Success Stories...
This is my first post on this board, though I have read it for quite some time now.
In my time reading and talking to others about investment banking, it seems like the same topics are continuously covered...salary, hours, demanding MD's, etc etc.
What I'm interested in are the success (feel-good) stories any current I-bankers might have. Coming from a non-target, I loved hearing a fellow classmate's story of how he drove to NYC (roughly a six hour trip) and met with an MD, which led to an interview, and eventually a full time offer. All of it was done on a whim, with no guarrantee that anyone would meet with him. His gamble, as evidenced, paid off though.
Anyone have any personal stories like this? Or even, a description of how an interview went that you absolutely nailed.





Aw geez, feel-good success
Aw geez, feel-good success stories from a bunch of young materialists. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy already.
Haha, ok that's a start!
Haha, ok that's a start!
Pessimistic stories full of sarcasm, failure, and sorrow are also being accepted, lol.
The silence is deafening...
The silence is deafening...
...and telling
...and telling
Sorry, but what sort of
Sorry, but what sort of responses did you expect such an aw-shucks post to elicit. People are in this business for money and a good response to the question, "what do you do?" If you want a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story, stop by a senior citizens center.
Re: Sorry, but what sort of
Sorry, but what sort of responses did you expect such an aw-shucks post to elicit. People are in this business for money and a good response to the question, "what do you do?" If you want a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story, stop by a senior citizens center.
Maybe this wasn't the greatest forum to make such a post, and I aplogize for being naive in this instance. That aside, I think you're being a tad ridiculous though in suggesting that the only place I could find a interesting story of success would be at a retirement center. I'm not looking for a tear jerker akin to what you would find in a Disney movie. Further, I'm not expecting to hear about someone who graduated with an associate's degree from a community college and became an MD at GS. Simply, I'm just interested in a slightly different discussion topic than what I have normally been exposed to. Judging by your response pierceandpierce, you haven't experienced any level of success yet, and that's fine, but maybe you could take a note from what someone has to say.
No, just a realist. Leave
No, just a realist. Leave Des Moines or Scranton or wherever it is and you'll learn much. What I'm driving at here is this, the posts about salaries and the social acceptability of various watches are what go for success stories here. Realize this before you graduate college and you won't be so disillusioned when you make your own six-hour drive to new york in a car packed with your best two suits and all the hopes, dreams, and gumption of the whole midwestern republic.
I think someone's watching
I think someone's watching too many movies.
Ok Ok, I get your point
Ok Ok, I get your point here, but to defend myself, I didn't make this post in complete ignorance as you seem to suggest. I realize Ibanking is an incredibly hard field to break into, but that is what makes the success stories appealing to me. Moreover, though I'm not from a major city (unless for some reason you consider Pittsburgh to be one), I take some offense to you characterizing me as backwoods or something of that nature. It's not like I've been sitting around looking at this messageboard all stary-eyed, telling myself, "Someday I'll show 'em! I'm gonna be an investment banker!" I have a very realistic view of the I-banking industry and what my chances are.
For christ sake though, I'm realizing now that I used incredibly poor wording, but I just wanted to see if there are any unique instances where someone experienced success. I'm talking like you borded a flight, sitting next to a major figure at a BB firm, and miraculously impressed him/her and got an interview/offer out of it. Maybe this is too movie-like, but it's just a discussion topic.
Alright, just cracking some
Alright, just cracking some jokes on a slow day.
I friend of mine landed a
I friend of mine landed a summer analyst position (and eventually a FT offer) at GS after having sat next to a GS MD in first class from NYC to London. She thought he was just a kindly old man who wanted to talk to her about the market and The Economist. Of course, it didn't hurt that she also happened to go to an Ivy, have a pre-Med 3.9 and a couple advanced math courses under her belt. She went from saving the universe from cancer to being a master of the universe in one summer.
Just for the record; can we
Just for the record; can we agree that bankers are not the masters of the universe. Bankers are nothing more than real estate agents and salesman doing whatever it takes to make a commission.
"We make the rules, pal. The
"We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market. And you're a part of it."
I know a person who worked
I know a person who worked for the Treasury Department in DC this past year. Ended up being a paper pusher for Paulson, and he's at GS this summer. There's your feel-good story. Yey!
My success story is not
My success story is not miraclous, but I called probably 50 banks and talked to as many professionals as I could until I landed a couple interviews. Getting the interviews is the hard part. I received an offer from Citi for the summer analyst program.
Considering I am still new
CompBanker
Re: I friend of mine landed a
I'll give you a non-IB related story
My background, without
The Pursuit of Happyness
Re: The Pursuit of Happyness
This is actually a true
Re: This is actually a true
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Banking Resume
heres a feel good story for all the bankers out there
Re: This is actually a true
Enough with the swears guys,
When frustration level gets