Is coming from an immigrant/first-generation background considered an advantage or disadvantage for recruiting?
I am a first generation immigrant student and want to know whether that is something I should mention during interviews. I've heard arguments on both sides. Some people say it's a plus point because it says that you have overcome challenges in your life and are more diverse. Others also say that it might hurt your chances bc immigrants often come off as a little awkward in a sales driven industry and might suggest a language/cultural barrier. Thoughts?
Also I'm Indian so can't use that to get into diversity programs.
No one cares and don't ever bring that up in an interview ever. Just prep hard and don't be timid or conservative when networking, simple as that.
Is it necessarily a bad thing if I do?
As someone from the same race and economic background as you yes it is a bad thing. Just conform and chill out, you don't want to overcomplicate an interview or networking session.
I agree not to let it define everything about you, but I hate the mentality to just conform and forget everything about your background. That's a one way ticket to losing your individuality. OP, don't feel pressured to say or do things just because everyone around you is doing it. Be yourself.
I disagree, being able to conform to the culture and disregard your own is necessary and should not be underestimated. Sure, being yourself is fine at home but when you're attempting to break in you need to blend in smoothly so you're defined by your work not your individuality.
What you are recommending is the complete opposite of what elite multinational banks want. I think being different is much more advantageous than conforming or blending in. I know plenty of people who leveraged their unusual backgrounds to get into IB at an elite BB. What you are recommending may work for a backwards regional bank but it would hurt if OP wants to work for an elite firm.
You completely misunderstood my take but it is incredibly risky for him to bring that up during an interview and is an easy ding if the interviewer doesn't want to hear it or worse yet views it as a sob story. I went through recruiting just fine, got a bb offer and never once brought up my background because 1) no one cares enough about you to even assume how poor or rich you're and 2) op will obviously be just fine if he preps hard and networks well
Completely agree with you. Op shouldn’t go out of his way to bring it up in an interview setting as that would be kind of inappropriate
^this. Don’t bring it up at all unless asked but if asked about your story pre-college growing up etc. then feel free to bring it up. but DONT overplay the hardship/struggle/barriers etc. unless it’s actually 100% true. it’s very easy to cut through the BS during interviews. you don’t want people to feel pity for you at any point in time. also there’s a lot of first gen immigrants of Indian and Chinese heritage (myself included) who are very well off so it’s not a given that immigrants face tougher times etc. I don’t necessarily care if someone summers in the Hamptons or Kennebunkport every year or spends that time on the farm helping their family out. what matters is you’re in the seat in front of me and how excited/prepared you are about the job you’re interviewing for.
It can be an interesting conversation topic, but because it's not directly related to finance you shouldn't bring it up unless your interviewers lead the conversation that way.
No, sorry. You're race only matters if you're not white or asian, because fuck them. If your culture values hard work, it will only work against you.
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