Seeking IB Job
Hi everyone. I'm looking for an opportunity to get my foot in the door at a Buldge Bracket. I'm a college athlete that's graduating in May.(My last season was last year) I denied the opportunity to sign as a free-agent for professional baseball at the end of last season. I'm finishing up school up this semester at a core school and have been actively looking into opportunities in IB. I was wondering if I could even fathom a chance of getting my foot in the door at a Bulge Bracket with a GPA hovering around 3.0, and an American Studies major concentrating in business structure in the U.S. I did take many business courses including corporate finance. I'm confident that "the fit" portion of IB I can breeze by, since I completed 12-18 unites each semester while being on the field, weight room, or film room 40-45 hours/week.
Since being a college ball player means I'm sent all over the country during the summer to train, my work experience is far limited. I did work for 8 months at a marketing company after I signed a full scholarship and took less units my sophmore year, and am currently a part time analyst/day trader at a start up tech company.
gerrit cole??
^^^^ you can get banned for that
He wasn't trying to guess the guy's ID. He was just making a reference to Gerrit Cole, the first-round pick who turned down the Yankees to play for UCLA a couple years back.
for what?
You'll definitely need to approve your attention to detail if you want to be taken seriously in the industry... as to the interest in banking, why the hell would you turn down the opportunity to play pro or even triple A ball to work in IB? The biggest thing you'll need to answer is why you want to work in banking, and to justify that you aren't just jumping on the bandwagon like everyone else seems to be. There are literally hundreds more kids who find out about this industry and think it is going to be their sexy ticket to a fabulous life of models & bottles and a fat paycheck every day. They spin stories of their fierce desire to do whatever it takes to break into the industry, yet they naively expose just how little research they've done by claiming they want to work in a group at a bank that doesn't exist, or they don't know who the bank's CEO is.
You may be, and probably are different than the horde of overambitious underachievers with big dreams out there, but you're going to have to prove that. All of us who have jobs did...
Its gonna be VERY hard with no SA experience and being that you should in this years analyst class. But your chances aren't 0, if that what your asking.
Thank you Gorilla, that was extremely helpful information. And trust me, turning down baseball was not an easy decision. Unfortunately most people don't understand that there is Rookie Ball, Low A, High A, AA, AAA, and then "The Show". Being a catcher I needed to understand that most teams looked at me as a bull-pen/late reserve catcher, rather a huge prospect.
I'm definitely not jumping on any bandwagon. I know the industry very well and actually think it's not the sexiest thing in the world, but rather something that deeply interests me. I enjoy challenges and strive to succeed at any cost so I'm just looking for an opportunity to do so. Thanks again for the help.
Lastly is it possible to get SA experience as a recent-graduate, or is that always given to soph/jr?
Yea man you've got one hell of a story. I'm sure some MD's or at least VP's would love to talk with you about baseball. My advice is get out there and network go to schools events or when BB come to surrounding schools/cities to hold seminars, etc... Just go and find 2-3 people to talk to and Im sure you will create some buzz, "Hey, Did you guys talk to that kid who could have played minor league baseball?" etc....
IB traditionally has a very regimented recruiting structure, at least for larger banks. You can always network your way in, but if you'd like to go through a more traditional channel, you might want to stay at your current shop, and apply for an MSF degree next year (check out ANT's site, MSFHQ.com). This might open up new networking opportunities and recruiting channels.
You have a really interesting story, and while applying, you should mention that you were very serious about playing baseball professionally. Best of luck.
Thank you for all the advice. Hopefully I can get the opportunity to sit down and speak to an MD or VP. I understand the recruiting process is quite rigorous and experience based but hopefully someone will understand that my lack of experience is not do to laziness but rather pursuing a dream. Trust me, being sent to live with a host family in the middle of America accompanied by ZERO people you know while playing 58 games in 64 days is no easier than 100 hr SA work-weeks.
I'll do my best to network my way in before resorting to post-graduate education. Thanks everyone!
ahhhh
As a fellow college baseball player (not DI) who just landed an offer, here are a few things I picked up. Take these for what they're worth:
1) In your situation, I'd target primarily middle market places. They tend to have less structured hiring processes so you can often still get an offer there long after the bulge brackets have closed out recruiting for the year. Places like Stifel, GCA Savvian, Piper, Oppenheimer, Harris Williams, etc., all have excellent reputations in the industry and can be a great launching pad if your goal is to transition to a bulge bracket a couple years down the line. That being said, definitely work the bulge bracket contacts as well. You never know what might come up. Elite boutique is not going to happen for you because you don't have the grades or finance background (spots at those places are much more limited than at the bulges and they have less in the way of training so you have to be ready to hit the ground running), so I wouldn't spend much time on those.
2) Some investment banks are particularly interested in hiring athletes. One bank that comes to mind is Stephens, Inc., which is based in Little Rock, Arkansas. They are a strong firm. See if there are an alumni there. Obviously, working in Little Rock may not be ideal but once you break into the industry you can move around. Worry about breaking in first.
3) Duke has a one-year masters program that gets pretty strong placement. And they like to take in athletes. It may be a good fit for you in the medium term if networking fails to yield an offer in the short-term.
4) Because breaking into IB is going to be an uphill battle, it may be more effective for you to stick to your current job and then shoot for an MBA at a top school. Lots of people break in from there.
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