Thanks! - Attending a non-target in the middle of nowhere

Sure, I'd be glad to help.

I actually had an internship the summer before my senior year. I had tried to secure an IB internship but wasn't as organized or prepared to secure even an interview, despite efforts I thought would be sufficient. That failure resulted in me gaining a little more experience and fortitude to go after a FT offer. I finally ended up getting an offer for an internship with an insurance company in their investment portfolio division and learned a lot.

I then knew I was going to need to be extremely proactive if I wanted an IB offer. Anybody that I spoke with I let them know what I was interested in and how I was working to get what I wanted. You must talk to the people around you because you never know what connections those people may have. I learned early in life that you don't get what you don't ask for. Like I said in my earlier post, the area I'm around is not really conducive to very well connected people but I still gave it a shot.

I also was in direct contact with my school's career services dept. and tried to contact anybody even remotely connected to finance/IB. This helps you get on the phone with people and gets great preparation for any phone interview you may get into. I also looked up my school on LinkedIn and tried to contact people I thought might be able to help.

My school doesn't even have a finance major so I knew I needed to learn things on my own if I wanted to be competitive. I was lucky enough to get a phone interview with an IB in Chicago but for some reason didn't make it past that stage. I wasn't sure what the reason was so I again was proactive and contacted the interviewer to learn what he may have liked/disliked about me. This was beneficial and I learned a few things.

I then went into full cold call/email phase. The previous summer I realized my way of contacting people and keeping track of everything was not effective. So this time I built Excel spreadsheets with every IB I could find, I hooked up names, email address (don't forget to specify male/female because although it seems like everyone is a guy, they aren't, and the most effective way to be ignored would be calling a female Mr...) I also listed the time I emailed them, how many times I've tried to contact them, when their recruiting was starting (color coded for impending deadlines), and any other useful info. I also had many different email structures that I used which depended on how I thought that person was. I really wanted to contact people who may have heard of my school, but this was not very easy. So I went with whatever other information I could use. Then I just kept following up and trying to get their attention. I ended up getting a phone interview, which turned into a super day, which turned into a final day of interviews and ultimately an offer.

I beat out a lot of "more qualified" people but I showed passion for the job, excitement for the opportunity, social aptitude, and a commitment level that they knew was genuine. I actually got the offer much earlier than I had anticipated, especially considering how disappointed I was the previous summer and ended up taking it.

I was offered other interviews later but I am not one to commit to something and then go back on my word. It wouldn't have mattered if GS had offered me a job, I committed to my firm, they believed in me, and they will have whatever services I can offer. Overall, I would just say that you need to do your homework, spend as much time as possible trying to get what you want, and be confident in your abilities, confidence is key.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck!