Going to Wharton with no IB experience
So I am going to be a junior this year at Wharton. I have a 3.8+ GPA but I don't have IB experience at all. My experience is with an equity research startup (I guess you would consider this a boutique if it were a bank) doing (fundamental) equity research and (technical) risk management.
I know some peers that have BB IB experience, but not too many. Many others have other IB experience. My main question is, will I still get interviews without any prior IB experience considering the limited number of space, or will all of the interviews just go to these 3.8+ IB monsters (and the connection holders)?
Start networking your ass off and then you won't have to worry about your peers. If you're looking to get an SA spot at a BB IB, then start looking for off-cycle finance internships nearby and make sure you have some well-rounded extracurriculars.
You have a high GPA, and you go to Wharton. You'll get interviews
This... Your concern would be a bit more reasonable if you were entering senior year without IB experience. But yeah, start reaching out to folks and showing interest. To be honest, you'd probably be able to nail down interviews just by doing the regular song and dance come OCR in January, but if you're worried, get less worried (and more educated) by doing a bit of networking.
So does everyone else. Going to a target does nothing for you if you don't have some kind of edge.
Going to a target is an edge already, no? And classes are on a curve so nowhere near "everyone" has a high GPA.
You're going to get the greatest value from networking. You go to the best undergrad business program with recruiting only rivaled by Harvard's, you have a sky-high GPA (especially for your school), and you have relevant but not glowing experience. Your resume is already going to stand out enough that if you applied to every single one of the bulge bracket and top boutique banks that conduct OCR, you'd probably get 5 interviews from that alone.
To really stand out though, start networking. Do it now. Recruiting starts in October when firms begin doing campus presentations. Don't wait and be a part of the herd sending emails to anyone and everyone they can find on LinkedIn, begin proactively reaching out now. People are focused on getting their summers to accept their return offers, so this coming month will be fairly hectic while banks are scrambling to get a full-time analyst class in place, but you should still begin reaching out.
Find any common connection: school clubs, Greek organizations, professional societies, sports teams, anything. Beyond that, get good simply at writing cold emails. If you want to get into one of the top banks, find people who went to your school who are where you want to be and get in touch with them. Schedule phone calls, coffee, whatever it is you have to do. You're also only a 60-minute Amtrak ride away from the city, so it wouldn't be hard to line up a bunch of meetings on the same day and make a day trip. At the end of the day, you want enough people to know and like you well enough to be willing to push your resume for an interview. And you want that at multiple places, everywhere you are interested.
Voluptas et id vel perferendis beatae. In sit harum est magnam. Placeat pariatur quo qui dolores omnis quas facilis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...