Rising Junior 3.2 Non-target Questions

I'm a rising Junior at a non-target liberal arts majoring in Econ/Spanish with a 3.2 gpa. I'm currently working at a fund of funds doing easy, low level, office work - nothing complex. I'm trying to network my way to a more rigorous finance internship next year, specifically the mutual fund industry. I have a family friend with contacts at BlackRock, Lord Abbett Funds, Oppenheimer Funds, and JPMorgan Funds. The whole process is pretty overwhelming, and currently I'm reading The Economist's Guide to the markets and the Vault guide to finance interviews. I was wondering how much a referall like this helps when applying for these summer positions and also what you guys think of my reading materials (please reccommend anything else that might help). Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

A referal can help you get a first-round interview, but you're on your own after that. Get the contact info from this family friend and start asking for informational interviews (you can call or email - look up formats). Come off as likable and make them want to help you.

Start reading WSJ/The Economist/FT/Dealbook on a daily basis. Make sure you get your story down as to why you're doing Econ and Spanish, why you're at a non-target with a low-end GPA, and why you want to do finance. Are you involved with finance-related clubs at your school?

Ultimately, you need to start networking your ass off. These contacts your family friend can get you are a start, but you need to utilize your alumni network and cold-call/email local firms. Also, use the Search Bar - many topics like this that have LOTS of quality info. Good luck.

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