This is a 4-part guest post on Networking from Luis Miguel Ochoa. He has worked in investment banking for several years covering the industrial sector and frequently attends networking events in NYC . He graduated from Stanford with a BA in economics.
A lot of people think they know how to network. But you might see them 'working the room' and passing out business cards, as though they're passing out party-flyers. You might even see them standing by themselves, on the phone, not talking to anyone. Neither of these behaviors constitutes networking.
Networking means having an armada of contacts that is willing to vouch for you when you need it; an armada that actually picks up the phone or writes you back within a reasonable time frame.
In this four-part series, you'll learn:
- Where exactly are these contacts?
- What exactly is the value-add for my contacts?
- How do you keep in touch?
- + much more.
Networking First Steps: Knowing what YOU want
Networking basically consists of making lists of people you actually like talking with
(not talking to), keeping in touch, and maintaining a two-way understanding (rapport).
Before you start off your list, you need to know what you're interested in, have a story,
and one more thing (I'll get to this later). I've had too many phone calls with "I'm
interested in a career in finance, but I don't know what group" or "I'm interested
in investment banking, because it provides a chance to exercise my qualitative and
analytical skill set." If you've got attention to detail, you'd notice that this first set of
introductions sounds like someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
Tip #1: Know what you want.
You can turn to the wealth of information in the Wall Street Oasis finance forums for insights. By the time you pick up the phone, you should already know that sales & trading and investment banking are night and day. If I'm in the investment banking department, it's much easier for me to get you an interview if you are interested in my department. Imagine the extra legwork I have to go through in order for me to get you in front of another department. If you can make my job easier by doing the initial legwork upfront, I'd be more than happy to get on the phone with you.
Tip #2: List-making 101
You can definitely leverage WSO's Company Database, complete with compensation
and bonus figures, and other helpful interview insights to do some preliminary
research for your potential interviews. Tip #2: Write up a list of potential employers;
especially include firms that are known for covering a specific sector you are interested
in. For instance, if you're interested in Aerospace & Defense, you can look at Stone
Key Partners, Jefferies, Rothschild (DC), Lazard (DC), or Bluestone Capital Partners.
Naturally, your preferred geography will shape what sectors you can possibly cover.
Tip #3: Target your reading.
It is also much easier to target your reading if you're looking
up this particular page as opposed to just reading the Wall Street Journal for general
trends in the markets. While it is good to have focus and express interest in whatever
sector you like, you also need to be open to other groups early in your career.
That covers the basics for part one. What are some ways you use to come up with lists? In part two I'll run through the specific steps to tackle.
Luis' full bio:
He has worked in investment banking for several years covering the industrial sector. In addition to being an avid mentor for his alma mater, he volunteers for the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting. In his spare time he enjoys fencing and attends networking events in New York. He graduated from Stanford with a BA in economics.
OK I hope Patrick did not pay Luis to write this "cliche" blog entry and to regurgitate the basics of networking.
I don't see why you would take any issue with it. It's free content for us. It's only the introductory part of a 4 part interview, and the guy has some credentials. It's hard to reinvent the wheel with every resource on this site, but fresh perspectives should be welcomed.
It's not because it's "free" that I cannot voice my opinion about it. Writers and publishers are aware that they will get feedback about the content of their work.
Those who need it will use it. Those who don't , will ignore it.
There will hopefully be something substantial for those who need it/a refresh by the time Luis gets to the 4th part.
I didn't say you couldn't state your opinion. I just disagreed with it. It wasn't even really "feedback" in the sense you offered absolutely nothing constructive.
^Agreed, the intro made it sound like there's a lot of insights, only to disappoint with what's already understood. Can you add something that clarifies misunderstanding or actually add insight?
I would give you a silver banana if I had any.
Give me one and I will pay you back later LOL
Let him finish his posts before you bash and btw can you please thank him for taking his time out to even do this..... what snobs....smh
No one is stopping you from thanking him. Show your appreciation.
Thank you for taking the time to do this!
I think what FlakieBear meat to say is that the author makes very bold statements to hype up his content: "A lot of people think they know how to network. But you might see them 'working the room' and passing out business cards, as though they're passing out party-flyers. You might even see them standing by themselves, on the phone, not talking to anyone. Neither of these behaviors constitutes networking."
But only gives advice like "If you can make my job easier by doing the initial legwork upfront, I'd be more than happy to get on the phone with you."
I guess if Luis were to give advice on a proportional level compared to his hype, the reception will be a lot warmer.
it may be new to some. looking forward to part 2,3,4.
Then he should say this is an intro to or an overview of networking, instead of coming out to say that people only think they know how to network, but are doing it incorrectly.
I'm sure the author has taken the point.
Andy, does Luis Miguel still work at Jefferies & Company
Source: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lmochoa
It's ironic that he decided to give the monkeys and wannabe "financiers" networking advice even though they are always talking shit about his bank and people who work at Jeffries.
He is too nice for his own sake.
Dude, I think that's a bit far. He was good intentioned, just didn't live up to the expectations he set for the readers.
I am not being sarcastic. I genuinely think that he is a great guy with good intention. If you had been lurking around you would have read the smart ass jokes that the users make about J & C. If he is aware of all the shit people say here, he is a big guy in my book because I wouldn't waste my time giving tips to the "wannabees" who talk shit about my company.
To be honest, there are some kids who don't know much about networking or who enter the game late. So they will definitely find the first part of his advice useful. I realized that there different type of readers on the forum. Some readers know how to network, some have good experience in that area while others have no clue about how to build a relationship with a mentor or prospective employer.
The last category will definitely get into the networking "vibe" with Luis' first blog entry.
By the way, enough with the discussion. Let's leave the space for those who need help with networking.
First of all, we should all be quite grateful for this free content.
Second, Jefferies is a very solid bank and anyone that thinks otherwise is delusional. In fact, I find it more ironic that the people bashing on certain banks here are the same people who end up NOT breaking in. To those people: have some humility/respect, and maybe, you might just learn something.
Luis -- keep up the good work! I look forward to reading the other parts of this series.
Humility 101 should be GenEd req.
That second paragraph was spot on
"It is also much easier to target your reading if you're looking up this particular page as opposed to just reading the Wall Street Journal for general trends in the markets. While it is good to have focus and express interest in whatever sector you like, you also need to be open to other groups early in your career."
So this might be stupid but can someone clarify this for me? Not really sure what the nugget of wisdom is here. He says to first target your reading by looking up "this particular page" (whatever that means) and that this is better than just reading the journal in general. Then he says it's good to have a focus, but to be open to other groups.
Is this contradictory, or am i misunderstanding what's being said here?
What Luis is saying is that, don't read Wall Street Journal, just to go through the motion via reading the major headlines. Follow an industry that you like, such as Consumer, Energy, Industrial and so forth. For example, if you were positioning yourself as a Retail Analyst (ER), your time would be much better spent following news on a list of retail stocks. How is URBN, GPS, KORS doing? What are the Same Store Sales (SSS) for comparable companies? Profit margin squeezes from higher COGS? (cotton price has risen recently) Is growth mainly coming from international segment for these apparel retail companies? How is URBN dealing with its suppliers? Something along those lines.
The second point he is making is that when you were interviewing for a position, don't pigeonhole yourself into one group even if you were interested only in Retail sector.
For example, if you were interested in Retail Apparel, if you meet an ER guy says, "I am actively following Consumer group and particularly interested in the Retail Apparel sector (through learning about a new sector and how to value companies, which demonstrate that you have the basic skill sets to follow a sector). With that being said, I am really interested in ER and would open to other similar sectors such as Industrial and Consumer Tech."
If you meet an IBD guy, you can pitch yourself as, "I am interested in working in Retail Coverage group. However, my interest is in [insert product group] M&A and would be open to cover similar sectors such as Industrial and Consumer Tech."
Hope it helps.
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