Referral from former MD of a prestigious IB
Hi guys! I am a finance and accounting majors junior in a non-target school. I am interning in a private family office this summer. On Tuesday, I talked to my investment manager and we had a casual and genuine conversation. She suggested me to work for investment bank after graduation for a few years. She offered to refer me to a prestigious IB for 2019 internship since she was an MD there before.
I took a look at the bank's website yesterday but it says the hiring process for 19's summer intern already ended. I wonder if the referral from a former MD will get me an interview? What are your thoughts on this? And how should I prepare for this? Thanks so much!
I've had both successes and failures at getting interviews through referrals from former employees and it all boiled down to how long they have been out and who (if anyone) they still know (and have good relations with).
My first instinct would be to say that it probably won't help, especially if the process has closed.
I think you might be right. I will update this thread if I have any progress. Thank you for sharing your thought on this!
If you're interested in the opportunity, what is the downside of exploring it? Take her up on the offer and see what happens. You'd be surprised what people at the executive level of a firm can do. I've seen Partners at large firms ignore all kinds of company rules like this, processes and protocols that are based on "standard procedures" rather than some actual legal/ethical issue. They'll just be like "Yeah, the process is closed, but I run this group and I'm interested in interviewing this kid." Who's going to stop them? H.R.? They're not considering hiring strippers, they're considering hiring a potential quality employee who missed the main channel. This sort of thing might not be common, but I wouldn't say it's unheard of.
Again, I see no possible harm in exploring the opportunity.
What happens if a month from now someone they hired has a change of plans or gets hit by a bus? The process is still closed, but now they need to either reopen it to fill a spot...OR, make an offer to that kid they gave a "courtesy interview" to a month ago because Ms. Former MD recommended him.
In my view, you explore the opportunity. It's a no-pressure situation with no downside.
Thanks so much for your reply! Should I mention that the process is closed to my manager? Also, I think she is going to refer me after this internship is over. Any advice on pushing the progress on my side?
Have a chat with her on how/when she recruited for IB and then explain that recruiting is moving earlier and that you are currently recruiting for X Y Z other similar firms. She should understand that it's recruiting season and will hopefully refer you now.
Applying the “you miss all the shots you don’t take” mindset to a lot of scenarios clarifies a lot of decisions - at least in my experience anyway. Classy way of saying ‘YOLO’ but I agree with above... what is downside by asking?
Alright! Thanks bro! That's a great piece of life advice.
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