Non-Target Chances
For those non-target guys/gals who broke in. What did you do to differentiate yourselves?
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Going to school barely talked abt on here(T30).
Have a good story and get a few internships. People way overhype how hard it is to get in from a non target; you just gotta network/not be weird and you'll be fine.
Good story/div 1 athlete. Once I broke into the first internship it then became more about working hard and performance than the fact I’m from a non target.
Went to a Top 110-120 school
Strong extracurriculars that speak well about how you can help the firm you're interviewing for. Ex: starting your own investment fund at your school, having finance-related internships, having leadership roles on campus, and of course NETWORKING
I think people try to overcomplicate things sometimes. You don't need to be super unique. Just have good grades, network, have good internships, and good ECs and you'll be fine
Went to a non-target state school, graduated with a 3.0 GPA, and broke into a top Rx group after a year to two years of graduating.
People on here say networking, but you should get creative with that. I've done over a hundred coffee chats and networking calls. The hard part is getting people to respond. I was trying to reach out to 10+ people a day via LinkedIn and cold emails, and I made sure to follow-up with the non-respondents each week for 2-3 weeks thereafter.
My approach involved looking for people that went to my college, went to my high school, was from my hometown, went to a college in my hometown, had unconventional paths into IB (e.g., lateraled from other finance), or went to a non-target school like myself. With every networking call, I found it best to find some sort of common ground with the person, and reaching out to the people that fit into one or more of the categories helped. People with those backgrounds tend to be more inclined to connect and to better understand your situation.
On top of all that, I took modeling courses, had my story very tight, and was prepping for interviews all the time. I've gone through SA recruitment the last couple years, and you should try to have a 3.8 or higher (though not an absolute must) and try to have as much relevant experience as possible. This means internships and clubs. For internships, try to find some boutique IBs or PEs or VCs to work for; that's probably the most realistic, traditional, and ideal internships you'd want on your resume before submitting apps for SA or FT recruitment.
When you're networking with people, try to do one or more of the following: (1) find out about any openings; (2) get a referral to someone else (in that group, in another group, or perhaps another bank); and (3) establish a relationship that you can revisit for when a position does open up.
Being prepared and networking is about 80-90% of the work, and the remaining 10-20% is just being lucky and finding a process. Opportunities are spontaneous.
Went to a non-target and broke into S&T at a BB. I had a passion for the role and what I felt to be a compelling story; I cold emailed 500+ people to get interviews and then eventually got a couple offers.
Biggest thing that separated me was getting others to like me and demonstrating your passion for the role during these networking calls. Both go hand in hand IMO.
To add, it’s important to be your own advocate since these bankers/traders you hop on a call with won’t immediately advocate for a random non target. You have to show them why you over some kid at a target. Gotta be your own cheerleader and have confidence. Good luck
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