Shadowing Advice/What Questions to Ask?
I have been going twice a year for the last four years to shadow a Managing Director of Equity Trading at a BB. I am going again this week to do what I have been doing for the past four years which is basically just watch what he does, talk, and ask questions. This started in high school through a connection and now I am a sophomore in college. After going for this long I am running out of questions to ask and things to say. Any advice or ideas on how to keep my visits interesting? He has promised me an interview for a SA position next year when I am a rising senior, so I do not want to blow this. Thanks.
Tap a structured credit derivative trader on the shoulder and ask, "can I try?"
If he asks who you are, point to the whale on your vineyard vines tie and wink
I wish I had a SB to give. Funniest comment I've seen in a while.
Four years and you never asked about an internship?
next time you meet with him, just say it in the best way possible, you're ready to enter the dungeon and pursue a career within the financial field and would be interested in working at the firm for the summer of 2013.
Obviously this whole time has been about me getting an internship next year after my junior, but he said he can only promise me an interview which is a big help. I was looking for some ideas for questions that would really impress him.
You should be upfront and just ask for an interview/internship. Make sure he gets the message and let him know you're interested.
an URGENT question about shadowing people (Originally Posted: 01/09/2008)
I really only want corporate finance jobs but I've gotten to know a BB institutional equity sales MD through one of my S&T analyst friends (very briefly met). I was still sleeping this morning when the analyst friend called me and told me that he spoke with the MD about me and the MD told him that I could go down and shadow them for a few hours to get a feel for the job.
I've never done this before and have never been on the trading floor. It's not an interview but I haven't prepared anything at all about S&T.
what should I do to avoid looking completely stupid? This is TOMORROW morning by the way.
All you have to do is look nice and be genuine. Don't go down there and be all "OMG this is exactly what I was born to do1!one!!"
Dress nicely and ask good questions. Let them know you're interested in what they do (both from the "I want to do this" and also the "This is interesting..." perspectives).
Just make a friends, and you will make a good impression.
If you are 1) only interested in corp. fin. jobs and 2) have some good corp. fin. job leads/offers, it doesn't make any sense for you to do this and look unprepared. Some people will tell you differently, but this is my honest opinion after going through a ton of interviews over the past few years.
There is no shame in making an excuse about something coming up at the last minute and you not being able to go - you probably won't get the job then, but sounds like you don't really want it.
If you ARE set on going, read up as much as you can about the markets and what that specific group does. Do some research online into traders, what the job entails, etc. Would be good to do some offline reading too but you probably don't have time at this point.
Captk said it perfectly..."Dress nicely and ask good questions."
This a great opportunity that most people interested in S&T would love to have. If you are even remotely interested in S&T take this opportunity. Being able to see what S&T do during the day may provide you with some sort of edge come interview time. Furthermore being able to speak with some of the people there they are likely to remember you and if they liked you push your resume into the pile. It could also make interviewing more interesting for you.
I was fortunate enough to spend several hours shadowing after my interviews, I felt it was a great experience.
Since this isnt an interview and it was a very casual thing set up by alums, I'm thinking that almost all the conversation that we're going to have is going to be about college/experience and fit questions. No?
Shadowing a Trading Desk (Originally Posted: 09/28/2012)
I have the opportunity to shadow the muni-desk at a BB S&T shop. Even though I have a friend that works on the desk, and I am doing this for informational purposes, I feel like others at his desk might try to grill me and test my knowledge. I am fairly competent with finance and the markets, but definitely not the level I want to be at when I go to shadow. Does anyone have any advice on sources of information that I can look at to get a better assessment of the day to day of a muni trader and the types of things I should know?
Thanks in advance.
If you'll be shadowing for a day, unless the place is full of pricks, I doubt you'll be interrogated on your finance knowledge. It should be a fun recruiting opportunity for your friend and not much more. Save the technicals for the interview.
That is what I would think, but my buddy told me to be prepared just in case. I doubt i'll get totally grilled, but as someone thinking about trading as a career, I would like to know my shit just in case.
Talk to your buddy. He should be able to give you knowledge you need. Its hard to say if you get grilled or not, each desk is different. It really depends on the guys youll be sitting around and their personalities
I did one of these S&T shadowing events, just know what's been happening in the economy, get them to talk about themselves and ask them for career advice etc.
but please don't bug them and be like an annoying child with all your questions
Shadowing on a few desks... (Originally Posted: 07/17/2007)
I'm a rising junior interning in Operations and after emailing a few people ended up with a chance to visit a few traders (equities and FI) at the bank where I'm working. Most of the research I've done has had more to do with banking and asset management so I don't really know too much about what a trading room/floor would look like. I'll have plenty of things to ask these guys but I don't want to sound like I have no idea what is going on so does anybody have ideas about things I should review before going to see them? I'll probably want to move up the BB ladder next summer to another bank so this is probably just a learning experience rather than an attempted kiss ass session.
I think you'll be fine. Just try to be enthusiastic...I got to visit the trading floor at JPM a couple weeks ago and sit at a few desks. I had no idea what most of the people were doing. they'll go through everything and explain it to you in layman's terms. i mean, you're a rising junior...no one expects you to know anything. A lot of what these people do are very technical and/or specific so I doubt you'll gain much from reading textbooks or reviewing class notes. More useful thing would be to read the WSJ or FT and know what are the big things going on in the markets right now. Good conversation starters too.
what did you learn dairyman?
Hey Im a rising junior at a target school with a good gpa and good extra curriculars.I'm currently interning in the treasury operations departments over at Merrill Lynch. They give me a lot of pretty substantial work to do and a lot of responsibility. just like everyone else on this website i want to do i-banking. Do you'll think working in the operations department this summer will help me get an internship at a BB bank next summer after my junior year. thanks
sure...it's experience at a big bank.
Shadowing Experience tips??? (Originally Posted: 07/18/2017)
I am extremely fortunate to have a family connection that has given me the opportunity to shadow a MD at a bank in NYC, who works in the sales and trading department. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to maximize the experience? Things I should ask or do?
Also any suggestions on books or websites to help me get a better background before the experience? I have no prior physical experience in finance.
perfect the lean over the shoulder and breath through the mouth- heavily
Don't exchange war stories with a guy you knew from high school. Apparently it can lead from 'you will be great in this position' to 'good luck on your job search' pretty quick. Which I think is messed up, just simple life experiences that are different from the average student.
a non-troll comment would be nice
True story. I was at a job shadowing event for a large company shadowing buyers. Things were going great and we were doing scenarios at this point. After that portion we had a little break, a guy i went to high school with had recognized me and came over to the table I was at to say hi. We were both veterans, both infantry (army and marines), and we started talking about where we were stationed. He started talking about an incident involving a suicide bomber. This reminded me of a a similar experience. Then we were talking different missions, incidents, what we thought of our time in, the situation overseas and what we were doing in school. When we all regrouped the employee that invited me to this, from a job fair, sat back down. She pointed out I was a veteran and another employee that was at the table during my conversation said 'I know we just heard a bunch of war stories.' So end of the day, the one who had invited me said I did great, as the other was affirming throughout the day. However, the one who sat and listened kindly wished me good luck on my job search. So, do not tell war stories at when job shadowing . It was a lesson learned, I honestly didn't think anything of it when we were talking, just two vets sharing experiences. Now if you do not have war stories think a step further as to what else can be considered rude to bring up. Keggers, running from the cops, fighting and promiscuous pursuits come to mind.
Shadow opportunity (Originally Posted: 10/29/2012)
Hello, want your guys opinion on this opportunity. I am planning to study abroad next semester ( currently a Junior). While abroad, I want to do a part time internship. However, it is difficult because the work laws are strict in the country, so many of these companies wont "hire" internaitonal interns because it isnt worth the investment. They also don't understand the concept of volunteer work. Anyway, I cold emailed a partner at a big 4 firm and he tried to get me in, but HR got in the way. He was real nice about it and responded with this:
"I am happy for you to come in the office for a week as a “visitor” and shadow some of our teams for the experience, but I’m unable to extend an offer for an internship within ____. Please let me know when you arrive in ___. Let’s try to catch up and I can tell you more about ___in ___, in case you decide to move to ____permanently after obtaining your degree".
Thoughts?
doing anything else? didn't think so, take the opportunity.....jeeeez!
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