Boston Career Forum this week!

whats ur nationality??

I'm Japanese-American. Language isn't a big problem, but they do seem to want to make sure you want to live in Japan for the long haul.

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does anyone know if banks recruit for non-japan positions in asia at the BCF? i think they do some SA recruiting for asia ex-japan locations, but what about for FT?

So I got an invitation for Nomura's networking event this week at BCF, but I don't speak Japanese nor do I really want to work in Japan. Should I just not even bother going?

It's not that easy to get jobs at BCF. The competition is still pretty fierce, especially for finance. My year, over 2-3000 applied for a BB internship, and only 15 people were offered.

15 spots per company? That seems like plenty to me. All the big players are there, and 2-3000 people are applying to all the same positions right? Obviously they're not just going to hand you a job just because you're Japanese, or you're a finance major, but from what I've seen it's way easier to get a job at BCF than in New York.

I don't think you 'have' to be native to do IBD in Japan. I'm probably business level at best but have passed the phone screenings and given interview slots in Boston at a couple of BBs. I even screwed up and asked whether I can answer in English for a couple of questions. I'm not Japanese btw.

You don't have to be, but it will hurt more than in trading positions where you're dealing mostly with English speakers. In IBD you're pitching to Japanese companies, so I'd imagine you need to be near native to present in front of Japanese executives.

So the guys that have gone through this before - if an employer hasn't gotten back to me on an application by now (4 days before) should I assume they didn't want to interview me? Sort of odd, because the banks that did get back to me I figured would be the most competitive ones - but I guess they are also the ones that have more resources to put into recruiting and have more interviewers.

would it be possible to secure an FT offer in S&T at a BB in japan at the BCF without knowing any japanese? also, is it possible to obtain interviews on-site without having pre-scheduled interviews beforehand? i know it's probably difficult if not impossible, but I don't have much experience with the BCF so I just want to know for sure. I was mainly trying for HK/SG positions which aren't hiring much right now, and so I'm considering all possibilities.

Is anyone attending the Nomura Asia Pacific networking sessions in either NYC (tomorrow) or Boston (the 10th)? I don't speak any Asian languages, but interested in hearing a bit more about their Singapore operations...

Anyone attending the Deutsche Global Markets dinner on Thursday?

Did anyone who got a phone call from Barclays yesterday also get an interview for Boston? Because I was told to go visit the booth, but he didn't schedule an interview for me.

And a few more questions...1. if I didn't get phone interviews from some of the companies I applied to (most of which were this week, and BAML at the beginning...the rest I got phone/scheduled interviews from), should I still try to walk-in and interview? I'm going for equities S&T, and I'm actually specifically interviewing for sales at CS. I'm probably barely business level Japanese, but I've been communicating with someone in Japanese via email, so they can tell my Japanese isn't that fluent.

2. Some people have told me the interviews don't get that technical, and that it's mostly for fit...how true is that? I obviously need to know what's going on with the news, but do I really need to know, for example, the price of gold?

3. This is really superficial, but...I'm a white female with really curly hair (not tall, thankfully), so I already kind of stand out. Should I straighten my hair for the weekends, since standing out for Japan isn't good? Or should I not, since I'll be more memorable? (I know, this is a ridiculous question, but there's no harm in asking, except that you all might make fun of me).

I should probably also just mention I'm from a super-target school, if that makes any sense (except that I totally don't know as much about finance as I should...I hadn't even heard of BNP Paribas until I applied to them through BCF).

Hey!

Did you apply to sales positions? I was thought sales required pretty good Japanese? I was disappointed I didn't get as many interviews - I had applied to basically all the banks that are going, and didn't hear back from a lot of the less competitive ones. As a girl with pretty good grades from a target I thought I'd fare a little better. I guess I should be happy I have a handful and concentrate on those.

I was invited also for Deutsche dinner on Thursday, not sure if I'll make it...it'll be a close call with my flight and everything. But I'll know to look out for a white girl with curly hair! I wouldn't worry too much about the technical stuff, seems it's not too much of a worry for them.

monkeyCmonkeyDUDE, I sent you a private message fyi.

And any other responses??

I have a general question - if you have an interview on Saturday, or even later afternoon on Friday, is it customary to go introduce yourself in the morning at the bank's booth?