What does it really mean to network?

I understand the gist of it, coldcalling, cold emailing, doing info interviews, and talking to everyone at info sessions. But let's say you have your contacts at your BBs, MMs or whatever and have met them in some other school events, etc in the Fall. Now you don't recruit/are done school till this coming Fall. What do you do in the mean time?

To network, does it mean reaching out to NEW people? Or keep continuous contact with the people you know? If its the latter, what do you do with them since you already know their background and have asked them your questions, etc? You obviously don't call them up and say, hey let's go down and grab a beer and shoot the shit, do you... because you don't know them well enough to be friends regardless. Even if you're trying to befriend them, they know you're just trying to get a job in the end and you're not sincere.

So what does it really mean to network? Network to reach out to NEW people (as many people as you can) because in the end it'll workout for you because of a numbers game? Or just keeping in touch with your contacts?

Just need some info to clarify this shit out of my head. thanks

 

I would say that it is definitely some of both. You can't just forget about the people you have already met, and at the same time you need to reach out to new people- never know how much the "next" person can help you out.

The thing that I've done in the past is say you meet them in the Fall at a recruiting event (this is for SA). Email them after "nice meeting you, etc". Couple weeks later (as you are submitting applications) email/call them again being like is there anything else I can be doing to help myself in this process- anyone else to reach out to, specifically. After you (hopefully) get an email about an interview, email them again saying thanks for any help in getting the interview, would like to talk with you again on specifics/any advice you have for me in regards to the interview. Most people have some advice to give you, so be appreciative and listen to what they say. Repeat if you get a superday. Some will say to stop by their desk if they have time.

The key with networking is staying in touch with people so that they don't forget who you are while not being annoying. They also are taking valuable time out of their day to talk to you and give you advice so just understand that and be very appreciative, like I said.

Hope that helps.

 

I love using references to meeting women.

You go to the bar and bring home a bunch of girls, most of them suck few are memorable.. the Memorable ones are you never going to call them again? I'd like to think you'd call them again smash again. But still your going to be going out and meeting new girls... Get the point... a little bit of both wont hurt you.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

Keep reaching out and go over the people you have met and try to find a reason to meet up again or talk on the phone again. But don't just reach out for the sake of reaching out because that's just awkward.

Do what you want not what you can!
 

See bankerella's post on how to skip straight to final rounds. Best single example of networking I've ever heard of.

In general on campus things - fairs, presentations - are not ideal. Like you said, very awkward and superficial. Far better to reach out to some alums and work those angles. But you do also need to go to the presentations in case they're keeping attendance on those things.

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 

You take a "traffic cone" approach

1) get as many times as you can at the firm presentations 2) search all of them on LinkedIn (or whatever) and find those who share common things with you, be it hometown, major, clubs or high school 3) Contact those in #2, as they would most likely reply to you 4) If they don't, contact the rest.

You really only need one solid connection.

 

You are the 100th monkey to post a question about precisely this topic! Rod, tell him what he's won...

My serious thoughts: - As a freshman, you should feel no need to impress them. Just being there this early in the game shows interest and is impressive (to most; to others it might be creepy) - The session will usually begin 20-30 minutes of some senior guy spewing BS about the firm and how great it is, etc. What follows is the most important part. - In all cases, I would recommend skipping any deep conversations with the "recruiters." They will most likely be low level HR folk who push paper all day. Focus instead on the reps from the actual corpfin/S&T departments. - Start off with the cliche but solid questions: "what do you do" / "how did you get to where you are" / "what has your career path been" / "what do you like about your bank" / "how do you compare it to XX where you worked before" - It is imperative that you actually listen to what the banker is saying, not just nodding your head and smiling like an idiot. Remember key items that you can relate to in later conversation, like if he worked in a city your familiar with, a school that he went to (most likely your own), and other points of interest. - Ask him a question that is based on something he talked about; i.e. don't just ask a string of unrelated questions. This is known as a conversation. the goal is to keep him talking and get in a few words here and there. - I liked asking what they look for in an Analyst. Jot down notes after the conversation on the answer to that question and your cover letter will be as good as done. - Think about the Bobby Lee's character in harold and kumar (recently referenced here on WSO) and don't be him. Be natural. These people are not gods, just rich normal people. They like sports, traveling and having fun too. - Many kids try to work in their entire resume during an "informal chat" and I'd say try to chirp in here and there with some stuff you do on campus, but don't list them all. - Get his (or hers of course) business card and follow up THAT NIGHT with a nice little "Hi nice to meet you this evening, I enjoyed talking about bank with you and I agree that [SOMETHING RELEVANT THAT SHOWS YOU WERE LISTENING]" type e-mail - rinse and repeat. that is networking.

-- Support WSO.com and visit these links! Financial Modeling Training Guide to Finance Interviews
 

thanks a lot jack, your post answered several other questions I had that I didn't post. Also, most of the students in this event will be upperclassmen who will be looking for SA and FT positions, and I don't think freshman are even considered for any SA positions, so it's ok if I don't take a resume with me, right? I haven't really made a resume yet because I won't be applying to any of these positions until sophomore year

 

You're a freshman, so it's understandable that you have no resume. High school does not count. Just as an FYI, ny the time you're applying for a BB internship 2nd semester junior year you should have nothing from high school on your resume. If you founded some charity that you're still involved with or something, that would be an exception. Start building your resume now so that you will have been with several student organizations for a long period of time by your junior year and will have moved up to President-level positions.

 

So I went to the event by the BB and another one by BlackRock, and followed few of the steps jack suggested, and I now sorta know the workings of such events. What I still don't get is how candidates use these networking events to help them land interviews/offers. I mean, don't all candidates have to follow the standard procedure of submitting their resume to the firm and THEN get called for interviews?

In other words, what I'm asking is it possible for a particular candidate to use networking to get an interview which he/she would otherwise NOT get by simply submitting his/her resume to the firm?

 

Quag, i'm glad I helped. To answer your next question, here's a brief anecdote from my OCR days.

The bank was Deutsche Bank and the highest ranking guy there (leader of the presentation portion) said something interesting things. He was very candid and mentioned, "you may not think we remember you guys when this is all done, but we do. especially the ones who send us little nice-to-meet-you notes afterward."

He literally said that point-blank. So, as you can imagine, I targeted him once we broke into the networking portion, conversed with him and eventually sent him an e-mail later that evening. Sure enough, I had secured a first round interview later that week.

Now, I secured a total of zero first round invites to bulge bracket banks where I had no contact or connection, so I wasn't expecting from DB. In other words, I can say with high certainty that having a good conversation with the DB guy (and thanking him for the convo) allowed me to "get an interview which i would otherwise NOT get by simply submitting my resume to the firm."

I hope that inspires you somewhat, as it encouraged me greatly for the remainder of the OCR process.

-- Support WSO.com and visit these links! Financial Modeling Training Guide to Finance Interviews
 

yea, that anecdote was actually quite inspirational, but also a little worrying, because it highlights how completely random the recruiting process can be. It reminds me of college applications, when many smart, qualified kids get rejected from top ivies for the most random reasons and no matter how qualifed one is, one can never be guaranteed success in even getting an offer/interview.

So another question I have is that once I have a good conversation with some of the people from the firm, is it normal for me to ask them for their business card? What are the other forms of networking, besides information sessions? What about the upperclassmen I know who will be working as analysts in S&T/IBD? How do I leverage that relationship I have with them to get an interview/offer?

 

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