What do you guys usually include when you send a first email to an alum or a contact?
- Name/School year/Majors
- Looking at summer positions in finance/IB
- Found name through alumni network/ possibility of speaking with them to learn about their experience with the firm/their work as well as the summer opportunities
- Attached resume -Thank them for their help
Anything else? I'm finding my emails this semester to be particularly unsuccessful at getting responses back- I go to a target school have a solid GPA and good experience- obviously a good chance that they are just busy and I am getting unlucky with who I am emailing, but is there anything else you include in these emails or anything you would recommend saying/wording etc?
Now sent out about 17 emails - (2 of them are follow ups to HR contacts, both of whom did not respond, that I was given through my initial conversation with an alum). Of the 17 have had 5 respond. (3 of them were sent late last week so that is justified) but still seems like a pretty low rate, and in past years I seem to have mad much more success.
Anyways- thoughts? tips?
Bump.
And additional question- how do you approach applying to firms where you have no contact- A few of the smaller but solid boutiques (Centerview, Greenhill, Rothschild) have no alumni contacts from my school, and for these I'm not a target school (they don't recruit on campus). Anything more that I can do then just apply online? Any way to get the email of the HR person in charge of summer recruiting to speak with them? Worth emailing a random employee and seeing if they can help?
Yeah. Well the fact of the matter is it is a low conversion rate. Anyone can tell you that. The trick is persistance. What year are you? Could you post your letter so we can give some honest feedback on it?
And as for your second question, then yes. You can try and cold network with some employees and see if they can help. Or leverage your alumni base to see if they know anyone at these places.
Here is an example of something I would send to an alum. I'm currently a junior.
Dear Mr XXXX,
My name is XXXX, and I am a junior at XXXX College studying economics and history. I'm beginning to look into opportunities for next summer, and am very interested in the summer internship positions offered with XXXX. I found your name through the alumni network, and I was hoping it would be possible to speak with you to learn more about these positions but also to learn about your experience with the firm and your career in finance after graduating from XXXX. I have attached a copy of my resume for your information. Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards, XX
Ok, to me that is a pretty solid email. I mean, the issue is that there is lots of wear and tear when you are pounding the pavement looking for a job. What about OCR? Any bites there?
(Also- keep in mind that if it is NYC you are targetting, then the issue is that life is still not normal there. I know lots of people who are still without power and are unable to really respond to networking requests)
The hurricane stuff unfortunately disrupted a lot of calls that had been set up, and I'm guessing a number of those will not end up being re-scheduled. OCR is not too prevalent here- small LAC though a target at a lot of the banks with strong recruiting teams their- I think only JPM comes on campus for interviews though a number of the others will give presentations and contact info- been trying to network with some of the people who came on campus from GS/Barcap/MS.
Another comment on this topic- how do you feel about sending emails to non-alums (for the sites that do give out email addresses of some of their employees). I am assuming for the most part I will just get no response, but is there any way this could actually hurt me (assuming I am polite/respectful in the emails).
Email looks good, but possibly a bit on the long side. That being said, it really is a numbers game. One thing that helps increase yield is relating to the person personally. For example, I got my current job with the help of an alum from my engineering school, despite the post being strictly for b-school kids. In my opening email I told him about how challenging it is for STEM majors to get the chance to prove themselves and how, as a fellow engineer, I would really appreciate his/her advice on breaking in. This led to a phone call, an interview, and eventually a job offer. The key is to get the person on the other end to empathize with you. If you're coming from a non-target you undoubtedly know how difficult it is to get an employer's attention. Alums from your school that have made it will definitely have a soft spot for someone like yourself trying to do the same. If you word your emails correctly you can definitely leverage that.
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