Coffee Chat with Bulge Bracket COO

Hi, WSO! First off, this is not a fluff/brag post -- I really need advice.

First off, I'm a sophomore (rising junior) at a HYP. Humanities major, previous summer internship at major non-financial institution (think UN Secretary General, White House, the EU, etc.), upcoming summer internship at startup in emerging industry (think Artificial Intelligence, Marijuana, Alternative Energy). Starting to prep to apply for Summer 2021 IB Analyst positions.

Through a family friend, the Chief Operating Officer of a bulge bracket bank reached out to me to grab coffee (now that our schools have been moved online, lots of free time). Obviously, I know this is an incredible opportunity, and I don't want to waste it. I'm no expert in IB -- I solidly understand what it is, and I'm halfway through some guides on interview questions, but that's about it. How can I best capitalize on this meeting? How can I best avoid fucking up?

4 Comments
 

First of all, nice username, you go to Yale. But on a serious note, I had a similar chat last summer; ask about growth at their firm and what has driven it, what sets their ability to get mandates apart from other firms, and don't be afraid to ask for advice since they were the ones to reach out in the first place. Senior people are awesome to talk to because they'll do all the talking.

 

Ask for introductions to heads of groups you’d want to work at maybe? I bet those people wouldn’t take the time to talk to you unless they had a nudge from a bank COO to do so. May as well get the most you can out of it.

There are three ways to make money in this business...
 

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