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well i'm still applying, but I would say you have a decent chance on landing an interview.
Who recruits at VaTech?
Wachovia came this year to tout their investment banking department and potentially offer a few jobs...that's about it. Here's a list of firms VaTech brings for their business student every year: http://www.businesshorizons.org/listCompanies.php?year=2006
Not the heaviest hitting list for finance people.
Does your school offer any?
aspiringmonkey, you applying online? It seems evident that for non-targets, it's really not worth your time. Put that time towards making/utilizing contacts.
Again, brutally honest:
Sometimes top banks take chances on unusual people that could break the mold, particularly for summer because they can try you before they buy you. Engineering is an oblique but workable angle to approach i-banking from, and I know some who have made it. Your GPA is solid in a difficult field, but your school is a detractor. Your physical attractiveness and charisma will help a lot. I'm assuming you're not a minority since you didn't mention it; sad, because that would have helped a great deal. Your challenges are facing the no-ibanking-focus issue and working the elite outsider angle. Also, the competition for summer positions is absolutely cutthroat.
Upshot: assuming everything you've told me is true, I'd give you 8-10% if you bust your ass and follow every lead. This doesn't take your contacts into account; contacts can make such a huge difference that I can't really guess without more info on them. The trouble will be that your resume won't impress them enough to land the interview in which they could be impressed by your interpersonal aspects. Get your face in front of them somehow and your chances get a lot better.
To HokieAnalyst,
Did you catch Wachovia at the career fair last month? You said they were touting their IB program? If so, I think that would be a first. I was hoping to get down there, but I'm working this semester and it didn't work out. You'd think with all the stuff they sponsor on campus they would recruit more.
Mis Ind,
Thanks for your input. It's very much appreciated. Since you do have an insider's view on things, I'd like to follow up with a question here.
I'm wondering how much interaction (if any) the IB groups have with 1) back office personnel, say for example operations 2) top personnel outside of IB division.
This curiosity pertains to my "contacts." I'm just trying to get an idea of what exposure they may have ahead of time. I can clarify some of the above if needed. Thanks.
1: I've never heard of any IBer speaking to anyone in operations. Operations people make the money go places; we have no contact with the money at all. Hell, we don't even really think much about actual money all by itself. Cash is more like an incidental conduit for a transaction. How many debts are actually funded by real cash? It's debt, it's equity, it's off-balance-sheet financing, but cash? No, we don't really work with operations. Maybe people in Lev Fin and ECM talk to them. I don't know.
2: MDs talk across divisions a little bit, and junior people occasionally work together. I probably couldn't help a friend get hired into ECM or Lev Fin or Private Wealth from IB, though. I just don't have the contacts. I would assume that's not an uncommon situation. Remember that smaller banks would have more cross-talking, though.
I'll let Mis Ind answer from her institution's perspective, but from personal experience there is little to no interaction with back office. We have limited interaction with middle office (finance, accounting) when going over yearly numbers.
If by "outside IB division" you mean for example, an MD in sales & trading, I doubt they would have much pull within the IBD unless by happenstance they had a good relationship within the department somewhere.
Within the IBD and outer capital markets functions, it's relatively painless if you have the right contacts. For example, if you knew a guy in Consumer but wanted to be in Lev Fin or ECM, if your contact knew an associate or VP in those groups well enough to pass you on, you could legitamitely stand a chance to get hired. I think since industry groups have less contact with each other than with product groups, it might play better into having inter-group contacts.
Maybe go for a less competitive role in the bank and try to transfer over?
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