Any tips for cold walk ins
I plan on driving to chicago from a city roughly 5 hours away. The goal is to cold walk in at as many investment banks as I can. Does anyone have experience doing this? Any tips? Keep in mind I have absolutely no warm leads. I plan on going in and asking for a hiring manager or MD depending on the size of the firm.
I'd say it's better to cold email a banker in advance and ask for a coffee chat because you will be in town. Walking in out of the blue seems pretty creepy to me.
OP I'm amazed & jealous at your confidence, but I think you'd have a better success rate doing something along the lines of what Heineken said
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I have an extremely low hit rate and being out of the area does not help. I just feel its time to take a chance with something different. The facts are that: 1) I have an MBA with no traditional experience, 2) I am not from the Chicago area, and 3) I enjoyed my first couple years of undergrad at a non target school which impacted my GPA. I dont view the first two as being truly negative. The third is my fault and I accept full responsibility for that. It took me a while to figure out what I really wanted to do and believe it or not, during my MBA, I really figured out what I wanted to do and I furthered my knowledge of Finance. I am a very persistent and motivated individual and I can't give up.
I wish you the best of luck doing this, but honestly, I think you should re-evaluate your approach. Your cold email response rate is not low because cold emailing doesn't work, but rather because you have no relevant experience and a low GPA that seems to be the result of partying your ass off in school. Showing up to a firm unannounced isn't going to change that. Again, I wish you the best of luck.
This is a really bad idea. You should do everything you can to arrange sit downs ahead of time. There is no such thing as an inability to find leads ahead of time. Pay for LinkedIn premium and start firing away. Don't be afraid to follow up 3-4 times. It might take a few hundred emails to get a handful of meetings but that's how this works.
If I had some kid show up looking for an informational at my office I'd never speak to them. It's bizarre, it's unusual, it's desperate and its not how things are done in this internet age where you can track down 10 people at a firm ahead of time. It would infer, to me, a lack of commitment, lack of organization, general lack of professionalism, and a probable 1% chance that I'm about to meet with a future serial killer.
I did this once and it actually got me an interview. Unfortunately I was not prepared to interview on the spot... honestly I had no idea what to expect and had no clue what I was doing, but I will share my experience.
The firm was a small growth equity shop located in New York that had a job posting on my University portal. I made a trip to New York with the same intention as you in mind, but keep in mind I was in my sophomore year and very green back then.
I started by trying to call the person to see if I could set a meeting on the same day. I wasn't able to reach the said person so I figured the right thing to do was to grab a cab and head to their office. I got to the office and there was a buzz with a telecom type thing to get the elevator/door to unlock. I said I was here to meet with Jane Doe (the associate in charged of recruiting). To my surprise, the secretary told me to come up. I then proceeded to walk over to her and said I was here to meet Jane Doe. The secretary asked me if she was expecting me and I said no and I explained that I was only in town for a few hours and I really wanted to see their offices as the job posting seemed very appealing to me and the firm seemed great, so I would really like to talk to Jane Doe.
The secretary then told me to sit down and wait while she goes to see if Jane Doe is available. To my surprise, yet again, she said that Jane Doe would meet with me and directed me to sit in the conference room. Jane Doe finally walked in and I introduced myself with the same type of speech along the lines of "Im very sorry to show up unannounced, but I am really interested in the job and I wanted to see your offices before leaving New York". She thought that was cool and asked me to tell her about myself, I then gave her my resume and walked her through "my story", she liked the story and started asking me technical questions about sectors I liked and investments that I thought could be interesting. Unfortunately, I had nothing prepared for this type of question and it became super awkward super quick and that was pretty much the end of it.
That being said, I believe this approach can work for smaller firms, but make sure you are prepared. Good luck.
OP what you're suggesting sounds like the equivalent of finding a girl on the internet that you've never spoken to before and showing up outside her apartment hoping to get laid
Walk-in "cold call" Success Story (Originally Posted: 12/01/2012)
Moderator note (Andy): This success-story update was posted in the orignal thread ("Walk-in "cold call" question") by DJBanker. SirTradesaLot and I thought it should be added to the homepage for those who never saw it.
Hello Monkeys, I am sure some of you are curious as to my recent developments, and there have been a few. So let's begin:
When I originally posted my question, I was very new to the concept of walking in, as I'm sure some of you can relate to. I received great feedback and advice which not only allowed me to craft my own strategy, but boosted my confidence as well. I knocked on quite a few doors; had a regimented schedule. Landed a few interviews, some informational while others employment related. Gained exposure to a variety of niches and roles along the way. Intellectually stimulated, emotionally challenged and painfully anxious at times would be how I describe my state.
However, I did manage to learn about some interesting positions - one as Portfolio/Trading Analyst had 3 rounds of interviews, with no offer at the end. Second role in Advisor Distribution at a BB was a go but an issue occurred last minute and the offer was revoked - this was through networking. Third, in PWM at a boutique through old fashioned email resume and a similar role at a BB through networking. Finally, a role in Hedge Fund and PE due diligence. I was quite busy. Met a lot of people during the process and while attending CFA events, ran into a few of them there. All positive interactions - I enjoyed them actually. One of the roles I was referred to was through someone I met at an event while another was off LinkedIn. I am just sharing part of my strategy as I believe it is a customized and subjective process - in reality I was applying numerous tactics during the hunt.
A well written resume and cover letter helped. The balls, that I apparently possess according to a few members, are without a doubt, necessary. Other people's advice is important but you have to tailor it to you're role and who you are as a professional (realistically; not who you think you are and deserve to be acknowledged as b/c you had a 3.9 from a target or can approach a Director at a BB and start shooting the shit about his thoughts on the talk about hedging strategies with ETFs - yes, I did that). Throughout it all, I was drained and discouraged at times but .... drum roll please ....
I was offered two positions within a 24 hour period. I don't want to get involved with details, but needless to say I was blessed to be in a situation job seekers dream of and was able to honestly and ethically leverage a deal with the role I had originally wanted. I am glad to report that I have landed the Due Diligence role and start next week.
I hope my story inspires, motivates and reassures readers that it is possible to go out and get shit done. Your dream job is a handshake away.
Cheers,
T