How screwed am I??
I go to a really non target school.. One alumnus at Blackrock, one at Bridgewater, and one at GS.. You get the idea.. I am currently a finance student. I'm in my sophomore year and currently have a 4.0 GPA, I am a member of our financial management association, however I am not in sports or greek life. I have an internship lined up this summer with a fairly known bank in the commercial loans department.. With this internship under my belt and 4.0 GPA with honors courses is there a mild chance at landing an SA spot in NYC or am I screwed because of my school? I have been trying to network but nobody on LinkedIn ever wants to talk.
Well based off your last sentence you haven't networked enough.
There will always be one person that can change things for you. I would literally email everyone (given your background and SA) and let them know your story / passion. Bankers get bored and will sometimes help a kid out.
[Bankers first name],
I am a finance major at school with a 4.0 GPA and a very strong interest in pursuing an i-banking career. I’ve heavily researched the role, so I won’t bore you with questions about your day-to-day. I’d greatly appreciate any advice on how someone like me (i.e. non-target school but with the right interest level and work ethic) should attempt to get a summer or full-time role.
Sincerely,
[your first name]
Something like that. I’m cursed with the inability to be less than blunt, so be aggressive about re-wording as your instincts are much better than mine. The takeaway from my email is that brevity is crucial and people will appreciate someone who doesn’t beat around the bush.
Persistence is the name of the game. When I first started networking, I talked to a highschool buddy of mine who had secured a SA role at Cowen going to a mid non-target school, and he told me that he had sent about 500 cold emails during recruiting season. One part of this that he prides himself on especially, was the fact that he would constantly follow up week after week, and after 10 weeks, one of the people he had reached out to finally responded. The response related to how they admired his persistence and would now be glad to get on a call with him.
Put in the grind now man so you can enjoy your experiences later. It's worth the small time sacrifice to work towards something greater.