Acceptable Networking?
As a freshman who will be applying for 2012 SA's later this year, is cold emailing/adding on LinkedIn an acceptable form of networking? How should I start a conversation? "I will be appling for the 2012 summer internship programme and was wondering if you could give me any advice..." or "I was wondering if you could answer my question on x position?" etc etc? How successful is this kind of approach? Also im in the UK, is networking a bit harder over here as we're more 'reserved'? I'm all too aware there's an extremely fine line between seeming driven/enthusiastic and just plain weird.
not sure, i think it'll depend on the recipient. try it on places you dont want to go to first (smaller ones so you dont get passed around hr or smrthn)
It works just fine. Try to speak with alumni (who will typically always respond), but you'll get a low rate of response from non-alumni as well. Just keep your email short and basically just ask to speak with them on the phone.
You mentioned that you are a freshman though, which is much too early to be considered a serious candidate for SA positions, and, as such, people might be much less willing to speak with you. In the US, with rare exceptions, you would really only be considered for a Bulge Bracket SA program after completing three years of university. This would be different in the UK as degree programs are only three years as opposed to four, correct? The point is that you should start doing this sort of networking once you are in the penultimate year of your degree (so Fall Semester of 3rd year in the US, 2nd in the UK). Since so many people leave banking after 2 years as an Analyst, etc... it is likely that a good number of the people you speak with won't still be in banking by the time you apply for an SA position.
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