Just been denied by the second boutique and want to know if it’s all worth it. I’ve been prepping a lot on top of my courses and current internship and need motivation to keep going more than anything. I’ll likely start at a boutique as my GPA isn’t glamorous and I’m at a non target so the process is completely up to me to do outreach, cold calling, etc. Encouragement? Stories? Help?
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When I first started recruiting, I had several mental breakdowns. I remember excusing myself from a family dinner to cry, knowing that I was risking it all trying to go for an IB from a non target. It was bad, and I even was thinking of dropping out because my mental state was that fucked, the whole world seemed like it was against me.
I’m obsessive by nature, and the whole internship thing consumed me because all my friends were also doing the racket.
I got an SA offer at a MM and looking back I realized how much of an idiot I was. No matter how bad you feel, there’s always something you can do. Worst thing is worse you have a second chance after a MBA.
Look I’m not saying to give up. You just need one shot to change your life. So it doesn’t matter if 5 or 10 banks reject you, hell if 20 reject you, you’ll learn from your experiences and just keep pushing. All you need is one call back.
Non-target here received offers from 4 BB’s, not a single EB.
Here’s my “cheat code” but you gotta start freshman year:
- Reach out to eboard of student organizations such as: finance club, investment club, accounting club, real estate club, etc. And express your interest in gaining new responsibilities and wanting to be more active in the club
- Try to get on the eboard of as many as you can
- everyday after class, purchase a WallStreet prep subscription or the equivalent and study concepts very single day for like an hour or two. Freshman year I taught myself accounting, advanced accounting, financial statement analysis and financial modeling.
- network with alumni in the IB industry through LinkedIn.
- try to get a vicepresident position by sophomore year at a student org.
- do some sort of volunteer work to add to your resume, recruiters like that.
- don’t flood your resume with finance only stuff, add your interests and things you are passionate about (in my case I added soccer club and cordon bleu classes as I like to cook and play soccer)
I’m a sophomore btw, and secured an IB role from a non-target for my sophomore summer.
It’s possible, just a lot of hard work.
Lastly, RSVP, submit applications, and participate in ALL the recruiting events and programs these banks offer.
Freshman year I started applying like crazy to all these summits, events, programs, speaker series, etc which honestly don’t really teach you anything and are a waste of time (IMO) but they show initiative that your interested in learning more about that company.
And when it comes time to apply to a position at said company, they will see on your application:
“ oh ok this kid has attended our speaker series since freshmen year, he went to our day in the life of an Investment banker, he attended our virtual xx summit, etc. He’s been following us for over a year now and has shown lots of interest in our bank, he also has a strong resume and skills (assuming you develop said skills), let’s give this guy an opportunity to interview!”
Hope this helps, I literally just described my entire recruiting experience.
Also, during these events make sure to ask questions that pertain to your personal situation. Don’t ask generic ass questions that EVERYONE asks.
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