similar background (both went to LACs in New England) so we hit it off and eventually got an offer.
If you just get directed to fill out an online application, then you're back to where you started with nothing lost. I would imagine that trying to do the cold calling route works better with regional offices and smaller banks though, as NYC BB recruiting is a different animal altogether.
What would you suggest for
I have 3 offers right now
I broke in with a 3.3 GPA and
1. all 'non-targets" are not
ByAWideMargin wrote: I broke
i broke onto a trading desk
WSO Conf - June 29, 2013
finalfantasy, until you get a
you mean harvard? all middle
FF, that's funny, because
finalfantasy wrote: you mean
You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
Finalfantasy and jimbojones
eyelikecheese is in
Broke into S&T and IBD via
broke into IB from non-target
--
"Those who say don't know, and those who know don't say."
Word finalfantasy
finalfantasy wrote: you mean
lol NGH09, good point.
PM me if you're looking for a
I broke into the BBs
New Yorker wrote: 1. all