Log 2: First update.

It's not the end of the week yet, but I decided to post this now since the weekdays are over and we're winding down. I would just like to say thanks to all the people who posted on my previous post. I'm a lazy stupid non-target who's tryning to break in. I really appreciate any information you guys give me.

Please give me your worst and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Log for Week: 9/16-9/22

Networking: Well I took the advice of the comments from my last post and sent a lot of cold messages and emails. I would say I sent around 60 cold emails, not the big 100, but a big step up for myself. I emailed mostly analysts and got a pretty good return rate of about 1/5. Although I've added a shit ton of people on LinkedIn, only a handful offered to chat. I've got about 5 calls in the next week and have already had one talk with an analyst.

The call with the analyst was pretty awkward, he had an accent and I couldn't understand him in some of the things he said. He was also calling from a location with bad sound, and I was pretty nervous myself. It was the first time calling an analyst over the phone.

I'm just gonna hope I can get better overtime, cause I'm not gonna break in if I keep doing that. :/

Question: I was asked this question: "How much do you know about Investment Banking". How would you guys answer the question? I said "It's financial advisory for certain processes like M&A and IPOs".

That's probably not an good answer though, any thoughts? Are there any good books to read to learn more about this?

Academically: I added this sections last time, but I don't there is any use of it. It's kind of pointless and weird to tell you guys.

Plan: - Hit that 100 cold mails - Learn to talk better with bankers. - Practice on DCF modeling and excel shortcuts. - Eventually get a coffee talks instead of phone calls.

9 Comments
 
Most Helpful

1) Attitude Don't call yourself a stupid non-target. As a non-target myself, you're just as capable as anyone else to break into banking. Also, you will get better at cold calling over time, don't be a little b*h and say "I'm not gonna break in if I keep doing that... sad face". 2) **Consistency Nice job making it to 60 emails, that's an impressive jump from where you were at earlier. Plus your return rate is hot right now, so I imagine your cold email is fairly good or you're a lucky fk. 3) **Learn the Basics It seems like that question was more so asking you how familiar are you with the job in general, not exactly what an investment bank does. But, you definitely need to know EXACTLY what an investment bank does and EXACTLY what an analyst does - pretty easy to figure out both with a quick google search. You can read Rosenbaum book, but you don't need to read a whole book to figure out what a bank/analyst at a bank does, lol. 4) Your Plan Sucks The first one is fine. The second one is okay, but not really a tangible goal because this is a process. The third is unnecessary, learn the basics of investment banking and the technicals before you're in excel trying to run a model. The fourth, no. Coffee is great, but don't get coffee instead of a call - do both.

 

Thanks for commenting again. I wish I could show more gratitude than a silver B.

I know that calls and coffees are important, but wouldn't you be likely to make a bigger impact being face to face?

 

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