Advice on recruiting for IB internship within Houston
Hello all,
Seeing all the helpful content on this forum has prompted me to seek your advice on this.
I am currently an international student at Kellogg 2Y MBA program and looking for internship as an Investment Banking Associate in Houston. I have worked with a major oil and gas company across a range of functions including energy transition projects.
I understand recruiting is very network based and MBA colleges in Texas such as UT AUSTIN and RICE tend to have an advantage due to proximity.
1. How difficult it is for outside schools to network? Are there any Houston specific events for networking?
2. Are there any banks or forms that do not sponsor international students? I understand most banks would do.
3. Any specific areas to focus on during the coffee chats and interviews preparation.
Many thanks for your assistance in advance.
Have recently been doing interviews for my bank and can add a couple points:
- Yes proximity is important, most hires are from UT / Rice / SMU / UH
- have a good reason for why Houston (especially if you have no direct houston ties)
- Ask specifically what these banks works on within energy (this is a very broad catch all word but there are many sub verticals within energy)
- be on top of the deals these banks have done within the energy space and maybe even ask those who you coffee chat with, what the favorite / most interesting deal they’ve worked on is
- Have a very strong answer for why energy, this is a very niche sector and people care about having people on their team with genuine energy interest (not just applying bc they want any IB job)
Good luck
Hi,
Many thanks for the detailed response. This is really very helpful.
Can I please ask you to share what particular function do these banks work in the energy space - i.e. do they largely work in M&A or there are other roles related to DCM/LevFinance/Restructuring? This will be really helpful for my preparation.
That will be firm specific and can vary. I’d say majority of energy groups do M&A (mostly traditional O&G deals but some banks have Energy Transition / renewables groups as well), the balance sheet banks do a lot of debt deals / project finance lending and I’m sure some groups do restructuring as well (i.e. SunPower hired Moelis to help them restructure)
Best way to see what bank specializes in what is to go to their “recent transaction” page / recently announced deals they advised on in the space.
Isn't there an IB club at Kellogg that has all of this info compiled for you? Realize it's a more consulting-centric school but would think there are at least a few who still go to Houston yearly. But yes, you need to be networking with bankers in Houston and you should do it ASAP.
Oil and gas experience on the resume stands out and gives you a reason to be in Houston.
Hi,
Many thanks for the detailed feedback. I really appreciate busy bankers taking time to respond!
We do have a very good IB club, and they have been helping me with a lot of stuff. Just that Kellogg is not a very heavy Energy/Oil & Gas focussed school. Hence, majority of students join New York office and only 1 in 2-3 years join Houston. But I feel that is good enough for me to start with and then figure my way ahead.
Many thanks for your feedback though. It has really helped me firm up my opinion on the office site.
Joining the echoes to know deals happening in the space + network a lot. Visit Houston for a quick weekend or networking if you haven't been there before... you won't believe how many people say in an interview that they've never been to Texas in their life but are so excited to live there! You can say oh we checked out XYZ spots, we loved ABC restaurant, I definitely want to live there. Easy shoot the shit type stuff that'll be a plus on your application.
That said, working at an O&G major will be your big sell here. That is an obvious reason to want energy IB and you should go as far as stating that in your intro networking emails.
Hi,
I really liked your feedback of visiting Houston and shall definitely try to visit or make it part of the conversations.
Many thanks for the same. Super Helpful!
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