Bad Networking Calls - Analysts' Faults?
I recently went through IB recruiting and was interested in MBB consulting for a while, so I networked with bankers/consultants at roughly 15 or so firms, having phone conversations with about 50 unique individuals. I ultimately ended up receiving Superdays at multiple banks and accepted an offer for SA 2023 at an EB.
For context, my approach for calls is to usually brainstorm a few thoughtful questions unique to shared University experiences, bank, group, etc, then naturally respond to things they say to build genuine conversation.
One phenomenon I noticed with a number of bankers/consultants made conversation impossible. Some bankers/consultants (probably a significant 30% - 40%) on my calls made limited effort. These are the type of people who say they "just want to be an open resource" at the start of the call, but when I ask them a question, they would respond with a one to three sentence response. That means to continue the conversation, it would turn into a back and forth Q&A instead of a real conversation since I have nothing to go off of, effectively making the call a bad one and ending it in less than 15 minutes. I also noticed that this happened more for consulting firms, perhaps because there is less of an emphasis on networking, or because consultants are a bit nerdier. It also happened more at firms that don't have a strong pipeline from my school; it's almost like they knew I had no shot and didn't give a crap.
In contrast, I've had calls that were amazing and went well over thirty minutes, with the banker/consultant being super enthusiastic and eventually becoming a mentor and/or advocating for me over multiple follow up calls.
With my approach and question style remaining the exact same in these scenarios, it leads me to believe that bad calls aren't usually my fault (with a few outliers of course). I've noticed a direct correlation between the analyst's enthusiasm and how good the call goes; when they give me some effort and a chance, I can run with it. Otherwise, the call is mediocre. Some people may say that I just "clicked" with some people more than others, but I would say that the majority of those 30% - 40% didn't even give us a chance to determine that.
This begs the following question: Why do unenthusiastic bankers/consultants even take calls? I get that bankers/consultants are likely tired or don't want to deal with yet another overeager Sophomore, but why even take the call if you already know you won't genuinely care or potentially become an advocate for the kid? When a call turns into a crappy 13.5 minute rapid-fire Q&A, it just makes me feel discouraged. If a kid genuinely does not display any social awareness, I get it. On the other hand, if someone has a strong resume, is asking good questions, and seems friendly, why do this to them? If you're an analyst who does this, you're an asshole.
Does anyone else agree with me, or am I off base here? Looking to see if my experience is common, or if I need to improve my networking abilities.
Awesome observations OP. Been networking a while and had a recent chat with a VP who seemed enthusiastic to chat via email and also linkedin messages. However, when it came down to it, it seemed that not only was he unenthusiastic but also seemed to talk to me in a very condescending way. For example, he asked me "why PE?" So, I gave a response that Ive been told by partners at other firms was a "well research backed answer" but in this case he straight up told me to stop referencing my friends and gave me "his definition"Regardless, he did answer some of my questions and even offered to do a resume review which was kind of him. However, I felt slightly out of place when speaking to him as if I was a massive inconvenience (hence referencing the "why take the networking call in the first place?")
Holy fuck you guys really are as entitled as everyone says. I hope this is satire. If a VP asking for a genuine answer is enough to make you cry, good luck working with some of the more direct personalities in this industry.
Having been on both sides of this, let me offer some insight:
1. The onus is ALWAYS on the prospect to bring energy and enthusiasm to the call. Full stop. Talking to a banker that doesn't sound enthusiastic? Then find a way to break through. Every person is unique, so sometimes you need to adjust your approach to really connect.
2. You never know what kind of day/week the banker is having. Maybe they are excited to chat but between senior bankers breathing down their neck for deliverables and multiple deals heating up they may just be exhausted and have true stress so what was originally an exciting call has become a chore. Again, bringing enthusiasm even if they don't seem to reciprocate is crucial for you. Put another way, if you're having a bad day and someone brightens it, you aren't always able to express it in the moment, despite how much you appreciate it.
3. Where is it written that everyone you want to talk to needs to find a way to connect with you? You want a job, they have the job you want. On the job you'll need to work with many different personalities. Not everyone is going to find the same parts of your story interesting. Personally I hated my undergrad experience, just because we share a school doesn't mean I want to talk about that common denominator. EQ is a really underrated attribute, pick up on the conversation cues and don't stick to a single-track conversation script. Nobody likes talking to someone who's entire "chat" feels scripted and unnatural.
4. This may be tough for some people to self-critique, but you may not be as interesting or energetic as you think. I can't tell you how many recruits I've talked to who sucked the little energy I had because they were monotonous, low-energy, and/or flat out not interesting. Meanwhile I debrief with a mutual connection and recruit thinks they were extremely dynamic.
I'm not excusing every banker for bad networking calls. That being said the banker's attitude is irrelevant - you (the prospect) have the onus for making it a good call. Get the information/advice you're looking for, learn what you can from their experience, and keep it moving.