Hello WSO,
been lurking for a while, love this site and the witty commenters.
Have a question, but first heres background.
Graduating this week, no job offer. Dece GPA, non-banking experience but have better internships than waiting tables or working at car washes (though I did that for a little summer liquidity).

I'd like to end up (of course) in IB... to be honest at a boutique actually. I think it suits my personality and independence.
But I am a very realistic person. I know I'm not getting an IBD offer out of school, especially this late in the game. Got a call recently for a JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking Analyst interview. I took it because who can be picky in my situation?
But now I'm second-guessing everything after reading around, talking to people, going on WSO.

So I was just extended my first job offer since graduating.

It's a long term temp position in the FX Operations department. I'll be working in the account management area.

Nothing to glamorous, but I am indeed happy to be employed and at least its in finance.

I have other things still in the works for some other ideal job opportunities that I will still pursue. Ideally I would like to end up in equity research or IB.

With that in mind, how can I go about using this position in operations as a stepping stone to reach my ultimate goals.

If I have been in contact with somebody in IB there, can I inform them and offer to stay late and help? Ask if I can shadow when I'm done with my hours?

I (we) are trying to acquire a greater percentage stake in a formerly public company. We currently have a significant control position, but would like to sell the company and require over 90% equity stake to not have to deal with sign-offs from the many disparate shareholders. There are no significant (i.e. greater than .2%) shareholders remaining EXCEPT for "Cede & Co. Depository Trust", which holds around 10%. As far as I can tell, "Cede & Co. Depository Trust" simply represents shares held in street name. My question then is how to track down where these shares are held to potentially acquire the shares we need to get over the 90% equity threshold.

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and recently took interest in the investment banking industry. However, I attend UCSB and our resources are limited but apparently successful in connecting students with alumni within the industry.

I am a first year student and I like to think I have a solid resume; I helped start a construction business with my father, marketing internship with my schools athletics department (6 months ~ 4 hours a week), and managed to land an internship with PwC for this summer. However, last quarter was a pain in the a** and my GPA dropped to a 3.02, which is obviously low for investment banking.

What do you guys suggest and think about my first year accomplishments? Are they common? Off to a good start? Need to step it up (obviously for the GPA section)?

Hi there,

I've been working as an independent consultant for the last year. In this time, I've had a number of clients that are geographically varied. My question is: on my resume, shall I list these clients? There are about 4, and one or two are names worth mentioning - one being a startup that's been in the news recently, and the other being a a large international organization akin to the UN. How does one put this on a resume? Bearing in mind that space is limited.

Thanks!

I am a young corporate banker from pakistan, who wants to establish himself in good UK/US/European financial institution peferably in I banking or Treasury jobs. I have done a MBA with 3.9+ CGPA, got 3.5 years in front end jobs of commercial as well as corporate banking.
This year i am quite hopeful for Chevening award and want to pursue a good masters in finance from UK. But money comes a major barrier. As i applied to Tier I institutions but their fee is very high comparing with Scholarship money i will get.
So, i have decided to lower my academic appetite to Finance masters from Bradford, Strathclyde, Stirling, etc which are offering 1 yr program with academic fee up to GBP 15 K enabling me to stay in budget.

Yo! New to WSO, be gentle lol...I'm seeking advice on how to get started in the finance world. I've got big dreams just like the majority on this forum. Went to a NY state school and recieved a BA in business admin w/ finance spec. J*erked off for the better part of 3 yrs (focused on football and partying) before coming to the realization that hard work pays off. Neglected getting internships and my contacts are mostly military or d-bags. Last year I was presented with a good opportunity to break in at a trading firm on Wall Street West working back office. Not ideal but a foot in I suppose. Couldn't accept because of a deployment which I had volunteered to go on prior to interviewing. I've been researching and expending different avenues for a start but have come up short.

Need some good advice here.

I have a telephone interview lined up for a boutique and to mitigate the risk of screwing up, I saw a few past intern employees at the firm on LinkedIn. Would it be appropriate to shoot a cold email to them asking about their experiences and interview process? If so, how would I approach them without coming off too stalkerish or awkward? Especially since I have no idea whether he might have friends/be in contact with the current employees, it is a small boutique after all.

Hi guys:

I'd like to see if anyone on this forum could give me advice and suggestions regarding my resume.

Cheers,

P!

Hey guys, first time posting. I've been out of college for the past 2 going onto 3 years. I was at a BB first in a client facing role and then moved into trading at a different company focusing on various sectors.

Now, I'm having a lot of thought about working at a consulting firm. Anyone know how I could apply to Deloitte consulting as an entry level consultant? I went on their website but it's mostly for undergraduates or experienced hires that's been in consulting.

No idea if this is even the right place but here I go

I have been following WSO since my freshmen year, and I believe it has contributed largely to my success. I was lucky enough to have found this site early on, and to have had mentors in IBD that guided me through the process.

A few weeks ago, I finished my recruiting process. I received 6 BB offers and signed an offer with a top industry group at a BB. I cannot express how excited I am, but more so how thankful I am. I thought the least I could do is try to give back with a list of what I have learned.

First, Your GPA matters - but not that much.

I'm kind of new here but I've been lurking for a while. People give advice all the time here. What's the best you've ever been given or heard?

I am in a situation and I'm hoping to get some advice.

I'm at a BB/top indpt. firm. I received news last week that I'm not likely going to get promoted. I've been told my performance was good (technicals, attitude, detail, work ethic, writing) but my soft skills and fit, to bridge the promotion gap, needs work. I'm aware WSO will say I've been fed some BS, and I probably have been. But I also received a good figure (near top bucket) last year.

They said they'll help support me where they can (give recommendations, put in a word for me if they know of places hiring, allow flexibility to interview).

Hi All,

This is for a close relative of mine who is currently a mid-level diplomat (approx. 15 years of experience in numerous locations), currently in his home country as a manager for a geographic region (managing a small team of <10). The pay is relatively good and it's a safe job but he is getting increasingly frustrated because of a lack of career progression, mostly for political reasons. I think he's recognized as a good performer but he clearly lacks support at higher levels of the hierarchy and that really hurts his career progression (and there is not much he can do about it sadly). He's working on improving that but realistically there isn't much he can change about it now, and he's a bit in a dead-end (was recently denied a long due promotion).

Hey guys

What are your opinions on the right way to make that small section on the bottom of the resume sound a bit more interesting(for corp finance is it is different than in other areas)? Or if you guys can share a sample from your resume that would be great!

For instance, I like restoring pre-smog era cars and instead of "Restoring Cars" is there something I can do to make that sounds a bit better? How about "Post-War Era Car Restoration" or how about "Car Restoration (51' Chevy Coupe and 54' Belair)."

Hi All,
I am a senior and come from a LAC on the west coast. A good school but not non-target (think claremont, reed, pomona,etc). I was pre-med but have always loved finance and I changed last minutes to work in the finance world. Honestly I would love to get into asset management but need some guidance on where to start. I have a 3.2 gpa and am an economics major. I've had some pretty darn good research experience working for large hospitals but not sure how much that will translate in finance world. I've also been president of my schools investment club and am treasurer of the student government. Also a V-Athlete with good performance.

So I don't think I have much hope at any SA positions at a BB or MM firm. I go to a target, am a junior, will hopefully graduate with a 3.5 GPA. I'm working hard to pull up my GPA. I don't have any prior Finance experience. I pretty much did all my previous summers working for Think Tanks and stuff, which is why I think I have no shot.

So after applying and cold emailing like crazy, I got an Internship at a Boutique (like 15-20 employees) for Equity Research (unpaid). It's a spring part time internship.

I'm currently putting in a lot of effort to get a Venture Capital Internship for the summer. I might get it. Know some people there.

Would the VC internship be a plus on my Resume or should I try to find an internship with another Boutique?

Hi guys,

just need some advice... I am/was part of a rotation programme at a financial services firm. I was advised that I would transfer over to a front office position (think research) after some time in my current role. Unfortunately, things have been quite rough and the transferral had been cancelled. I am now stuck in a quasi relationship management role/operations role, whereby I don't have discernible or marketable skills. I have kept in touch with the front office team which I wanted to transfer too and occassionally still work with them..

its been close to a year now and I have no word of a possible transfer or if that particular team is getting head count (It seems they aren't). I am quite worried and am unable to know what do next.

I am to the point that I am going to need to declare my minor soon, and, instead of doing the usual finance, acct, econ minors, I was wondering what some of you thought about psych or polsci minor?

These two subjects interest me, but not to the point that I would want a career in either ... I can't see myself asking some depressed person "And, how does that make you feel?" lol or some bs. Or making it up to Congress. So, a minor makes the most sense.

My goals are to get into Man. Consulting. If I could choose the firm/division, it would be Deloitte s&o.

I have an offer from Goldman Sachs Tech (back office), and an interview with Credit Suisse IBD (front office). Goldman wants an answer soon. How can I nicely and professionally ask Goldman HR to wait for me to hear back from Credit Suisse? Credit Suisse said they'd have an answer to me by the end of the month, but I haven't been able to get in touch for the last week because of the winter holidays.

Hello, I'm a senior who goes to a non-target school, and I had one semester left before graduation. I somehow was able to land a IBM Financial Analyst Co-op offer and took it. I accepted the offer, and yesterday i received the offer letter stating my start and end date. Which is from 1/7/13 to 6/31/13. So my question is, is it possible to end the co-op a-little earlier, like a month early. I would really like to do a internship at a BB ( Credit Suisse- back off, operations) over the summer as well. I heard that orientation for CS will be on 5/31/13. This means i'll push back my graduation to 12/13. I heard it's kind of bad to quit earlier than the given end date, is it true? and do you think it's worth the risk?

Full-time offer from Goldman Sachs Tech Div in NYC, and interview with Credit Suisse IBD in Singapore. Both sound very exciting, but I am leaning towards CS. What do the monkeys on this site think? I am particularly interested to hear from people that have moved between divisions or between banks.

Considerations:
- Grew up and lived in NYC — it is the financial capital of the world
- Visited Singapore — it is growing fast, a new experience, and exciting
- IBD is definitely more challenging and exciting than Tech
- My background is tech-focused, but I am interested in finance
- I know basic Chinese, which would be helpful in Singapore

Thoughts?

Hi all,

I'm in a somewhat unusual predicament. I'm a student in my final year at the University of California Santa Barbara and my major is Computer Science. In CS we have an optional senior project which involves companies presenting projects they need completed, either as a proof of concept or production-grade system. Each year big name tech companies (Microsoft and the like) come in and present their projects. Groups of 4-5 students each choose which project they like the most and work for 5-6 months to complete it.

Pursuing a career in finance has not been an easy path! As an arrogant and ignorant undergrad at a non-target, I figured that finance success would come easy. I live in Fairfield County and I am applying to any and every opportunity to get my foot into the AM door. Am I just bitching too much and everyone here has gone through this starting their career?

Slight background

-MsF from maybe teir 5 school w/ 3.9 gpa
-Finance and Econ Undergard w/ honors from non-target
-2 years work as a sales assistant for retail financial advisor (Ser. 7 & 66)

I'm an undergad, and upon graduating, I'll be fortunate enough to be joining the credit investing arm of a private equity firm that is probably in the top 5 internationally.

I'm also fortunate enough to have had a lot of investing experience early so that is not my major concern (although I would appreciate any advice in terms of getting prepared technically).

Given your experience what kind of big picture advice would you have for me, and is there anythign we wish you had done before graduating or starting work.