How did you do it?
Hi everyone! I am new to WSO so I apologize if this has already been asked a million times over. (Feel free to throw bananas or boo me off the stage).
Background: I am fresh out of undergrad having completed an Econ degree + minor in finance in 3 years with a 3.6 GPA (non-target), mortgage loan internship, (unrelated) and multiple jobs + leadership roles/extracurriculars. Now, I know my standing isn't nearly as shiny as most on here so please feel free to rip into any aspects of my post or my profile.
Why IB? I have insane work ethic and genuinely work better with more stress and less sleep. I did my minor in finance and I loved financial modeling and learning about investing. I also feel great when I can wrap up an assignment. So ultimately, I really do want to end up at a shop working my ass off.
Application Status: I have been applying for investment banking roles for six months now, whether they have been internships or actual FT positions, and have been getting ghosted + rejected. My resume has been okay-ed by an associate at a bigger bank, it follows IB resume templates closely, and I can defend every part of it.
Within the past six months, I have really tried my best on cold-emailing, applying on linkedin and indeed, calling shops directly, and trying to network. The best I have gotten is a higher-up saying that once I have more experience, I can come to their shop as a lateral.
Possible Track: I have interviews for financial advisor positions coming up. I dont particularly want to be a part of MLM-type of jobs, but I have not been hearing back from any investment banking roles. I am also aware that there are no similarities and this is a sales role... I just feel desperate and lost at this point.
Questions:
- For those of you who successfully gotten in to IB and come from unconventional backgrounds, what experience, certifications, tips helped you land your position?
- If you dont mind sharing, what roles specifically were you in before landing your role? Did that role directly help you get in? I am willing to try any route to land a IB offer.
- I have heard a lot about commercial banking jobs, corp finance roles being good transitions into IB. What job titles should I be on the lookout for if at all?
Any advice, comments, or criticisms would be immensely appreciated. Thank you all for taking the time.
bump, would love to hear perspectives
Came from a non-target, similar GPA and had no family connection to finance (in fact the east coast in general)
Probably applied to 50 internships for my summer analyst gig and only got 2 offers. Most of my application resulted in auto dings, but around 10 of them I networked incredibly hard at (talked to 4/5 people multiple times), and was involved in the interview process for all of them.
Looking back at it, I am very fortunate to have gotten any position at all and be where I am, given I think as long as you check xyz boxes, it’s a numbers game from there on out. What I mean by that, is as long as you’re someone who comes off as a co-worker they’ll want to grab a beer with, all you have to do is hit your number. Everyone has a number. For some it’s 1, and they are so good technically, behaviorally, and connection wise to where they have to run one interview and put 1 hour of prep in. Other people may need to spend 100 hours prepping and apply to 300 firms. I think all you have to do is have some introspection, determine what that number is for you and make sure you don’t fall short. It’s a simple formula to get the job as long as you put in the volume of work necessary + are a normal human.
Come up with your number and layout a plan to hit it. If you fall short you either didn’t prepare as much as you planned, or lacked the self-awareness to prep and do more. Plenty of people have gotten past every obstacle, whether it be non-target, non-diversity, or not too sharp in the noggin because they had the one opportunity that was the perfect fit for them. Hit your number so that you statistically reduce the odds of you missing yours to 0%.
Hey David,
Thank you for taking the time to write that. The job hunt has been so discouraging but the truth is... youre right. People have knocked down these same obstacles and sometimes its easy to forget that in the midst of rejection.
Im genuinely going to give that tip a shot. If you wouldnt mind expanding, do you have any major or essential pointers that got you from - networking directly to the interview? Did you apply to bigger banks or lesser known ones and did you find one better/more responsive than the other?
Again, thanks for taking the time.
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