Networking in to Asia (Korea specifically)
Hey,
I go to a semi-target in Canada, just finished freshman year, and am working as a telemarketer at a big firm in Toronto. My marks are alright (86%) and I have some good ECs under my belt (charity work, school leadership, investment club). I think I have the stats to break into Canadian Big 5 IBD, but I am really interested in getting a job in Asian, specifically South Korea.
I don't have a Korean green card or anything, but I know the government right now is really easy on the work visas. Do you know of any investment banks in South Korea that hire foreign students? I know that Canadian university summer is 4 full months, while Korean university summer is just over 2 full months. Maybe that could be something I could use in networking.
Also, if any of you are working in Korea right now, do you have to speak Korean really well? I can get by day-to-day without a problem, but I have poor vocabulary in the finance space. And I noticed that I could barely find anybody in IBD in Korea on Linkedin. Is there a Korean Linkedin-esque website that professionals use in Korea?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
Best,
Transferhopeful
I hope you do realize that the financial sector in Korea is very underdeveloped - what this implies is that you practically have no exit opportunities to HK, NYC, London or any other major financial center (if you ever get tired of it).
Oh, and compensation in Korea is very very low (for undergrads right out of college). There's a reason why so many Korean students are looking to attend universities abroad and get jobs in the US.
Does less comp translate to less hours?
Check out Korean Investment Corporation, the country's sovereign wealth fund. I believe they have an office in NY. Also, take a look at the past employment reports by Carnegie Mellon's MSc Computational Finance program. I remember them placing a few kids at KIC or a different Korean fund.
I also forgot to mention that much like Japan, Korea is a very homogenous population. I certainly don't know for sure, but it might be difficult for a non-Korean to get a gig at a company within Korea. I do know that the kids from Seoul National University, Yonsei, KAIST, and the ones who get educated at the top schools in the US have an easy path to the top jobs in Korea.
Anyways, don't let me discourage you. What do you have to lose by trying?
Hi android411, thanks for the tip, but I am more interested in investment banking, particularly in M&A (I heard that the video games space in Korea is especially hot right now).
I am actually Korean by ethnicity, and did elementary school there. All of my family is basically at LA or Korea so I am just looking to move there as soon as possible.
I don't know much about i-banking in Korea but I'm sure M&A within gaming is huge. I read stories of Korean kids who are found dead in front of their computers playing World of Warcraft or whatever for days on straight without food or sleep.
Didn't realize you were Korean....you shouldn't have too much of an issue. Do a semester or two study abroad at of of the Korean universities. Many of the 1st generation Korean kids from my undergrad did a semester in Korea and came back with a huge improvement in their Hangul. I remember my undergrad even having a program where they would place Korean students from the US in a Korean company for a semester. Great way to network.
I would totally do a exchange for a term or two, but I can only do that in 3rd year, and by then, recruiting for SA positions will be over (at my school, there is an accelerated hiring cycle and regular hiring cycle for exchange and non exchange students). And I actually just finished my first year, and our school doesn't offer exchanges in first 2 years, so not much of an option for me lol.
I am just a bit hesitant right now to just cold email Korean ibankers because I don't know how the email etiquette works there, and I don't know how to write formal letters in Korean.. guess i could ask my parents though. Sucks that there is no Korean version of WSO lol.
As a Korean American myself, I don't get why you would want to go do I-banking in Korea. Imo Korea is a great place to visit and all, but not so sure opportunity wise. If you want to get out of the country, maybe you should consider China or something.
^ You would only be able to consider China if you can actually speak mandarin, and even then they've got a good number of 'little emperor kids' that had Ivy/target schooling in US, 2-3 yrs IB/top consulting, China based roots and background and speak the language natively to choose from.
I've heard Korea is similar to Japan as android pointed out - very homogeneous, and everything is done in Korean. You're Korean, so that's one check mark in your favor. But I would imagine you need to speak, read and write Korean at the business-level.
If you already know some bankers or people in finance who are Korean and have worked there before - first thing is to email them. If not, I would try and look through LinkedIn profiles of all the banks or their websites, and try to locate their profiles and send some cold emails. I think the people you want are those who worked/studied in US/Canada/Europe who are open to the concept of people cold calling others. In Asia (in general), I don't think this kind of networking is done as often - networking there is more via bars, events, etc.
Trip to Asia for networking purposes, good idea? (Originally Posted: 05/30/2011)
Hi!
Lately I have been thinking about arranging a trip to Hong Kong or Singapore, before the beginning of the recruiting season (August?) just to get to know people and position myself for graduate recruitment during autumn.
I am currently interning offcycle at the Federal Reserve System (a very relevant and interesting division though) and I am graduating in 2012 from a semi-target MFIN. I am interested in S&T and AM.
My plan is to get the contact details of people working there so I can meet them during my stay. Also, I will be meeting friends-of-friends and attending to every conference, seminar or business school event in the area during my stay.
The goal is to arrange informational interviews, to network as hard as I can and to get closer to an internship / analyst position.
I am a western and I cannot speak any Asian language yet. I have been thinking about overcoming this by targeting PWM and Risk sections,
Is it worth the 2500 bucks I am planning to spend on this? Singapore or Hong Kong? I am planning 50%-50%
there are more than plenty of people to network with within NY, that is unless you are set on going to asia.
^ Thanks for the comment I will try to keep all the fronts covered. I am not set on going to Asia yet, but if there is any chance I would probably take it, even over a NY offer. I was there on exchange and I loved the region and its financial prospects.
Personally I wouldn't do it. I've been networking quite a bit lately and I think there should be enough opportunities in your home country. Of course, if you're set on Asia and want to start your career there, that's different. in that case I would probably do it, although I'n not interested in starting my career in Asia (because I don't speak the language, I think that would be a barrier).
waste of time. language barrier... in your position better to get into NY office and then transfer after 2 years. extremely difficult to build a career in asia if you dont have the background (language, culture, and to some extent, a local network)
Even if you knew the language fluently, it would still be incredibly difficult to break in as a foreigner. Good luck to you.
I couldn't imagine being able to fit enough interviews into a short time frame to make that ticket price worthwhile. It's hard enough getting people on the phone in new york, the idea of scheduling 10+ face to face meetings over the course of a few days or a week sounds extremely difficult.
By the way, there's no harm in just contacting these people with the phone. I've talked to a few this way, and you'll often also find that they're going to be traveling at some point to the US, and are sometimes willing to meet up with you during their trip.
if you are going there for networking purposes and you don't have any connections nor do you speak any asian languages, don't waste your time. You will not move up/lateral into any IBD/PE spot in HK or China unless you speak Mandarin and same goes for other regions (Korea, Japan, etc)
If you go there for fun...Asia is tons of fun and you should do it
Think of it this way, why waste $2500 and the time to a region you're not even interested enough to learn their language?????
Heed others' advice and find a job in NYC instead friend!
How do RE people in Asia network? (Originally Posted: 11/22/2013)
Any professional associations, industry conferences, bars/clubs?
Special interest in Hong Kong and Mainland China. :)
Yup, bars and clubs. Just walk up to dudes and yell over the music HEY ARE YOU IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?!
Clark Quay in Singapore is a big bar area, I'm sure plenty of professionals frequent it.
@"brandon st. randy" You're a well-traveled monkey, anything to add?
Thank you dear!
Same as everywhere else, although you might have to put in a bit more legwork. ULI, RICS, ANREV, APREA, conferences, LinkedIn, etc. Not rocket science.
Thank you will do :)
I know this post might be a bit dated, but I went to school in Hong Kong in 2009. While there, I used AsianInvestor and FinanceAsia conferences for networking-- I was often the only undergrad student there among a couple hundred private fund managers specializing in all types of alternatives, including RE. This was the most effective of any Strategic Networking I did over there. Much higher-yielding than the shotgun approach at bars, lounges, etc.
However, that can also be effective too. If you can get access to the American Club in HK, then that's a great place to meet people. Also, Wednesday night horse races at Happy Valley is better, IMO, then trying to talk to people at bars. Good luck!
Thank you panda... will try if my budget allows...
Hi Panda,
How do you network with these people in those events? Don't they feel weird seeing a college kid here? Do you have any strategies or tips? Also, how do you know whether those people in jockey club are re/ib people?
Thanks.
ask li ka shing for referrals
Hey,
I organize networking drinks every month or two with some of my RE friends, mostly developers/funds and IB (RE arms) and I can ping an invite to you next time? we're due one in the following week actually. HK based, commercial mostly but there's a few who dabble in resi if you're interested.
Now can someone give me more bananas so i can actually send PMs?!
Hi barry_chimp,
Pinged you a note. Would be interested to attend one of your events!
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