Staying Sane During Recruitment | Tips and Pointers

Introduction
Fellow monkeys, got bored watching the Redskins try to act like they're a real team this season so I decided to put down some thoughts into writing. This post is about my experience this past semester with recruiting, both my success and failures, in hopes of giving a helping hand to those who are powering through the Wall Street interview process.

Quick Background: Semi-target without a 4.0 or an MD referral who ended up with a dream offer.

Anyways, let's get started with this low quality BuzzFeed listicle.

1. Find a Champion
If I had jumped into this process with just WSO and DickFuld as my platform I would have failed even more miserably more than I did starting off. Find someone who is in the industry that you care about and that cares about you. I was extremely fortunate that I had a couple close friends spend hours of their precious time tearing apart my resume and grilling my interview responses. Believe it or not your 4.0 GPA looks really bad next to bullet points that start with passive verbs.

2. Own the Process - DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE ALLOW IT TO CONSUME YOU
I poured my whole heart into this process. Was that the best thing to do? I don't know, but it sure made me way more sensitive to the ups and downs of the process. Recruiting is a roller coaster. You need to buckle in, and buckle in hard; but after a certain point squeezing your hands on the guard out of fear stops helping. If a firm says no, take that as a good thing. Why would you feel down about not getting to format powerpoints for someone who didn't like you?

3. Be Genuine, Be Humble
Even though I've seen but two decades of life, I know this one point to be incredibly true and crucial. Apply this to every facet of your life, it makes the ride a bit smoother. Bankers deal with people all day long, they can tell when your story about saving 17 impoverished panda cubs from Ebola is a lie. And plus, when you're yourself you're more comfortable and able to carry on conversation.

Also, don't just regurgitate the WSO and M-I guides. Everyone knows you can walk your dog through the DCF park, but can you see how the analysis moves as your assumptions change?

I don't know you and I'll probably never meet you, but I want you to succeed. This world and this life are all we have. If banking is for you, then push as hard as you can for it.

Best of luck in your travels.