I'm a junior in high school who is considering business/finance as a career.

I probably will attend UIUC or IU because of Illinois's CS ranking or the Kelley business ranking.

Thank you all for the ability to take your advice.

For those in the know, and it might not be good to be in the know, there's something called the hedonic treadmill, and we're all pretty much chained to it.. and now you're in the know, regardless.

Hi. First time poster. I'm a junior at a strong target but my morale is pretty low going into recruiting. For example, despite having strong grades + past experience + good resume (I think it's good), I did not get invited to a few private networking sessions that were held on campus. Seems like everyone who got invited knows someone and already has strong connections. I also did not get accepted to a few events in NYC (e.g. UBS Voyager).

I understand that these may not matter as much because they are not the actual SA application. However, as those of you who have gone through the process know, every rejection hurts and decreases my expectations.

This is my second year in college but I got admitted as a sophomore so on the system it says I'm a junior. However, I plan on taking a total of 4 years here meaning ill be a supersenior my 4th year. For internship recruiting, should I say I'm a sophomore or a junior?

I'm a rising junior at a non-target, big ten school, majoring in finance. I have the credits to graduate this May. Will graduating a year early be an advantage or disadvantage?

I studied abroad this past semester in Australia, which made it impossible for me to get an internship since we ended in late June, so I would have no work experience.

I am also considering one year MSF programs at UIUC, Indiana, Purdue, Vanderbilt. Thoughts?

Recruiting hasn't really worked out and I contacted my sophomore summer firm, a boutique PE fund, and they said they can create a position for me if I need something for the summer. I had a fair bit of responsibility at the firm but it wasn't very legit. How does this look on a resume? Do people generally look down on this kind of thing for full time recruiting? I'm not deadset on IBD but I want to have a decent FO job when I graduate and go from there. I'm hitting the phones hard but I have to consider this possibility as well. Has anyone gone back to their sophomore job and gotten a solid FT offer afterwards?

.

I got admission to the MSc in International Finance at HEC Paris for this September.

I was wondering how much value this will add to my profile. Here is my current experience:

*springweek at BB; 2009 (London)
*summer analyst at BB - trading; 2010 (London)
*prop trader - equity derivs; 2011 (10 months) (Amsterdam) - reputable shop - actual trading unlike most analysts at a BB

My bachelors was from a top 4 UK uniersity (2010 graduate) but in the life sciences - semi-quantitative.

I'm looking at continuing in trading - preference is for prop or hedge funds at a junior level, but definitely open to sellside too. Most grad recruiting was done by Oct 2011 and from conversations I've had most recruiters/headhunters say I have too much experience to warrant interning again.

Hello All,

Quick Background:

I worked at Merrill Lynch PWM for 6 months during the summer after my freshman year, continued while in school in a different city.

Immediately after (currently) interning as an analyst at a boutique private equity firm.

I have been networking a ton but go to a non-target however with a 3.45 GPA.

My question to you all is this: Should I do a prestigious summer abroad program, noting that if I receive an A in both courses my GPA will be a 3.502. Or should I take an offer for a boutique IB SA internship in restructuring (sophomore summer).

Basically, which will set me up the best for MM and BB IB for Junior summer recruiting.

Hey guys,

I would appreciate some feedback on my resume. Trying to get it ready for applications in a little. I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

http://www.razume.com/documents/22873

I have the chance to potentially interview at a MM in nyc (think HW/BMO) or an elite boutique in Australlia.

This would be for junior SA. I go to a semitarget so the elite boutique doesn't normally post (family contact hooked it up). My goal is to end up at a BB in nyc.

If you had the choice of either one, assuming you got both, which would you take? The boutique has a lot less deal flow so I'd get more exposure with the MM, but its brand would probably take me farther for FT recruiting.

I would appreciate any and all critiques/advice on my resume!

I am currently a Junior at a large state school semi-target and interned with a BB this past summer for their Sales team. My goal is to land a Summer Analyst position in IBD.

What do you think my shots are with a relatively low GPA. Does my work and leadership experience make up for the GPA (since its not too abysmal - though is from a non-target)? I will be networking extensively through alumni and strong family connections.

Questions:

* Should I add more to my BB experience? If so, any sugguestions? It was a sophomore internship so as you could imagine I didn't have an experience where I could really quantify my experience with #s in my resume.

Just got a FT offer from BB (think GS, CS, DB) in NY.

I am from a non-target so needless to say recruiting for SA positions was quite difficult. I ended up not even getting a first round interview from anywhere I applied, which I assume was because of my poor gpa and non-target school. Anyway, I didn't want to give up. I started looking for some janitorial apprenticeships at some of the BB's in New York. I set up a few informational interviews with a few MJ's (Managing Janitor) on the street but it didn't seem like anything was going anywhere.

I am a rising senior at a target school with a decent gpa (3.6~). I had a few final round interviews with some BBs and boutiques, but never received a SA offer. Didn't have any luck cold-calling and found a gig in the Energy department of a large manufacturing company. Definitely a lot of aspects apply towards finance, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a finance-based internship.

How does this position me for FT recruiting senior year? Obviously, it would have been ideal to lock down a finance internship junior summer, but what can I do to improve my chances of getting IBD in the future?

Hi guys,

I am a non-target junior with an internship lined up for this summer doing private banking at a BB.

However, I am interested in landing a sales & trading internship next year. Any suggestions on how I could tailor my resume better?

I really appreciate all of your feedback.

http://www.razume.com/documents/19506

Hi,

hi. was wondering if someone could look over my resume for me.

A couple points. i'm going to be using this resume this fall because i'm going to study abroad so for accelerated resume drops.

A. There's a couple of stuff i've just projected because i still have a couple months left. obviously, if they change, i will change it on my resume

1. my target school gpa, this is my first semester, but i have a good chance at a 4.0

2. my immersion program gpa

B. Areas I'd like some advice on.

1. I know managerial accounting case studies team leader is major bullshit, but i needed something to show i didn't just goof around my freshman year summer. Should I take this off?

Anyone know any s&t recruiters...Particularly ones that will help junior guys with 1-2 years experience. Thanks

hey guys,

junior here didnt get the BB that i wanted so I'm thinking of doing habitat for humanity. its something im passionate about. Will it put me at a big disadvantage come FT recruiting? I really don't wanna spend a 100 hrs working at an unknown boutique

Hi guys, I am looking for info regarding a USD short term interest rate desk. What are some responsibilities of a junior guy and the typical work environment? Any good reads to gain some more insight on the desk and products that are trades

Its been about a week since I got my BB IBD offer and I have been reflecting on it and trying to process it all. It was definitely an uphill battle coming from a non-target and I've been trying to pinpoint the single most important thing I did on my journey to get the offer.

I really think the best decision I made was working with a no-name PWM firm for free.

Obviously, if you are a rockstar and get some sort of banking internship your sophomore year disregard, but I think when it comes to working for Smith Barney, UBS, (insert big name PWM firm) vs working with even a single independent financial advisor, the no name wins hands down.

So I go to a semi-target, with little previous experience (part time intern in a pe). Applied through career service for some banking and asset management positions, had a few interview, and did not get second round. What should I do next? I have applied to all the banks that I could found on their websites, but it seems that most of the banks recruit from their target schools' OCR...

Any advice will be appreciated!!

I know banks have their set analyst class for s&t and then there's also sales assistants who seem to do similar work but not always part of the "program" can someone whose seen both shed some light on the differences at the early levelsand then the progression through the ranks. Can assistants move up the same way one would expect the college recruitment "analyst classes" would?

Hi guys,
I've found your resume critiques to be extremely insightful and constructive, so I'd like to ask you guys to tear my resume apart before recruiting begins.

I go to a target school and I'll be applying for Investment Banking Summer Analyst Positions.

I blacked out the companies that I worked at, but I'll just give a quick description for clarity, from top to bottom:
1. Boutique Investment Bank
2. Law Firm (they had an audit department which was where I worked)
3. Publicly Traded Insurance Company

If you'd like additional information, I'll be sure to include it.

http://www.razume.com/documents/18347

Thanks in advance!

I am a junior looking for a consulting internship this summer, and I'm in kind of a tough situation. I would like to get an internship with a major consulting firm, but I know they are incredibly selective for internships. I think I can get interviews, but I haven't mastered my case interview skills yet. Well, I interviewed with Boeing for their finance department and got an internship offer for the summer already, but my decision deadline is in a week or so. I am planning on getting an extension, but I'm doubting I can get it long enough to allow me to interview with other consulting firms (in February).

Has anyone ever heard of the Morgan Stanley Virtual Campus Day? I was recently invited out for the event in early December and wondered if anyone had ever gone through it or know how it is structured.

I'm a college junior applying for a summer internship, most/all for finance positions. Questions about the resume:

Thoughts on including SAT score? (700 verbal / 800 math) On one hand, math is good and apparently banks like it or ask for it. On the other, I'm a junior in college, thinking it may come off as scrambling for something impressive or filler. Don't know.

Cover letter... include one if not asked for?

And last, relevant coursework. Mine would be:
Intro to Econ, Macro, Micro, Accounting, Finance, Prob/Stats, Regression, MIS(relevant?). Currently planning on including this, although the list is mostly intro/basic level courses. Thoughts?

Hi all,

A little background about myself:
I'm a rising junior looking at summer recruiting primarily in a Sales or Research position (ideally trading, but I don't think I'm really eligible for that yet)

I did a tax internship at a big 4 firm last summer thinking I might actually want to go that route, but as soon as I got in I realised I was so wrong. So got my act together and got an almost full time internship at a credit fund over the past semester.

Here's my resume.
http://www.razume.com/documents/17389

Don't want to get rejected at the first round of my summers.
So tear it apart please. Thanks!