I got referrals from few senior bankers at different firms (BBs/EBs) and have a GPA 3.30, and yet wasn't able to secure first round interviews. All of them say that the applicant pool was very competitive and blah blah.
Is this common? If not, what could have potentially gone wrong?
I have done previous finance internships, and go to a semi-target school.
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Happens all the time. Referral is never by any means an automatic interview- depends on the strength of the referral (both how much they push for you and how senior they are at the firm), and even then sometimes a referral can't overcome poor stats. I had a GPA much higher than yours and was referred at a few places that I ended up never even getting a 1st round interview.
Happened with me too, lol. First I thought I wrote something wrong in my application because I am not supposed to get denied for first rounds as I got referrals from a SVP/MD, but oh well.
Happened to me and still happens can't do nothing about it. Just move onto the next one.
Happens even with a 3.85 so don't feel bad ;)
from which bank are you hearing this back from exactly?
LZ/GH/Moelis. Never heard that's the problem. My contact told me that the resume didn't pass through.
Basically, either your resume wasn't strong enough to pass muster even with the recommendation (low GPA, non-core school for that bank), or your contact didn't push hard enough for you to get through.
One thing that I think current students misunderstand is the concept of "targets" and "semi-targets". Even if you've heard that your school is a "semi-target", if that bank doesn't come for OCR at your school, you are a "non-target" for that bank. You have a leg up on schools that are non-targets for all BB/EBs, but, for those banks that don't do OCR at your school, you still likely end up in the same non-target pile.
Your GPA is low enough that unless you were an absolute monster in terms of experience or super connected, this is a pretty realistic result. Honestly, I believe that networking is most important/helpful for the kids with 'good' but not stellar resumes. 3.5+, decent school, and demonstrated previous finance experiences.
By super connected means connected with tons of associates and VPs or being connected with someone like one C-level guy?
(I would assume the latter but still asking your opinion)
Networking gets more important with a less traditionally strong resume. It only makes sense that one needs more internal support for a less impressive resume.
In my experience going through a similar process - I found that there is a sweet spot for connections at BBs. You want one band below MD usually (Director, ED, VP at some places, titles change a little). This puts them in that perfect place where they can directly put pressure down on the band below them (who are often running the recruiting process for that team), but not come off like you have a 45 year old MD who is pulling a favor for their old frat-buddies' kid.
This pressure then trickles down to the associates and analysts who are doing the interviews - and hopefully swings them around to giving you a chance.
One other thing I like to think about regarding referrals like this - using this method what you're really relying on is how much the younger guys (VPs Associates and Analysts) like the guy who is pushing for you. So when you are asking a connection to throw your name into the applicant pool, try being strategic about who you ask to do it. You will get the best results from someone who is both respected and liked. I realize it is a bit of a crap shoot who your connections are at BBs, but for the sake of argument, if you do have options - pick the guy you think fits that description best.
Think about dropping to the next tier, getting some experience, then reapply to the BB or EB (or go to grad school, then reapply).
Also, remember how you are portraying yourself to your "contact". If you seem like the type of person that your referral knows probably wouldn't get along too well with the rest of the people in the office, they'll still be nice to you and tell you that they're pushing your resume while in reality they're not going to do much.
Your personality, talent, attitude and overall potential as a candidate all reflect on your referral. If they think you're a fucking gem, they'll try hard to push you through. If you're OK, but they have other students that have reached out to them that they like better, they'll push their resumes first.
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