hey guys,
Just wondering what some good ways to pitch yourself in emails would be? I am searching for a summer analyst internship in M&A, but have been unable to get one as of yet. Not sure but think this could be because of the way I am pitching myself to ibankers.
Thanks in advance,
future ibanker
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May i ask what you mean by the put a number or a brand in there?
Imagine you interned at a company that's not a household name. What you do is give people numbers or brands that you worked with. If you're at a startup, maybe you it had $X million in funding from [insert big VC here]. If you did engineering for a small aerospace company, maybe your company has a relationship with Boeing or Northrup Grumman or something. You can often boost the profile of things you've done by associating with brand-name companies or quantifying value.
Alternatively, you can let things like test scores or GPA lead the way. If you're a rockstar student at South Dakota State University, you can prove to a Ivy-League prestige whore that you're smart by saying you've got a 3.9 and a 2380 SAT on a presidential scholarship or something. It doesn't have to be so dramatic, but its easier to standout if hard numbers do the talking for you.
what do you start off with when you email someone after several months if it's not "hope you are well"?
Just be aggressive I guess
M&I has a really good guide on it, can't link because i'm new/lurker. look up "mergers and inquisitions informational interviews"
Is it the Investment Banking Informational Interviews article or the How to Rock Your Informational Interviews? Or should I read both?
I was talking about the IB informational interviews article, it has a little subsection on how to write effective emails within it. couldn't hurt to read both tho
Email is not the appropriate medium for pitching oneself. Your email should mirror the following and not be any longer:
"Hello Greg the GS MD,
My name is @nok15105", and I'm a sophomore at Harvard interested in pursuing a career in IB. I was wondering if you would have 15 minutes some time this or next week to speak about your experience at GS and IB in general. I appreciate your time. I have attached my resume for context.
Best,
@nok15105""
If you have previous IB experience, attach your resume. Otherwise, don't and skip that last line.
Would you recommend attaching your resume if you have previous Finance experience but not IB itself?
Yes. The reason you attached your resume is to give the email recipient some background information on you. This sometimes is what makes the difference between the banker replying and not replying. Personally, I'd love to help everyone, but if a junior with no internships whatsoever is emailing me, there really isn't much I can do. On the other hand, if I see you have some prior experience, I'll help you since I know that all you might need is a small boost through having me pass your resume along.
In all seriousness, reactions are so mixed on this from what I've gathered, that it doesn't really matter what you're doing to connect with people. If your resume is legit and whoever you sent to is having a good day, they might talk to you with some luck. I think it's really that simple.
Lol true thanks man
Thanks guys this has all been very helpful. I appreciate it.
Something that has worked for me, that I rarely hear people point out, is framing your email so that there is a question finished by a "?", preferably the last sentence. I think there is something psychological about receiving a message with a question that you are more likely to respond.
Hey Gutfreund! How's retired life going? Sorry I had to. Yeah I have done that in essays before but never really thought about doing it an email before. Thanks helps a lot.
If I had some sort of connection to the person I was emailing I tried to include that in the subject line. For example, if I was emailing an alum from my school the subject line could be: XXX University Student Interested in Investment Banking.
yeah good point dude. Will def do that. Thanks so much for the help.
Why them, why you, why now.
Best advice I ever heard, and I think pretty much sums up how to pitch yourself in a brief email.
Tell them why you are reaching out to them...
Tell them why you are good for it...
Tell them why they should act now and what you would like them to do...
Should not be more than 4 sentences and should capture all of the info. Will be more time in the future to catch up on details, but get them to act first and know what they are doing.
Thanks man that sums up what I need to know. Great advice really appreciate that.
I have a non-financial background and this is what I feel is working for me -under 160 words-:
1) Your name and why are you contacting them.
2) Brief intro - in my case stating that I have a non-finance degree - and the reasons why I want to get into banking.
3) Ask if they are open for a call (I'm targeting people in another city). Tell them that you want to hear their story, their experiences.
4) If there is an opening in their bank/firm, mention that you want to learn about the team and work environment before submitting the job application.
5) ATTACH RESUME!!! Always.
As others mentioned before, the email is not the place to pitch yourself. These people already know you are looking for a job, so just aim to learn about what they do, if they like you then they will offer a referral.
Out of curiosity, did you e-mail Donald, Ivanka, or Jared first?
I don't know any of those morons.
Thanks so much Mr. Tillerson! Truly an honor to have you answer my question. Jk sorry I had to say that I couldn't resist. But seriously thanks for the advice.
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