Hi everyone,

I apologize in advance for how lengthy this post might end up. WSO has been very helpful to me the past several years in pursuing my passion for a career in finance, specifically investment banking at the analyst level. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to quite secure that FT offer following graduation (just graduated) and I was hoping to get some candid advice here.

Long story short: Complete non-target, but very good credentials all-around - graduated Magna Cum Laude, had an internship at the completion of every college year, including an IB internship during a winter and a boutique IB internship this past summer. I was heavily involved in school, and my resume screams leadership and passion for finance/IB, and demonstrated success wherever I've gone.

Team is very short staffed right now. If I leave for another group/firm, this will obviously create some resentment, even if I did a great job. During the interview or for future job searches, will my new/potential employers call my old ones for references? I know that technically I can sue for a bad reference, but how would I know they have even given one?

I made it to the last round for a position that I was then told had gone to another candidate. The job has since reappeared on Doostang in the last week. Should I reapply? Would the firm contact me if I was their second choice and their first choice fell through? Or would they assume I had moved on (I would still gladly take the job)? Dinged about 2-3 weeks ago, job reappeared one week ago. Feedback for the ding was "nothing negative about your candidacy, just went with someone else".

I graduated in 2008 from a top 5 small liberal arts school with a BA in economics. I learned to speak Japanese fluently and spent several years over there in Tokyo after college working on my own projects on the computer.

I made some money as an entrepreneur through the computer but that has died off.

I'd like to do something, anything, in finance since that was my interest back in college before I got sidetracked with the computer business.

However, I graduated 5 years ago and have no experience whatsoever in the financial field. I can't go in as an entry level position and I can't go in as an experienced hire. Is there any hope for me to begin a career in finance?

What can I do?

Thank you for the replies.

Edit: I am currently in Philadelphia at my home.

Hey guys

I am fairly new to these boards, and although this isn't really directly involved in Wall Street, I thought I could still get solid advice here.

So I have two standing summer job offers.

Job A:
-Working at my Semi-Target University in a position that involves non-finance-related technical analysis.
-It pays roughly $100 more per week than Job B
-Better Location, Worklife Balance (Hours, Active workload per day, etc)

Job B:
-A small finance firm with less than 20 employees that focuses on investment consultation for pension and retirement funds.
-Ability to work with the 2 partners.
-Roughly $100 less per week than Job A
-A more remote location, and slightly heavier workload in terms of hours and active work per day.

I appreciate any and all advice...

Hi,

Next year I am going to start writing my Master thesis, I don't know what to write about as of yet but I'm thinking about it, I'm studying economics (Master level)

Since I do not have any experience in banking I was hoping to contact a bank to conduct some research on behalf of them / compile my master thesis on what they want in order to get me closer to getting a position in a bank

Do you think this is a good viable option or you think I should keep my research independent

If you think this is a good option I will start contacting firms this summer.

Brief background: I am a rising junior at an ivy and recently decided to major in Financial Economics. I haven't taken very many finance-related courses yet because of my late declaration of the major, and so I am wondering what classes I should take this Fall '13 and Spring '14 semester in order to make myself most competitive.

By the end of the Spring '14 term I'm planning to have completed Intro to Econometrics, Financial Economics, Financial Accounting, Statistics w/Calculus, and one or two other upper level Econ electives (in addition to Micro and Macro).

Although I'm sure people have discussed this previously, I was curious to hear what recent opinions/thoughts there are on the WSO job board. Has anyone received interviews and/or job offers through here? It's not an expensive service, I'm just curious if people have seen success with it.

Distressed debt firm looking for an Analyst to join the acquisitions group. Based in Denver. No relocation assistance, but will fly out for final round interviews.

50% time will be spent supporting underwriting, 50% analyzing potential deals. Mostly dealing with non-performing debt/loan portfolios that are composed of nationwide CRE.

Some one-off operating company deals as well; DIP financing, bridge loans, C&I debt, etc.

Just PM your resume and I will get back to you if it could work. I am not a recruiter, just a long-time WSOer looking to expand our candidate pool

Requirements:
3.5 GPA
Degreed; I do not care where you went to school
Interest in RE, bankruptcy, corporate private equity
Expert level in Excel

Received an offer to consult/work for a micro-fund ($5 mil) for 48k a year, but the pm has expensed it as part of the "bonus".

the wording says 20%, but the trading profits paid to Y, is 20%. so effectively that is about 4%. (20% of 20%)

Employee will be eligible to share in trading profits paid to Y by X. Employee shall receive a $4000.00 monthly draw which will accumulate as an
expense against the year end “Special Bonus.” The payment is not a loan. Employee will be
entitled up to twenty (20) percent of total bonus compensation paid to Y
by X. Employee shall receive a monthly trading statement from Employer. Payment shall be calculated based on total profitability at December 1, 2013, and each December

Does anyone have any insights on this firm? Any info would be appreciated

How many online job applications before getting your first job/internship?

and if you got your position via networking,

How many cold emails?

Thank you

What is the difference between a ms finance degree and a MBA degree?

I found most of the jobs are looking for someone with an MBA degree.

Will a person with a MS finance degree from Cambridge University be able to find a finance related job in US easily?

Interesting hypothetical that me and a few buddies talked about this weekend. It is the following: if you could have your dream pedigree (school/job) OR your dream girl, which one would you pick? Assume for the sake of the hypo that you would be "average" in the other area. My friends and I were about evenly split on this one. Curious to see what the WSO monkeys think about this.

I found an interesting job position for an intern at a BB through my university's job portal. It is for a BB I went for a networking event a few years ago, but I have never spoken to employees there ever since. I do remember one MD's name and I was wondering whether I should first approach him via email to ask for advice etc. whatever before applying. In this case, how should I formulate my email?

-

Morning Monkeys,

I have a slight dilemma I want advice on.

Some of you may know that I current work in corp finance for a large universal bank. I have received a job offer at a boutique firm that focuses on the advisory side of business. I am slightly torn about whether to take the offer or not.

Pros:
1) Much more money
2) Good dealflow for a small team - the partners are real rainmakers
3) Small team means broader workload.

Cons:
1) Small team - if I can't stand the guy next to me then tough sh*t I can't do anything about that, plus most of the guys will be senior to me so if we don't get along then it is more down to me than him
2) My current team also has outstanding dealflow with more variety

Greetings to all WSO members,

This is my first WSO post regarding a job posting for a Junior Analyst position at Cambridge Associates.

I'm a graduate with a bachelor's in business and my current goal right now is to get that entry level job.

I don't have the best GPA and I haven't done much accomplishments during my university life and these two are my biggest insecurities.

The job posting coincided with what I'm really looking for and would not get into this if it was very intimidating and demanding of the requirements.

Because of this, I felt that my only clear shot is winging in an excellent and professional resume keeping it clear and concise and straight to the point and focusing my strengths with a cover letter.

What are my chances?

Going to a BO job for a big insurance company,

Anybody has some good insight as to what to expect???

First interview ever.

Still no full time offer and I will be graduating at the end of this semester. Had a summer analyst gig in rates trading at a mid sized bank but no return offer. Currently interning part time at the moment at a reputable BB to build my resume. I've been extensively cold-emailing and setting up informational interviews over the phone. I will start cold calling aggressively to boost my chances. Any advice would be appreciated.

I am sure this is almost impossible, but I am still looking for an opportunity in investment banking upon my graduation.

I interned in back office at BB, and had an offer. Prior to this, I also had an internship in performance monitoring side of PE. To be honest, I actually accepted the offer already, but I can't stop thinking about going into investment banking. Since moving from back to front is almost impossible once I start my full-time, I am seeking for an opportunity before I graduate.

I know this is unethical to do this with offer accepted, it's hard to give up investment banking. Can you guys provide me advice on this?

i've been looking at some of the resumes on the m&i website and mine just seem so dinky compared to all of them. i do go to a first tier school, have a decent gpa, have leadership activities, etc., but perhaps its the kind of internships and job experiences that make the difference? i've had one pwm internship between my soph and junior year and as most pwm internships are - a bs internship, got the good firm name down on my resume and i did learn a bit of new things now and then but i was never working on big projects or anything.

i am a junior right now, and i am trying out for summer positions and major firms - it's recruiting season right now for internships.

My friend (MBA in an Ivy school) recently got summer intern offer in Google and McKinsey. She's happy with either choice and want me to post a thread here asking WSO people which offer will you take and which ones look better on your resume with your Ivy MBA?

Quick comparisons of the two summer interns:
1) Google: be in the HQ in Moutain View; pay $12,000 per month (still negotiable since Google really likes my friend and wants her to join the team!!!).
2) McKinsey: in NYC; pay $$10,500 per month (non-negotiable).

I am curious does it matter what undergrad i went to if I get into a prestigious target school?

I am from canada, and I go to a non target school 3.8 gpa and was wondering if i get into lets say University of Toronto's MFE or Queens Mfin will it really matter what i did in my undergrad?

As you can tell, I am still a Chimp and excited to be in this pleasant and peaceful area in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation also known as Oasis.

So I am reading Liar's Poker for the second time now. The first time I read it, it was a required reading for an Organizational Behavior course in my 2nd year of college. I dreaded reading books back then, but after moving out in my last year of college and lot of free time on my hands; it seems reading is fun!!

Anyway, there are some interesting quotes from the book that I would like to share with you guys:

1. "Analysts didn't analyze anything. They were slaves." (Any thoughts...true or not?)

Here is the job description:

"Description

Overview:

The CVA trading desk is part of the Counterparty portfolio management (CPM) LOB focused on managing counterparty credit risk in the Bank’s derivatives portfolio. Traders are engaged in a broad range of functions including pricing, hedging, analyzing risk, structuring innovative trades and reviewing credit structures across various derivative products including rates, fx, commodities, credit, etc.

Description:

The candidate MUST be able to thrive in a fast-paced and intense environment. He or she will work alongside senior members of the CVA desk on a wide range of tasks, including but not limited to:

Price and analyze credit and capital requirements

Is this even possible? When I look at the websites of firms they all say Associates with at least 2 years work experience.

Is there any way in hell I could network into a small-mid sized PE shop in a regional city straight out of undergraduate? I have a 4.0 and decent internship experience but no full-time obviously.

Is there such a thing as an analyst at a PE shop?

Thanks.

When an employer responds to your follow up email with a, "best of luck in your interview process", does that basically mean you were rejected?