Q&A: 3.1 GPA at a State School to Boutique IB
Not sure if there is any interest in this but I'd love a chance to help current students who have lackluster GPAs and school brands get into the industry. Quick background: I struggled my first semester of college and as a result significantly injured my GPA potential from the start of my college career. I go to relatively large state school (between 20,000 and 40,000 students) After a lot of networking and self-teaching, I landed an internship at a regional IB and was fortunate enough to receive a return offer a few weeks ago. This Q&A is geared towards motivated people who are or were in a situation like mine. My #1 Tip: Start exploring your networking avenues right now and don't be afraid to use them, then keep going until every quality connection can find is exhausted.
How exactly did you explain your low gpa in interviews?
its a regional boutique lol
they still care lol
They definitely did care about my GPA. For me, it was a result of tough family times my first year of college; that reasoning coupled with a PE internship that I completed (very young PE firm, with some industry overlap with this IB) was enough to get me an SA spot. During the internship I worked as diligently and efficiently as I could on deals I was assigned to. After that, I was fortunate enough to receive a return offer.
My advice is to work your ass off once you start your SA role, that will be the true way to show your coworkers what you’re really like.
Thanks for doing the AMA! Is there anything you would recommend focusing on while networking coming from a non target?
Be selective when choosing who you email. It may seem like a waste to take 30 minutes to find and write (a personalized, well-researched email) to an analyst who may not respond, but for me that was the best route.
Find analysts and associates who are also from similarly “ranked” schools and simply ask them for a phone call to learn about their career path.
Let me know if you have more questions about this.
Are you planning on attempting to go to a BB after a year or two or would you consider being at the boutique for the long term?
Lateralling to a slightly larger bank later down my career path has popped into my head. However, I’m fortunate enough that the team at this firm is fun, efficient, and friendly to work with and I can definitely see myself here for quite some time.
Also, despite being small, we have a strong deal pipeline, and there is a lot of opportunity to advance within the firm quickly when you do valuable work.
Why are people giving OP monkey shit? You gotta work with the hand you are dealt.
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I understand that it isn't the "cinderella story" of 3.1 to Evercore that a lot of people are looking to hear about. I am mostly just doing this to pass on knowledge to people who are in a situation like I was and to remind them to not give up.
Some people consider just having a job as an accomplishment. Some people have very rough upbringings and are starting from way further than the typical white male finance frat boy with a trust fund and connections in the industry.
dude, are you kidding? you literally posted a couple months ago about being in undergrad and don't have any ib experience... how are you possibly in a position to say it's not that much of an accomplishment lmao WSO is too funny
Forgive my unfamiliarity, but what are some regional boutiques? Are they firms like SunTrust?
Suntrust is considered a regional boutique from what I understand. My firm does deals up to about 750 million EV. While we don’t do “large” deals, I’m really glad that I was able to land in a career thats interesting and opportunity-heavy.
How exactly did networking help you get this job? We’re you referred to management from an analyst or did an analyst tell you that there were openings when you spoke on the phone with them?
Like every other firm I was interested in, I found the email of an associate at the firm (google, linkedin, company site, etc.) and sent them a relatively short, simple email outlining my background and interest. We set up a phone call and at the end I asked to get lunch with them once I was in town.
Of course after that I let them know I was in the process of looking for an internship and asked them to keep me updated on their program. The final step is to just keep following up every few weeks to really prove your interest in their firm (brining up recent transactions in these follow-ups is a really surefire way to show you have been following their firm)
How exactly did networking help you get this job? We’re you referred to management from an analyst or did an analyst tell you that there were openings when you spoke on the phone with them?
I'm a sophomore year student at a non target school. I plan to spend a lot of time this year building my network but I'm not sure who I should contact because I don't know what company I can realistically work at with a degree from the University of Minnesota. Should I try to network with investment bankers from a BB or should I try to network with bankers who work in a boutique? Any responses are appreciated.
If your grades are top notch (3.8+) I think you could connect with most people. However, I found that BB bankers do not often respond to cold emails, probably because they get so many; but it is still worth a shot to send them, especially if they went to your school.
Definitely use LinkedIn or other sites to find UMinnesota bankers and start with them, just be sure to mention you're an undergrad there in your email.
Being a sophomore, I'd focus on boutiques/MM for a summer internship and then use that to get an internship at a bigger bank your junior summer (assuming you want to go to a larger bank)
Don't be afraid of your school's brand name, just have the social and technical skills to back you up and you should be fine. I've had buddies from my school go to IB at RBC, Jefferies, and Goldman, so don't sell yourself short and keep your grades up.
The vice chairman of Morgan Stanley went to the U. There are plenty of Gophers on Wall St. seek them out.
Hey KeyboardMonkey - thanks a ton for doing this. Here are a few questions:
a. How long did it take you to get an internship from your first cold email with the Associate?
b. What are the general points you talk about in the very first call with an Associate/Analyst you have just connected with?
c. How do you navigate into the internship part during the conversation - do you ask for a referral from the outset or do you ask them to notify you when there's an opening?
d. How do you maintain the relationship with connections that did not yield anything?
e. What was your experience in cold-messaging MDs/VPs?
Thanks again.
No problem man, happy to do it.
A. I sent an email and talked on the phone over my Soph Summer. Got lunch with them in Fall. And received the internship offer in early Spring. So overall, about 8 months of contact.
B. Go over the analyst's duties, the firm's/group's industry coverage, talk about their path into IB and if you feel comfortable ask for advice regarding your own track. My tip for the first call is know major and recent transactions for the analyst's firm/inudstry/product group. This way you can have an intelligent conversation rather than a meaningless one.
C. I told them (at the end of lunch) that I was in the process of looking for an internship. I wouldn't straight up ask for a referral unless you know them well. Just remind them a few weeks later that you're in the process of internship hunting. Keep reminding them every month or so until they give you a "yes, we have spots open" or a "no."
D. This is interesting, I haven't kept up as much as I've should with those connections but I plan to soon. Make sure you reach out to them if you accept an offer to let them know, most places won't be devastated but instead will be happy for you. Follow up with them after your internship and let them know how it went and ask how their firm is. Basic networking call.
E. I had like a 0.025% return on MD emails haha, however, I have heard cinderella stories about landing a great job as a result of this. Personally, I wouldn't email them unless you have a strong connection (Same fraternity, same school, same hobbies, etc.)
Hey - thanks for that quick response. Just one more thing - why did you choose to go for lunches? Aren't 'coffee chats' more of a norm? Just asking becuase I have never been on a lunch with an agenda. It gets tough to focus on the food and the mission.
Some points that I would like to clarify is that lol dont feel afraid to email mds, even if you dont have a strong connection. They are hands down the most helpful and its not a Cinderella story to get help from them. I would strongly urge that you start with analysts/associates since networking takes practice.
Also regarding knowing deals and talking about them during the initial call, I would heavily suggest against them during the first call. You will most likely come out as super cringe and lets be honest who wants to talk to some college students about shit they barely understand during an initial call... Leave that stuff for later calls.
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