Ask the VP?

Ok, I'll start. For someone looking to get into the industry, what are some examples of false information on here (that you have come across)?

I'm currently a freshman at McCombs at UT Austin, and I am wondering what kind of summer job or internship I could land related to ibanking field.

Here's another one.

Imagine: You're a junior at a non-target. You have solid grades and are well-rounded in other areas. You have a few contacts in the industry, but so far they have not yielded as much in the way of results as you had hoped. You've contacted a lot of people, gotten advice, but basically hear the same thing over again. You've gone out of your way to make connections - some were successful, some not - but the bottomline is you haven't gotten your resume in front of anyone that's willing to give it serious consideration (as far as you know). January is coming up and soon interviews will begin. You think you've wasted a lot of time and effort, but still want the interviews.

What do you do?

If the economy takes a dip and deal flow slows, which analysts are at risk of losing their jobs? Just the bottom quartile or is everyone at risk? Furthermore, is it true that job security is poorer at BB's because they overhire in good times and underhire in bad times?

Thanks

I was once a freshman at Mccombs and what made it easiest for me to get into the industry was finding an internship after each of my freshman and sophomore years so I could land the BB banking internship in NYC after my junior year.

You need to find an internship which is analytical, hopefully involves modeling and will hopefully be a brand name people will recognize.

I understand I need to find one with those specific attributes, but the problem is locating a specific firm willing to hire a freshman, especially since I don't have a lot of networking in the related field. Anyway I apoligize for 'hi-jacking' the thread, but I was under the assumption the OP was looking for questions related to the field, and I thought mine would be appropriate.

"I'm currently a freshman at McCombs at UT Austin, and I am wondering what kind of summer job or internship I could land related to ibanking field."

When we look for summer analysts (who are almost always rising seniors), the criteria that come up are: (1) GPA; (2) Quality and depth of coursework; (3) How interesting and relevant previous work experience has been. Generally, its in that order of importance.

Clearly, 1 and 2 you can control without work experience; make sure you take a challenging and qualitatively and quantitatively rigorous schedule.

3 is an interesting because most of the finance work that's available pre-IB is mediocre and bankers that look at resumes know that. There's a couple of other things that you can do:

• Work in corporate finance or operations in an industry that's relevant for banking, and gain some valuable industry knowledge. In Texas, you could work in the oil patch or for a company like Dell, and you would have developed some real valuable insights.

• Work for a Big 4. These tend to be solid internships that really do give you a leg up for banking.

• Do something truly different and interesting. Something that will stand-out to people when they look at your resume. Could be volunteer work. Could be research. Could be something international. I used to coach a girl's field hockey team, and that always caught people's interest.

Whatever the case, don't sweat this too much as a freshman. Enjoy college and don;t become a slave to the grind.

"Imagine: You're a junior at a non-target. You have solid grades and are well-rounded in other areas. You have a few contacts in the industry, but so far they have not yielded as much in the way of results as you had hoped. You've contacted a lot of people, gotten advice, but basically hear the same thing over again. You've gone out of your way to make connections - some were successful, some not - but the bottomline is you haven't gotten your resume in front of anyone that's willing to give it serious consideration (as far as you know). January is coming up and soon interviews will begin. You think you've wasted a lot of time and effort, but still want the interviews."

You've been at for what? 6 months, a year. I realize its not easy gonig to a non-target but that's the bare minimum in terms of effort.

I would definitely still push in January for interships but don't put all your eggs in that basket. Try to do something interesting and differentiated this summer. My suggestion if you are serious about banking is to work at a corporate in a specialized industry and use the industry knowledge you gain there to directly push industry groups at various banks to get hired. Bankers really do appreciate that, particularly in less sexy industries (industrials, natural resources, FIG, etc.)

"I think they call that hi-jacking the thread. See the 'start a topic' feature."

His question was entirely relevant. Let me be the judge of what to answer and what not to answer. Thanks.

Hi,

I think what you are doing is very commendable, and thank you on behalf of everyone here.

well, you said you'd give us advice on keeping a job....so what advice would you have for us analysts starting summer '07 at BBs. What to do, what not to do.

Any advice on picking groups for those of us who have sell days?

You also seem like a career banker, what made you go that route..did you do a third year and then direct promote to associate? Please talk more about being a career banker especially straight through from an analyst position vs. trying for business school/ PE/HF etc.

And also any general advice about life as an analyst, any tips about living, working, NYC, whatever comes into mind for the newbies, would be great.

"If the economy takes a dip and deal flow slows, which analysts are at risk of losing their jobs? Just the bottom quartile or is everyone at risk? Furthermore, is it true that job security is poorer at BB's because they overhire in good times and underhire in bad times?"

Typically, analysts have the best job security of any level in the firm because banks always have the option to let you go after two years. That said, in the 2001-2003 recession, there were, for pretty much the first time in the history of having analysts, layoffs at that level, because of overhiring.

Two types of analysts are at risk. The first are those in the bottom quartile (it will take a true cataclysm for more than 25% of the class to be fired). The second are those that are in groups that are closed down or seriously vulnerable (i.e., if you are in leveraged finance and the bank decides to shut down high yield like ML did in 1998, it doesn't matter how good you are. Similarly, the cuts in TMT went a lot deeper than other areas in 2002). Its hard to protect against the latter, unless you can predict markets, volume and inclination of senior management, none of which are easy.

There is more risk at BBs relative to the best boutiques. Its not so much because of overhiring as it is, the lack of intimacy. Its a lot harder fo managing directors to let go of junior people who they work with intimately, which is often the case at the best boutiques. Whereas, in the BBs, its often more of a numbers game. Also, Lazard, Blackstone, Evercore also have strong restructuring practices, which help balance revenues. That said, in the last wave of layoffs, some of the lesser boutiques cut the deepest (Broadview, Thomas Wiesel) or were cut altogether (Robertson Stephens).

i just want to say this is probably the best thread i've read on the forum since i've been here. thank you thesquare. i'm sure i'll have some questions for you sooner or later :)

Thanks for all the advice so far.

This may be a little off topic, but I would still appreciate any advice that you might have. Next week I am going to be meeting with an alumni from my school to talk about banking. I do not know him personally, but I have seen his resume and it is very impressive. He is now an associate in PE for a BB firm.

My question is what should I expect out of this informational interview and what are somethings that I should do and not do?

He is my best chance at possibly landing an interview at a BB for a summer internship. I am a Junior at a non-target with a decent GPA. Thanks again for all the advice so far.

Thanks for this thread and your willingness to answer questions. I have two:

1. Looking back over your experiences thus far, are there any specific things that you can point to that enabled you to be successful, aside from the generic advice to "work hard" and "ask lots of questions"? For instance, one MD I've talked to swears that the most important thing he ever did was to read and absorb "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie, and another told me that finding a good mentor was the key to his success. Are there one or two specific things that you feel have enabled you to perform well?

2. Salaries for analysts have been outstanding for the past few years, and it appears that they will be just as large or bigger this coming year. Last year the range for first year bonuses at BB's was 60-80K. In the event of a market slowdown, what do you think will happen to analyst salaries/bonuses? Some people have told me that they think analyst bonuses will stay at their current level even in the event of a slowdown, since analyst bonuses are so inconsequential when compared to those of vps, directors, etc. Others think bonuses will drop back to 30-40k or so, or even lower if we enter a recession. Do you have any thoughts?

Thanks again.

Thanks for the information thesquare, I truly appreciate what you are doing.

I also have one more question I just thought of. During the ending portion of the interview, when the interviewee is to ask any questions, would you rather have him or her ask something personal (what you enjoy about the job/your career path/what you would change/etc) or something more relavent to the company (what did you think of this current merger/corporate expansion in global markets/valuation techniques)?

good thread, the square. i have a question related to a point that you made about executive education and mbas.

i'm doing exceptionally well and have been promoted from an analyst level and will likely be promoted further next month (to a pre-vp level). i'm thinking of pursuing some executive education or an executeve mba. i was looking at the advanced management type programmes at HBS & Insead. what are your thoughts on this area. It seems from your post that you have given this some thought, as i currently am.

"Thanks for this thread and your willingness to answer questions. I have two:

1. Looking back over your experiences thus far, are there any specific things that you can point to that enabled you to be successful, aside from the generic advice to "work hard" and "ask lots of questions"? For instance, one MD I've talked to swears that the most important thing he ever did was to read and absorb "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie, and another told me that finding a good mentor was the key to his success. Are there one or two specific things that you feel have enabled you to perform well?

2. Salaries for analysts have been outstanding for the past few years, and it appears that they will be just as large or bigger this coming year. Last year the range for first year bonuses at BB's was 60-80K. In the event of a market slowdown, what do you think will happen to analyst salaries/bonuses? Some people have told me that they think analyst bonuses will stay at their current level even in the event of a slowdown, since analyst bonuses are so inconsequential when compared to those of vps, directors, etc. Others think bonuses will drop back to 30-40k or so, or even lower if we enter a recession. Do you have any thoughts?

Thanks again."

I will address 1 in more detail, when I come up for air.

On 2, analyst bonuses could stay flat for an extended period of time, but even during the worst of time, they have fallen

"I also have one more question I just thought of. During the ending portion of the interview, when the interviewee is to ask any questions, would you rather have him or her ask something personal (what you enjoy about the job/your career path/what you would change/etc) or something more relavent to the company (what did you think of this current merger/corporate expansion in global markets/valuation techniques)?"

Go personal, unless there is sincere interest. The latter sounds insincere. People also like to talk about their own interest.

"i'm doing exceptionally well and have been promoted from an analyst level and will likely be promoted further next month (to a pre-vp level). i'm thinking of pursuing some executive education or an executeve mba. i was looking at the advanced management type programmes at HBS & Insead. what are your thoughts on this area. It seems from your post that you have given this some thought, as i currently am."

Those programs are great if you would like to learn a specific skill, but don't really provide a tangible and marketable credential. You may be better off considering Columbia's executive program, for example. This may require a little more work experience, but the credential is quite valuable.

What is your outlook on the economy for the next two years in terms of deal activity?

thesquare:

How do you invest your money?

Thank you, thesquare, for truly providing value to these boards. I have a few questions:

1) What interests and hobbies do you enjoy in your free time? Have they ever helped you win a client or close a deal? Do you think there is professional value in having a passion for something outside of work?

2) If you could start back again straight out of college, what would you do differently? Do you have any regrets?

3) How are you able to maintain balance? What do you do to de-stress and stay motivated?

Thanks again.

-- Hail to the Victors