Past business experience VS Past finance experience

I understand that having an interest or internships or clubs in finance is key for finance, because you need to want it in order to work those grueling hours. So if an otherwise strong applicant has recorded activities/internships in consulting or strategy or entrepreneurship but not specifically finance, are they going to be dinged for someone who's a lot more focused in finance, even if they are less qualified?

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Look, all things equal, at the end of the day if there's two candidates with fairly equal GPAs, school name brands behind them, and interviewing ability, chances are they're going to give an offer to the kid who's demonstrated greater interest in the industry by putting in the work to stack his resume. If you apply to finance right out of school with a bunch of consulting experience, that looks as weird as applying a bunch of finance experience towards a history position. Your last comment is a bit off-base, because someone who's a lot more focused via experience will be more qualified.

Read Marcus' recruiting threads for more on this: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/ug-recruiting-part-iii-the-super-…

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

Sorry, let me clarify. By "qualified," I was referring to more universal benchmarks of qualification like a high GPA and overall achievement in activities.

 

Illo omnis iure reprehenderit natus repudiandae et similique. Cum in id dolores inventore sequi. Sed asperiores quae nisi sunt repellat sapiente magni. Recusandae qui rem qui. Ut et quis eveniet ex autem. Corporis ut debitis aliquam autem tempora nemo ex nemo. Nemo quisquam qui qui modi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”