Networking for non-target students

1. Start the calls as a freshman no doubt. Give yourself as much time as possible to get a large sample size. To break into the industry I think I maybe had 200+/year calls, but try to get a feel so you’re not just having calls to have calls. I probably overshot that a bit looking back.

Pro tip: ask for mentorship instead of normal chats. People LOVE to mentor if they have the time. It’s a much more personal relationship and less transactional when it comes to the awkward conversation of a referral. I’ve met some awesome mentors whom I always keep up with still to this day. No need to be in person although it helps to put a face to the name in person.

2. It depends on the firm. Some shops genuinely only recruit from Ivys and other targets. Nothing you can do here, don’t want to work for them anyways imo. On the inside referrals hold a lot of weight especially from an employee whose opinion is highly valued on the team. If you find a mentor in your calls that’s a very standup guy/girl with a lot of integrity and experience that’s a good sign. Keep grinding and you’ll break in easily, the mountain looks so much more steep until you start climbing.