Can I get into investment banking from non target school?
I will be attending UW-oshkosh this fall, and want to get into investment banking. I realize that Oshkosh is not a target school, so I was wondering how I can't get into IB still. I read that if I graduate from Oshkosh, work 2-3 years, then go get and MBA at a target school, I can get a job as an associate. Is that true? and where would I have to work for those 2-3 years. Also are there investment banking jobs in Wisconsin? and are those less competitive then New York jobs? I just feel stuck because I didn't try in high school, so couldn't get into a target school, and now it seems like my chances are very slim of getting into IB. If anyone with experience or knowledge on this can help me out that'd be great.
1) Stop feeling bad for yourself 2) Kick ass your freshman year (4.0, clubs, etc)
3) Transfer to a better school and kick ass at your new school
See: KeyBanc and Stephens for midwest banks
Non-Target to BB IBD (Originally Posted: 05/02/2015)
Dudes, I've recently accepted an offer to a BB IBD group after 2 years of absolute torture in terms of uncertainty and leverage. Here's the background:
After roughly three months in the sales org at this firm (global leader in energy management solutions, think Siemens, Eaton, ABB, Schneider Electric, etc..) I realized the deals weren't as lucrative/exciting and I wanted to be challenged in the early stages. Obvious answer: banking.
I had zero connections in the industry, or in any industry for that matter, and decided I needed a formal education in finance to make the transition...
Began applying for MSF and MSFE programs in late February (nearing the deadline for most top programs) and was fortunately admitted to my top two choices. I eventually decided on a program and quit my job (I had just been promoted and was making quality money). This was a 10-month program that was supposed to turn me into an investment banker with zero prior experience........
Immediately after relocating I started networking with every firm I could find in the area that was even remotely associated with finance. I'd had no prior internship or full-time experience in the industry and was looking for anything to help compliment my coursework. I eventually took a part-time internship with a local VC firm, working for free.....
I interviewed with several BB's during fall recruiting, but received no offers. Extremely defeating, especially given the rigor of the program that was only beginning. Just kept the nose to grindstone, networked my face off, and ultimately got a position through a faculty reference and some elbow grease.
Doesn't really make sense to me at this point. Everyone on this site and others said it was impossible, but I somehow pulled it off. I just hope other people reading don't get discouraged and keep the end in mind. Don't allow yourself to get distracted by things entirely accessory to your goal.
Breaking into IB is much harder. The difference is: you run a marathon for yourself (just have to complete it) and in IB, you have to convince other people that you can run the marathon (kiss ass, are competent, responsible, etc.). Persuading other people, while there are much more attractive candidates is the hardest thing you can possibly do, imo.
Wait a minute, did Goldstein just give constructive advice?
Reach the mountain top: Keys to Break into Investment Banking as a Nontarget (specifically as a Summer Analyst :) ) Part I (Originally Posted: 11/21/2014)
Hey Guys,
I've been a long time searcher on WSO, and decided that I wanted to join a couple months ago and help contribute to all the wonderful advice on this website. First thing's first: If you are currently reading the content on this website, even an article a day, you are already ahead of 80% of the competition. Today I really wanted to share with you a few of the tips that I feel can get nontarget students through the door. Coming from one myself (solid HS GPA, sterling SAT scores, but didn't want to do IB back then, and didn't know the hole target an nontarget dichotomy. Did go to a state school with a awesome party scene though lol), I know that it's a tough ride, but one that can be overcome with the right tools. Without further ado, here's my list/progresson of the tasks you should do to prepare (We'll call this part to Mountain Trail):
Summer of Sophomore year (June 2014)--> begin reaching out to people through cold emailing. Try to send out approximately 15-20 a day, and try to do it at the same time consistently over a period of time. It's the matter of repetition and routine structure. If you decide to shoot out 100 a day for 3 days, that's great, but definitively not something you could keep up. You should continue to cold email like this over the course of 12 weeks throughout the summer.
Beginning of Junior Year (September 2014)---> 12 weeks in, you should have accumulated around 900-1200 emails. Assuming that you have had a conservative 10% hit rate, that would mean that you should have gotten a chance to chat with 90-120 folks over the summer across multiple banks. Here's where things get interesting.
When you get on the call, ask good questions and make sure to center the conversation on them and their career. Bankers enjoy speaking about themselves, and if you can interject with an intelligent question about the flow of conversation, BOOM! you are an expert conversationalist. At the end of the conversation, ask them referrals to other bankers, and most of the time, they would be happy to refer you to a friend or two. This would double or triple your network to around 200-300 bankers. Now you're making serious headway. (that, and the guy on the other line with leave the conversation thinking "man, what a great guy." you can be sure that they will remember you from the other faceless nameless candidates when that pile of 300 college kids is on their desk at 1:46 am in the morning.
I understand that I'm boring you at this point, so apologies for this, but I'm almost done, so please bear with me for a little longer. Now that you have 200-300 contacts across a good 8-10 banks, make sure to reach out to them every 3-4 weeks with an intelligent question about the markets (moneybeat and dealbook are great), a holiday (happy 4th/labor day/thanksgiving), or just down to earth coversation (one of the guys that I first met were going at it about van halen vs. metallica lol). This transitions you from another candidate leecher to a friend/colleague that they'd want in their group. It's like making friends for the most part, guys. Make Friends with Bankers, and they will naturally gravitate towards you. Try to get something from them, and you will walk away empty handed. Will you encounter people with holes in their ass? Sure you will (I followed up with one guy about 6 times before he finally asked me for my resume. After that, we set up time for a call at 10. I was late 10 minutes because I was in a conference call for my supervisor at my past internship, but he wasn't having it despite my remorse. I immediately got grilled on obscure technical questions that I had no idea of at the time. Got chewed out pretty good, but in hindsight, was pretty funny to be honest. Maybe he was having a bad day??)
Anyway, now it's time: It's November 2014, and you are super confident at this point. It's time for you to make a weekend trip to meet some of these guys. Make sure to let them know a few weeks in advance, because they will cancel on you because of the nature of their work.If you are lucky, it could lead to a site visit (met a guy in NY for coffee, but.......
I'll stop there at Part I, just because I don't want to inconvenience anyone or lose anyone's attention with the wording. Will be sure to put up part II if there's positive feedback (hate to dilute any of the good topics on this blog.)
Ciao, AlphaQ