One of the thoughts that was always going through my head while in school was “What can I do more to be successful in the long-term than just go to class?” There are a lot of different ways to develop your career while still in school, and looking back here are six that I feel really helped me.
1. Join and get involved in the investment/business club
Getting involved as a freshman/sophomore will help put you near the top of your graduating class, and is one of the best ways to get exposure to your chosen career and build your resume (especially by getting involved). There will be older students and alumni of the club that you can learn from, who will also help build your network. When the opportunity presents itself, run for leadership positions in the club. It will add to your resume, and also help build some of the skills that will help you land your first internship/job. I joined my school’s investment club and immediately met a ton of new people on campus that were interested in the same things as me - investing.
2. Befriend older students
One thing I did not realize until my senior year is that I benefitted from talking to the older students in the investment club at my school. After my first year in the group, I was the President for the next two years and I think it was because I got to know some of the older students during those first two semesters. This put me in a great position when it came time to go through the election process. Our elections consisted of the candidate giving a quick 2 minute pitch in front of 40 to 50 students, and then being rapid fired questions related to the market, their career goals, or what impact they think they can make on the group. Since I already knew everyone, I was comfortable and confident in front of the group. Older students will usually be pretty knowledgeable about internships and general advice that pertains specifically to your school. Unless you go to a top school, you probably will not be able to find that stuff online, and talking to older students who have been exactly where you are is a great way to get it.
This past year when we had our elections a few weeks before I graduated, I noticed a lot of the students who were getting elected into the leadership positions in the group were ones that had put forth an effort to meet some of the current leaders. The guy who was elected president when I graduated started coming as a freshman, and had been in a leadership position since his sophomore year. He has asked me some questions over the past few years, and taken advantage of internship opportunities that like to fill spots with people in our investment club. A few weeks ago he actually just started a corporate finance internship at the same place I interned at for 18 months.
3. Get as many informational interviews as you can
These are mentioned elsewhere on WSO as great ways to learn more about different professions, expand your network, etc. and I agree. Fill your schedule with informational lunches/coffee as opposed to sitting around playing Call of Duty and you will be way ahead of your peers. Utilize Linkedin, speakers on campus, professors, and cold emails to get as many informational interviews as you can. Even if you meet with someone in a field you are completely un-interested in, they may teach you a new perspective or end up being a great connection to have somewhere down the road.
4. Attend events on campus with speakers you are interested in, and ask a question and talk to the speakers afterwards
This gets you face-time with professionals, comfortable talking with someone in your desired profession, and it also works better for setting up informational interviews than cold emailing or LinkedIn. Following a 2-3 minute discussion after the panel/presentation, a good way to get their contact information is to simply mention you are really interested in learning more about their career path and would love to meet with them sometime for coffee/lunch to ask them some more questions. Most people, especially if they are coming to an event to speak on campus, are willing to meet with students and help them become successful. Just make sure you do not do what these students did.
5. Get to know your professors
One thing I have learned, specifically at my school, was that a lot of employers valued the inputs of faculty. Going to office hours a few times a semester, talking after class about some of the new concepts you learned, or even just saying hi when you pass them in the hall is a great way to “build your brand” with the faculty. Even if you are not getting a 4.0 and Acing their class, most professors love it when students talk to them and are always happy to help students in whatever way possible. My two favorite professors at my school, I got a B+ in one of their classes, and did not even have the other one for a class. Just talking to them outside of class and the semesters after you have them (or before) is a great way to learn more and make connections. My school had smaller class sizes (25-40), and it may be a little more difficult to get face time with faculty at the larger schools with 100+ person lectures. If this is the case, meeting alumni and older students is even more important.
6. Get an internship as early as you can
This is crucial to getting experience to help you stand out. If there are fifty kids going into their senior year applying for the same summer internship, the ones that already did one the summer before or during the school year will stand out when it comes time for recruiters to decide who they want to bring in for interviews. Even if it is something completely unrelated to what you eventually want to do, all internships will give you experience with: interviewing, professional communication, meeting deadlines, and help learn the differences between college and the professional world. My first job was in a factory and I always try to leverage that experience in interviews (waking up at 6am, 10 hour days, 6 days a week, on your feet all day, etc.).
I did 7 different internships before I graduated, and am willing to go into more detail them. If there is enough interest, I could do a write-up with some more of my thoughts and strategies for internships in general.
What do you guys think are the best ways for undergraduates to jump-start their careers?
Mod Note (Andy): This was originally posted May 2014
Great post man. Perhaps I'm mistaken in this but I'd encourage undergrads to do a couple more things that have helped me personally and professionally:
Make an effort to meet people from different countries: Business and our lives are getting more and more global. Aside from actually traveling to other countries, the best way to learn about them is to speak to people who have had firsthand experiences there. This is a great way to get multiple, cultural and personal perspectives on life, business and other aspects of our existence.
Get out of your comfort zone: This can come in multiple forms. For example, after you've taken the requisite classes, try taking a class in something you know nothing about. Try picking up an instrument, sport or activity that you've never done before. All these experiences will help you in the long run. When you look back on your undergrad experience and life in general, you don't want to have any regrets. Plus, having a plethora of diverse experiences will only help you seem more interesting, well-rounded and it will help you start conversations with others.
Just my 2 cents.
Take more diverse courses. Non-quant jobs in finance really are not all that technical and you will rarely use anything past principles of corporate finance. Why not take a design course and bring it up in ib interviews, saying you thought it would help in making pitchbooks. Or a comms/english class on professional/technical writing. This would show you understand what IB is really like, and specifically that it is NOT like doing problem sets from upper level finance courses all day.
I see you’ve had some monkey shit... I can’t speak for IB, but prior to starting in sell side research I asked my future boss which books I should read to get up to speed before I start, and his answers were advertising/marketing related.
Some excellent points I wish I had known going into university.
The main thing is to keep an open mind - whether it comes to meeting new people, taking new classes or taking up new hobbies. This is the time to try new things and figure out what makes you tick.
The only thing I'd add, and this is from personal experience, is never let anyone or anything let you think you don't deserve that internship. I personally bombed first year and it killed my self esteem when I had friends interning in big firms. I never quite recovered from that all my university career. Focus on the positives and do not let mistakes hinder your progress. I've seen people with low GPAs beat out 'smarter' peers due to networking and having the confidence to ask for informational interviews.
If you have a good idea of what you want to do, go beyond just getting a good grade. Look into what you're learning and think of how it will help you grow - you'll start to actively lay the foundation for your future careers. Learning, in the grand scheme of things, is about growing as a person instead of just getting that 4.0.
Keep that in the back of your mind and always believe in the greatness you possess.
The different countries one is great advice. I had a friend from Nigeria that I talked to a few times a year, and he actually gave me a really interesting perspective on everything over there.
I took some graphic design classes in high school and sometimes bring those up. I also took a "Business Communication" class my senior year which I have brought up before too. Other than the fact that those both helped in interviews, I think they legitimately have helped me actually doing work as well.
Keeping an open mind is so crucial. I feel like you really limit yourself if you are not constantly learning. I learn so much from just hearing different people's opinions. Also from small things like watching how inefficient my girlfriend is at grocery shopping, or watching how people drive, respond to criticism, etc. You can pretty much learn something from every situation.
Another tip I propose is that when you apply for internships, go balls out. In the Netherlands it's not common even for top students to apply for more than 3 internships. If they get one then "great", if not then "yolo I had bad luck". WSO inspired me to send 45 applications in a week and a half on top of my studies, and now I have an internships at a BB doing IB (in Amsterdam, but still). Got interviews with ATK and a B4 too. I will be able to leverage these internships in the future to get even better internships. If you are serious about internships, then apply to at least 40 positions unless you have a god-tier resume.
Great tip. I'd second this. Also even if you have a god-tier resume, I'd send out 40+ applications. Competition is unbelievably tough these days and you have to find ways to maximize your chances.
yeah I would agree to that! Can I send you a PM with regards to IB in Amsterdam?
Awesome and super helpful. Definitely make another post about your internships!
Echoing what others have said, I would take a few very interesting classes. I took a class on innovation and technology and I use that a lot when i talk in my interviews.
I would also say have at least one significant and interesting extracurricular activity that you are heavily involved in. It can be for a social cause or even be sports. I personally did MMA and it is a strong talking point.
While classes can be a great thing to do extra, they also just mean you spend more time in university (as in out of your normal time). I have taken a lot of those extra classes, and must say that while they were interesting and taught me much, they also made me sacrifice other extracurriculars. I believe it is worth much more to read a couple of books in the time you would spend on the extra classes. Not only business books, but some classics. It gives you a much different perspective. Also, I enjoy talking to well-read people than to people that took some extra classes (aka people that spend even more of their time in university)
I’d suggest that 3 and 4 are pretty terrible advice.
You only have one chance to make a first impression and most undergraduates know fuck all. As such, all most graduates would really be doing increasing the number of people who think they are naive/ignorant/out of their depth and have not taken any real time to learn about the industry.
Replace 3 and 4 with read and read and you’d be much better off. If a candidate came to me claiming to be interested in IB/fund management and I got the impression they didn’t know about the industry or I learned that they hadn’t read all of the books I think they should have read if they were genuinely interested, I’d have no interest in helping them. Why risk your reputation for a candidate that doesn’t really show the level of interest you think I’d required to not embarrass you? The opposite is also true.
NB/ Not in IB or fund management. Work in corporate development and used to work in sell side equity research.
I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree with your claim that 3 is bad advice.
Everyone starts somewhere, and you don't learn unless you make mistakes! Believe me, I was as awkward as can be for my very first few informational interviews back in sophomore year of college, and I cringe just reflecting on it. I knew next to nothing about the industry and asked very generic (and possibly stupid, embarrassing in hindsight) questions even though I was meeting with people like: the head of S&T at a top sell-side shop, a CFO at a PE fund, directors of global/regional research at a very large fund, and PMs at another very large fund. A few of them even took me under their wing and gave me referrals to their high-ranking colleagues - persistence, boldness, and ambition go a long way, even if you don't impress them with your background knowledge.
The trial and error process I went through in my initial networking efforts has been an enlightening experience that informs all of my networking afterwards. Even if you embarrass yourself (which I have done on multiple occasions), so what? Learn from the experience and try the next name on your list.
Good for you. Genuinely. But don’t you wish in hindsight you’d taken the time to learn before speaking with some of those people?
What do you have to lose? Well, a potential contact who might have been more willing to help if they thought you had more potential, no? I’ve had people actively ask to help only me when I’m a room full of other eager kids purely because I was more knowledgeable which was interpreted as being more interested and committed. I’d flip the question and ask what you have to lose by being adequately prepared before you start 3 & 4?
Hey man, thanks for the insight. Can you elaborate how you managed to complete 7 internships before you graduated...?
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