Hey All,
A WallStreetOasis newbie here looking for some advice on how best to break into investment banking at an associate level. I am currently in second year of b-school (non-target) concurrently interning at a small family-office PE firm. Spent the summer interning at a VC firm. Prior to b-school, was a venture backed entrepreneur. Returned to school to tighten up on technical (finance, accounting, stats, etc...) skills, and became interested in ibanking as I progressed through first year.
I am hoping to convince an MD at a boutique/mid-market that my background as an entrepreneur and my internship work/corp finance concentration at b-school have positioned me well for a career at an ibank.
Based on this info, I would be curious to hear your thoughts on my likelihood for success... Feedback and advice are warmly welcome.
Many thanks in advance!
P.S. I have some degree of technical proficiency (DCF, LBO/APV, Public & Preacq comps) acquired through coursework and through internship work...
i am an mba and work on the street.
you need to begin networking immediately. you're already behind your peers who have already started networking. at my bank we already have a list of target students (i went to a target) from my school.
contact every banker you know (look in your school's alumni database) and set up appointments to meet them in person over coffee during friday trips to NYC. reach out to recruiters and get in touch with anybody and everybody you can possibly think of. networking is sooo important. you won't land a job without putting in some serious effort on the networking front.
you will absolutely need to know the capm, dcf, wacc, how all the financial statements link together (reconstruct a cash flows statement, etc). deadlines are different for every bank but basically you have to officially submit your resume online late this year and interviews start usually in January. the big banks go first and then the smaller banks follow. The online resume drop is a mere formality. the banks decide who gets a first round interview based off networking.
coming from a non-target, if you don't get to NYC and meet bankers for coffee (or at the minimum have telephone discussions with as many ppl as possible) you won't have a snowball's chance in hell.
gamenumbers, how did your firm assemble a list of target students? what criteria were used?
gamenumbers , I appreciate the feedback. I've have been doing a lot of networking - started in June. Spoke to many alum - only problem is that many alum from my school who work in the business got into it right out of ugrad, or they went to a target for mba or law degrees. I have spoken to several people at boutiques and mid-market banks, but I always seem to run into the same catch 22 - too old/experienced to join analyst program, don't have the requisite two years of experience to join as an associate.
Couple things:
If you're looking to get a full-time position, which I assume you are since you're a 2nd year, then the deadlines are passing... if not already passed. My firm decided on full-time hires about a month ago. There is always a spot or two that remains unfilled that they figure out later in the year, but I wouldn't count on that. They usually try to interview folks that did their summer at another firm.
Why joining as an analyst? If you have some experience pre-business school and you're finishing up the MBA, then why not an associate level? I'm confused. I guess if you HAVE to go analyst level, I know two analysts that are both 27. So.... maybe still a chance?
I think your focus is correct. You'll need to target mid-market players and really convince them your background is additive to their operation. They are typically a little slower with the recruiting and can sometimes stretch to accommodate someone with an atypical background / approach.
Why not just go into VC or PE? Guarantee you'll like the hours better, and the pay is the same, if not better. Given your background, it sounds like you'd have an easier time going that route.
Hi jen05046,
Thanks for the post. To respond:
You are absolutely right. I have applied to several of the larger more established mid-market outfits, but have not really focused on the BBs, since I was told my chances are virtually ziltch with such firms.
While joining as an analyst is obviously not my preference, I would do it just to get my foot in the door and to learn the business from the ground up.
Thanks for the validation. Boutiques/Mid-Markets do indeed seem to lag the BBs in terms of their hiring time frame.
A few things: a) I don't see a very bright future for the VC industry at large (certainly some will disagree, and that's fine). b) While I have internship experience in both VC and PE, I think that I would gain a lot more out of a job in investment banking. I really want to refine my technical skills and get banking experience early on in my career, because I think experience at a bank will open up many doors later on. Not to say that I wouldn't want to build a career at a bank, just saying that more options are better than less.
UPDATE: So I have managed to secure an internship at a large and reputable PE shop. I don't know how likely a full-time offer is upon graduation, and I am still interested in pursuing a career in IB anyway. In light of this, how would you proceed? Thoughts?
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