Advice for a Sophomore

Hi all,

Currently I'm a sophomore economics major at the University of Chicago. My GPA from my first year is a 3.1 (had a pretty rough time to say the least); however, this quarter (and most likely this year) should increase my grades tremendously and I expect to have around a 3.4-3.5 by the end of this year.

None the less recruiting for ibanking/finance will start next month (GPA will only be around 3.2) and I am very interested in breaking in. I have a TON of work experience although my experience is primarily in marketing and social psychology. I was the marketing manager for TWO (still work for one) successful start-up and am currently conducting research under a very prestigious Marketing professor. As interesting as marketing first was to me, I am finding it less and less attractive and more and more bullshit.

What advice do you have for me to break into ibanking/finance this summer? I understand that my GPA will be the the very low side come next quarter but is it still possible to perhaps work at a boutique or MM firm? If so how? I've cold emailed (email has been reviewed by my career services dept) a lot (100+) of boutique firms but none have responded back.

Obviously I also need to network. Could someone paint a picture of how it works? Do I start with a cold email or cold call? After securing an information/phone interview, do I need to overly impress him/her in order to be considered for a career opportunity or do I just casually have a conversation? Beyond knowing the industry and coming off as an social person, what else can I do to impress?

Thanks! I really appreciate any responses!

3 Comments
 

Raise the GPA and keep networking. You're gonna have to be aggressive to get MM with that GPA, unfortunately. It's really hard for any sophomore to get MM.

Also, I think there's something wrong with your emails if you'd sent out over 100 and have gotten no responses. Maybe it's too long? Maybe there's something wrong with your subject line? I dunno, but 0/100 means you're messing it up somehow. Post an example?

 

Many people here swear by cold emails/calls but in my humble opinion, I think it's weird. I'd suggest at least establishing SOMETHING first - whether that is a LinkedIn connection, meet for coffee, friends, friends of friends, family friends, alumni, etc. After meeting you and seeing your enthusiasm, I think they'd be much more inclined to help.

 

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