Aug 12, 2019

Immigrant, Homeless, Broke AF but FINALLY LANDS IB at a BB.

If you can, read the whole story. Anyone out there that's gone through tough shit, heads up and never give up!

My living situation as a child

I was born in a third world country (middle east), very (and I cannot stress this enough) shitty living conditions. Dirt roads, little food, browning water. My dad was VERY lucky and got approved for his green card and brought my mom and his kids to the states. No lie, it was very shitty here too. Both of my parents didn't attend high school, had to feed three kids, and needed to make rent. It was tough. My mom washed dishes, my dad cleaned floors, I personally cleaned bathrooms to support my family. My older brother has downs syndrome and also worked at a liquor store to support our family. Some other shitty things to mention before we get into the good stuff: We lost our home and lived in a van for some time, lost all our so-called “family” and “friends” because we were too poor/ “worthless” (fuck you guys).

Originally I wanted to be a Dr

I worked really fucking hard in high school and did well academically (high GPA, clubs, etc). Why? I wanted to go to a good school on scholarship and make money to take care of my family. Originally, I wanted to be a doctor, deadass because I knew they made money and it would always guarantee a job. Yes, I didn't care about helping people, I just wanted money and I’ll admit it.

Scholarship offer

I was able to receive a full 100k scholarship to a VERY NON TARGET. Lmao you def have never heard of it but it was free tuition and an almost guarantee admittance to med school (if I did well). I didn't have 2$ let alone money for college, so I was like fuck it, let's go. I went, I hated the subjects, medicine was boring af to me. Plus, I didn't know it would take so much time and debt to really make some money as a doctor, like a lot of it, fuck that. I didn't have the patience and my family needs help because our situation was getting worse by the day. I had no idea wtf IB was, I honestly didn't know much about finance, thought it was whatever. Then my buddy got a job at Barclays and told me you make a fuck ton. I was like shit and made the switch.

Transferred to a target

First, had to switch schools because no way in hell was I getting an interview let alone an offer given my school. LEGIT ZERO alum are in banking at that school. I transferred to a very good target (think Northwestern, Umich, Duke). Thankfully, the school loved my story and they actually matched my scholarship so I don't have to pay even a single dollar for tuition (very fortunate).

Secured a IB Internship

The challenge was not over. I was dumb af and still didn't know anything about finance or banking. All I knew was chem and bio given my pre-med background. Plus, being poor at this school where everyone was rich af and had connections, I felt irrelevant and didn't think I was going to make it. My first year, I bombed every interview. Reason being, didn't know technicals because I haven't taken business courses and my parents were sick (a lot of personal stress). I was able to secure an IB internship in NY at a whatever bank.

Networked like crazy

I kept grinding despite missing school to take care of my parents and working 3 part-time jobs during school to put food on the table for my family back home. When I arrived in NY, I finally understood the concept of networking and proper interview skills. Met with every person in the city, legit over 100 phone meetings/coffee chats to break into the industry.

Got the call...

I then was invited for a superday at a BB. NGL, I didn't think it went well. Everyone there was an IVY league kid and looked way more polished than me. The interview went well but not like THAT GREAT. I came out feeling OK. I went back to work and kept on networking and preparing for interviews. At around 7pm, I get a call from NY and my heart sank. It was either the mofo seamless guy or the BB. I picked up and the VP called to congratulate me, I got an offer at the BB within IB.

I DEADASS cried while talking to him and said “Thank you, my family and I really appreciate it”

I ran outside the building, facetimed my parents and NEVER FELT MORE HAPPIER. For the first time, my parents were crying tears of joy and I finally feel content for once.

All that shit that I went through is fading away. I still can't believe that a poor immigrant kid could get an offer at a BB in IB.

Lessons:

NEVER give up, always be nice to EVERYONE, stay confident, use “disadvantages” as learning opportunities, and try to find meaning to why you want something (for me, taking care of my family).

(Apologize for being dramatic or any silly grammatical or spelling errors. I’m just happy af and still can't think rn lol. All the best to you all. Happy to answer questions)

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87 Comments

PeRmAnEnTiNtErN

Congrats, this is well deserved.