Nontarget nondiversity to MM SA to BB NY FT Q&A
Hi all,
I use/used this forum a ton and found it very helpful throughout college. Thought that I might be helpful in answering questions for anyone in a similar spot.
I went to a nontarget and am not a diversity student. Worked multiple unpaid finance internships throughout college, landed a SA role at a MM firm, then got a mid-upper tier BB NYC FT offer where I am working now in a top coverage group.
Have been through it all - interviews, superdays, in-person visits, getting a return offer, reneging, etc.
If anyone would find it helpful, I am happy to answer questions about my recruiting experience, tips, etc etc.
Thanks!
Was the MM SA also in NY? I’m trying to do non-NY bank to NY FT, and don’t know when/how should I approach networking/interviews, etc.
It non-NY, but I did my SA stint summer 2020 so everything was remote and it didn’t matter as much because we all had the same summer experience.
Are you SA ‘22 or ‘21? I think it’s definitely still easier than it was before because most/all firms will interview remotely now.
SA 22 here. I feel like firms are more willing to do processes online, so that should be less of a problem but have to prepare for the worst case. When did you start networking for FT role? and was it similar to what you did for SA recruiting? just to have a broad overview of how this works.
Nice, and yea definitely. I knew I wanted to lateral so in the spring (which is nowish for you) was reaching back out to the strongest points from the network I established while networking for my SA role. Telling them I wanted to catch up and get advice for how to do best during the summer and get a return offer.
Then I spoke with the same people throughout the summer and let them know how it was going/expressed interest in FT. This was mainly for BB roles, and then for the boutiques I either hit up my friends or alumni network to start talking to HR connections to see if they were planning to take any additional FT hires.
Almost none of them turned out, but someone in my network had a pulse on the cycle at their bank so I was able to get directly involved and then recieved and accepted an offer. Really just a numbers game so the more connections the better, and firms post a decent number of FT jobs online (LinkedIn, school job board, etc.) so definitely worth applying to those to.
Obviously don’t let the bank you intern at/accept an offer at know you are still recruiting, but it’s ultimately up to how much work you are willing to do to land it. It was a lot of effort to be networking/applying for jobs during the summer/senior year, but I got lucky that 1 connection (all you need) turned out and it completely changed my life (went from MM random city to BB NYC).
Hope that helps. TLDR; start renetworking early - during spring, so that it doesn’t feel forced when you start asking about FT spots. Keep in touch throughout spring and summer, and leverage all the connections you made/have. Apply for a bunch of roles and have as many conversations as possible, and hope you get lucky.
In a similar situation now, nontarget and have a MM SA offer in an office outside NY. Looking to recruit for FT IB positions in NYC, so I was curious when your networking for that started?
See above, but I knew I wanted to lateral before the summer (never wanted MM role) so I hit up my network in the spring before the summer. This way you can “catch up” and get advice for the summer, etc., without it feeling like you are begging for a job.
Then you can continue to stay in touch during the summer and begin to let them know you are interested in FT recruiting, which will feel much more natural because you’ve been in touch recently.
Firms recruit FT all year round - I know several people who landed roles in August immediately after their SA ended, people who landed them in the winter once banks had a better pulse on their FT needs, and even a bunch who landed jobs late spring right before FT started that summer. Really up to you to be on top of it.
As someone who did FT recruiting as well will echo that the most important thing for FT recruiting is your network. Your best bet is to have someone inform you that the bank is taking FTs, put u in the process, and be able to vouch for u
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