International Banker in New York
Hello everyone! I am a second-year IB analyst at a lower end boutique in NYC (almost 2 years). Originally from China, I came to the US for a MS Finance degree (non-target large public school in NYS). I am currently looking for new opportunities but the new job hunting is not going so well. I interviewed with several mm/boutique banks and bb but all failed finally (failed in two final interviews).
I understand that banking industry is competitive, especially for international people. I thought I should figure out where the problems are before keeping trying. Also, I am afraid they will pass on me because of my education background (college degree in China+non target MS dgree in the US)/language(English is not my mother language). I even started to consider going to a top MBA program in one year or two if education background is an issue.
Any advice/personal experience would be appreciated. Thank you guys!
bump
Bump!
English is not my mother tongue either, so I empathize with you. I lateraled from a "no-name" boutique to a MM myself, so here are some suggestions as to what might be your issue. Make sure to also take a look at my lateraling guide.
Are you a U.S. citizen?
How is your spoken English?
When asked about the transactions on your resume, are you able to articulate what you did, or are you stumbling through this part of the interview?
Are you coming across as someone who another banker can work with 14 hours a day?
Have you done enough research to be able to answer the "Why do you want to work for us?" question. As a lateral candidate, you need a stronger answer than what an undergrad might give.
Are you able to really explain why you got an MSF? You need to make it clear that the MSF is not an MBA and that it's essentially one year of high-level finance classes meant to prepare you for IB.
Finally, one thing to consider is that you might not actually be the problem. The problem might be that there is simply a better candidate out there. I had that happen to me several times. I would make it to the final round, crush the interview, and then not get it. I would later see if I could find the person who got it on LinkedIn, and low and behold, they were just more qualified than I was. Good luck!
Thanks Sil. Just read your post and it is so helpful. A lot of details are awesome and I think you helped a lot people including me.
-I am not a U.S. citizen and I am holding work Visa (This is an issue at some banks).
-I came to the U.S. four years ago. I do not really know how my spoken English is. I think it is good but definitely need to make it as native as Americans' English.
-Regarding resume, should I list all the closed and ongoing deals in my resume? In my current resume I just said "I have transaction experience in multiple sectors including xx, xx...".
-I like your point regarding MSF.
In my current roles, modeling work is limited. Like you did, I also practise by using clients' data after work/at the weekend. Also, my pay is a little lower than market rate, which is my another concern. Will this give interviewers a bad impression and suspect my banking experience?
Thanks for your time.
I think that the reason why your interviews are not panning out are two-fold: you are not a U.S. citizen and your lack of transaction experience on your resume. I would highly suggest using the WSO resume review service or at least following the M&I template for your resume. You need transaction experience on there.
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