Did i mess up at Networking event?
Greetings, Wall Street Oasis community,
I slipped on a banana peel in front of all IB people at a networking event. Is it over for me?
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Perhaps
Sounds like you didn’t have a conversation with them and just peppered them with questions. It sounds super transactional, networking is about relationships.
Networking is transactional. What do you think this is, a Best Friends game? Be real here, you won't be making any meaningful "relationship" at these events. I've spoken to countless of people who have tried to humour me by talking about sports, favourite restaurants... I don't know why you're asking me that, go talk to your friends about it.
Be straight and ask me for my insight into the industry, how I've found it, stuff like that... But these sort of questions aren't supposed to make you build some sort of "deep and meaningful" "relationship". I don't remember any single person as particularly noteworthy because that's not how these events are supposed to be. We can build a relationship once you start working with me, not before then...
OP, I think that the only faux pas that you really committed was asking the person questions as he was going to get food. Next time, wait until they've gotten their food and are walking around or something. Just as you wouldn't go up and talk to someone at their desk whilst they're eating, you shouldn't do what you did either.
But I don't think your questions were inappropriate. They're about what they should be.
Bro you're in ECM calm down
Thanks for the reassurance. I guess i wasnt entirely clear but it wasn’t exactly networking even though it was labelled as such.
The IB people stood at tall round bar tables after the presentation, while us students could gather and sit at tables and eat. This is where I made the move to go ask my questions to that one IB dude while the other students and attendants ate. So it was made for us to go ask them questions if we had any and not so much networking, I mean why would a seasoned IB person network with a second or third semester undergrad student anyways. And with that being said I don’t think I came across as inept as people claim on here, at least in my opinion. The IB guys had time to grab some food before us students and he didn’t go get any so it wasn’t entirely my fault If he felt that I prevented him from doing so.
This whole thing screams autism
Lmfaooo. I thought this was a shit post but I don’t think it is
Damn, its that bad huh. Fuck it , the dude was tired as hell or on xanax or something and he didn't get my name. So its not like he would remember me as that goofy annoying student anyways. Guess i'll just take this as a lesson not to ask them about their LinkedIn profile during a conversation and hammer them with pre written questions.
If you take anything away from this it should be to treat people like people.
What would you do if a high schooler came up to you when you were trying to eat with a list of questions about getting into college on his phone, and kept going down the list despite you expressing disinterest and then had the audacity to ask you to add him on LinkedIn? Do you see how incredibly off-putting and rude you acted? You didn't even let the poor guy eat
Are you based in the US or in Europe? Starting in your 5. semester seems quite late.
Anyway, I want to be bloody honest with you: It sounds like you really messed up.
IB is a people business and having to prepare questions shows that you are unable to have a meaningful conversation. They do not want to help you with your catalog of questions you could have asked ChatGPT but rather want to build personal connections with potential candidates. Cornering an analyst and boring them to death is certainly not the right approach. If they are not enthusiastic about the conversation they are having with you, you have screwed up.
My advice: Give them some room, ask them personal questions, and try to find common ground (e.g. background, interest, etc.). Sure, ask them about their job, but try to have a conversation rather than expecting another presentation.
And please, do not ask people for their names at the end of your networking session. Seriously, don't. There was most definitely a slide with their name in the presentation and even if not, after a good networking session you know enough to find them on LinkedIn in about five seconds.
Hope this helps
I agree with you , but at the same time it was hosted at a university where mainly students would come. So it kinda goes hand in hand with them being asked questions about how to enter IB from a students perspective. Furthermore the gentleman i spoke to seemed very tired from the get-go and kind of distant. I did sprinkle in a few questions unrelated to the questions i had written down during their presentation. Even so it seemed like he didn’t wanna engage in the convo at all. Could be because he wanted to grab some food and i prevented that though. But yeah the LinkedIn question was definitely a miss. Damn. Im based in Europe so theres not a lot of public information on the internet about IB and how to break into it.
I do not like it when students come and ask me about my hobbies and interests and whatever else, that is not why I am at a networking event. I'm there to help answer their questions about the industry, not to become someone's best friend.
Well guess what, most people aren't like that lmao and want to be approached like actual humans not finance robots
--snip--
Why are so many kids these days mentally ill? JFC just act normal. This reads like a clearly autistic person to the point where I think its trolling.You don't deserve to be in this industry and you won't make it very far if you can't figure out how to act like a human being.
Uh oh someones projecting.
Think it’s safe to say he was just playing “hard to get” - it’s a common networking tactic among the more prestigious banks. They need to know you’re really interested. Best thing to do now is contact your OCR (or even HR at the bank) and get the names of everyone they sent to that event. Once you find him on LinkedIn, go ahead and copy/paste your list of questions in a DM. Try and guess his email using the bank’s format so you can send it that way too. Once he gets it, he’ll be a totally different person. Your satisfaction is my guarantee!
I excused myself during our conversation to go to the bathroom and i found his private instagram and followed it. Then i went back and said "Hey do you know what the time is?" In hopes he would check his phone and see my follow request(i heard this is a surefire way to let him know im not just interested in the job but also him personally. no homo). He ended up remarking if my brand new Apple Watch was broken or what since im asking him for the time. I started sweating and thats when i left. Thats such a missed opportunity, if he had just seen my instagram page full of Finance memes, he would notice that im not only well planned(list of questions) but also a funny and relatable guy!
This guy is a seasoned veteran, he knows all the tricks… keep at it brother! Don’t relent!
No way this isn’t a troll
Yeah, you did mess up. I’m the analyst from the event. You’re done kid.
I was also there. I made sure to blacklist him from the industry. It's over for him.
the answer to that question is always going to be yes, but if you beat yourself up about it then the answer really is yes 🇺🇸🇮🇳
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