I received a message on LinkedIn from someone looking to get into IB a couple weeks back, in which the individual explained his situation and couldn't understand why he isn't seeing progress. The general gist (confidentiality in mind) is that he applied to many jobs through LinkedIn as a non-target but has yet to hear from anyone. The first thing I asked him was if he reached out directly to the job poster or individuals within groups before applying. His answer was no.
Fellow non-targets - reach out to someone directly and get them on the phone or in-person
You should see how IB groups go through resumes during recruiting season, and this is assuming you make it past the HR screen. You are going up against analysts (in some cases) being begged to come join their program, with close to perfect GPAs, adequate deal experience, and sharp as nails. They can afford to casually apply and wait for a response.
Although we don't have this luxury, we all have the luxury of taking advantage of the fact most job prospects are willing to do the bare minimum. I initiated my current job with a cold email, expressing my interest. I then directly reached out to the MD asking for a sit down to learn more about his group. This turned into a all day interview setup for the following week. After ultimately landing the job, the MD told me no one had ever expressed as much interest in joining his team as I did. He didn't care so much that my GPA wasn't stellar or my deal experience was basically nonexistent. He cared that I cared to better myself and make a continuous effort to get in the door.
Will interviews/offers happen overnight? Absolutely not. Does it get frustrating? Absolutely. Just as I told the individual who messaged me, you have to get out of your comfort zone and initiate a conversation that shows a person why they should want to hire you.
As unoriginal as it sounds, never give up. Seriously. I don't want to see you guys give up because you're afraid to put yourself out there.
Other note - You'd be surprised how many people in Investment Banking are no smarter than you... Target or not.
Mod Note (Andy): Best of 2016, this post ranks #30 for the past year
caveat .. make sure you know your shit. just finished a few in-persons that were absolute dog shit.
First kid networked like crazy to land the interview and the second's dad networked for him. I am guessing technicals were not asked in the phone screening because these kids did not know their heads from their assholes.
They would have been better off answering everything with "I don't know" . Asked one kid to derive free cash flows starting from net income and he ended up talking about capitalizing revenue. Asked the second how he would derive terminal value, and he referenced a net income to EBITDA multiple. This is the second time in 12 months a candidate has mentioned net income to ebitda multiple to arrive at terminal value - one did it in a case study that he had a week to complete, and both swear they obtained BIWS certification. I blame Brian. Thanks a lot Brian
edit: and yeah bro, I am mad
I think sometimes people in IB need to cool it on the technicals during networking calls but during an interview anything is fair game.
Small anecdote that relates to your post. I come from a non target with a poor gpa and when I was fresh out of college looking for a job I literally walked in a guys office who I had heard through the grapevine was looking for an ER analyst. He was so shocked that I just showed up like that (I was coming from another interview and was wearing a suit with resume in hand) and I had an on the spot interview. Ultimately did not get the job but I learned a lot and got some great feedback from the guy, he told me he has never seen anyone do what I did before. With all that said I was extremely lucky as this guy ran a really small shop and it just so happened that he was the only one in the office which enabled me to walk right in, but you will never know until you try.