Transition from Toronto to New York?

I'll be working as a SA at one of the canadian banks (rbc, td, cibc) in Toronto for the upcoming summer and was wondering how I can position myself to get a job in NY for full time.

I'm pretty sure there will be almost no job postings for positions in NY at my school for the upcoming year, so what am I supposed to do exactly to get an offer for IB in NY for full time?

35 Comments
 

I'd say it's pretty difficult if they don't recruit at your school. I mean your only option at that point would be to apply online via their website, which gives you a very slim chance of even landing an interview. You'd have to network with alumni and find an interview some other way.

 

what school do you go to? If like you said there are no job postings you probably go to a second tier school in Canada i.e. not Ivey, Queens, or McGill. In that case your chances are practically non-existent to be realistic given that you are coming out of a canadian bank as well. Unless you network frantically, take a trip to NY and talk to as many people. I would try to get the FT offer if I were you, work in Toronto, then try the transition. If you add value you may be able to transition within (rbc, cibc, or watever)in their NY offices and switch again from there.

 

Agree with niles,

the best way to break into BB IB would be through business schools since you have not had any luck so far. I think the reason you did not get any response is that you have been in the industry too long that they don't know where to place you. Another suggestion is to try to find opportunities through headhunters.

Doesn't GS recruit from UBC, so I wonder why you cannot find any alumni from BB?

 

Hum, not quite the feedback I expected, but I guess I should look into it. The problem now I face is that a lot of the application deadlines have passed and we're now looking into round 3 admissions which don't accept many people.

Niles, by top 5, did you mean HBS, Standford, Wharton, Chicago, Kellogg?

I did some quick research into the application deadlines and there's no way I could do Feb 28 and the 22 for Wharton and Kellogg.

Are there other schools that I should be considering? My end goal is only to work in IB in BB in NY.

 

people have told me in Canada all the banks are the same really. I know the league tables say differently but thats just what ive been told, things vary from year to year and banking experience is banking experience regardless of where you are

 

banker: Can you justify why RBC and CIBC are "far ahead" of other Canadian banks (namely TDS and Scotia Cap)?

Although I'm a Canuck, I don't work for a Canadian bank. I'm just interested to hear your reasoning.

 

What kind of back-up do you want if not league tables or general opinions?

Every year, RBC and CIBC are no.1 or no.2 in 1) equity underwriting, 2) all financings, 3) Canadian M&A. Pretty well no exceptions.

Having said that, if you worked at other Canada-centric organizations such as Scotia, BMO, TD, National Bank, Genuity, GMP for the summer and wanted to go to NY, then you'll be fine.

If you work at Wellington West or some other lesser known boutique, then it may be a little more difficult but not impossible. The U.S. banks like Canadians generally.

 

I heard as much. Although I'm from a non-target for the NY firms. All the Canadian banks recruit from my school and a few of the Canadian branches of the American firms, but no one from NY directly.

 
Best Response

To be completely honest, it's not impossible, but it is easier to go to a US school for several reasons: US schools have more cachet (there are no "target" Canadian schools... Ivey would probably be the best). Being physically here is tremendous for networking. From a visa standpoint once you graduate you can use the F visa which allows you to stay for 18 months (I think).

Getting work experience in Canada is not a bad route either, but definitely less direct. If you work at a large Canadian bank, the experience is valuable and you will get attention from HH and recruiters, but you will have other issues (US Caliber vs. Canadian, TN visas --> H-1B, physical networking) etc.

Here are some of my posts which have more details. Feel free to ask questions:

My story: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/coming-to-america-a-canadian-in-n…

Barriers and how to overcome them: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/ibd-barriers-to-entry-for-canadia…

TN Visa: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/tn-1-visa-for-canadians-academic-…

Hope this helps.

 

Can confirm, if you want to work in the states, you have the most opportunities at Ivey, amongst the other Canadian universities

Source: Declined my Ivey offer and I have a lot of friends there

 

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