I am currently am at a non-target for econ/history and have no finance related internships or work as of yet. Given the fact that I go attend a non-target and have a bad GPA (a typical freshman year of being lost and not knowing what I want) would it sound desperate if I told people I was willing to intern for free? I would really like to get some kind of IBD related experience before I apply to grad schools so that I can be more competitive when it come time for applying to jobs there.
The size of the bank or wherever I could get work does not matter to me, I just want to have something on my resume apart from the basic management work I have done with the family business, which includes basic project management and project estimating.
edit: I have been considering buying some basic Excel prep and financial modeling materials to teach myself some of the basics. Would I be more competitive by doing this? I'm looking at Wall Street Prep's stuff as of now.
To be blunt, I don't think it would be easy to get even unpaid internship these days. If you have absolutely no experience (on top of the bad gpa), most firms won't even take you on for free. That's the cold truth.
And to answer your question, no it would not look desperate. It's not uncommon.
That's what I'm afraid of. With a lot of qualified people out there, why would they need to look at taking me on board? As far as networking goes, I've been searching Linkedin for alumni that i could contact.
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^ I will, thanks.
Also, what about looking non-IBD related banking, such as commercial stuff? Is it any less competitive, or is the slow economy making it tough to land as well?
I want to add that corporate finance is also really interesting to me. I have a strong interest in the energy/gas/oil industry as well.
I think the answer has already been posted. Network network network, then network some more!
I bought several books to get myself started on basic finance knowledge today. I feel that even before networking, I need to do this because I'd hate to meet with some one only to not have a clue on what I'm saying.
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I plan on it. I can't do it this quarter as all classes have already begun, but next quarter I will for sure. Thanks for the help so far, btw.
Well my school has a career fair coming up in the next couple of weeks and PNC will be there. I doubt they will be doing IBD recruitment, but I'd like to take a look at commercial/corporate as well. What kind of questions should I ask or expect to hear?
I need to finish putting together a resume as well, and since I don't have an internship to out on it, how should I format it? Can I put my full-time experience working for the family business on there? I worked on basic project management and put together bids/job estimates while there for commercial construction projects. Can I spin this to help myself?
edit- IBD/Corporate will be there as well, but minimum GPA is 3.2 and I have just under a 3.0, which is commercial's minimum.
so pretty much it goes like this.
first, they will see if you're the right "fit" for the firm. This means they'll ask you behavioral/situational questions such as "tell me about a time when you did this and that", "when you were faced with this/that problem what did you do", " tell me about a time when you led a team" all that jazz. feel me?
second, once you pass the fit test, depending on the group you are interviewing for, they will test your technical knowledge. Obviously this will differ widely depending on what you are being interviewed for. But the fundamental accounting knowledge should be something you know for any job. DCF, WACC, etc etc basic finance stuff too.
In my opinion, learning how to bullshit your way through the recruiters is the most important technique you're going to have to learn to get a job.
Thanks!
So the GPA "floor" isn't the be all end all of getting an interview? I guess the next couple weeks will be spent going over accounting and finance basics.
The job description for the non-IBD position is "business banking". Is this technically commercial banking/credit analysis, or pure retail stuff?
bump
I've read on threads and Mergers & Inquisitions that GPA is basically only good enough to get you into an interview. Once you get a interview its all on you.
Considering the above, could I get away with just putting my major GPA instead of my overall as my major GPA is much higher? (I had a semester I had to leave school before finals due to a bad family situation)
Thanks for the additional info. My major GPA is right at the 3.2 cut off as of now, but will be higher overall once I finish this quarter.
Has anyone on here interviewed with PNC and willing to share how their interviews are? I looked don glassdoor.com but didn't find much on there.
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