Self-Introduction: NYU Business Management Student Looking for Opportunities in IB

Hey all,
I just want to start by saying that I’m very grateful to have found this community and the Wall Street Oasis podcast. It’s given me a lot of knowledge in the IB industry as well as the confidence that if you do the right things often enough, there is a good chance one can break into investment banking(in many cases, regardless of your school or background).

So a little background about myself:

I’m a Canadian citizen studying at NYU and my major is Business Management(i’m in my first semester of my senior year). For me, investment banking has always been an interest of mine since I’ve always enjoyed studying finance and business related subjects. I just never made the solid commitment to try and go into the industry until now. Living in New York City and being nearby to the NYSE have definitely given me the motivation to perhaps work in the IB industry someday. However, my university life and my life in general were put on hold for the most part when COVID hit and I was forced to go back to Canada for 1.5 years doing online classes. Obviously I could have done virtual networking and attended online club events as well but unfortunately I just didn’t make the effort. Luckily, I was able to secure and complete an internship at a hedge fund company mainly doing due diligence. I would say this experience is a crucial asset to have on my resume especially for getting into IB. Outside of that internship, I haven’t really gotten involved that much at school in terms of relevant clubs or activities other than employer events. Now I’m just starting to attend some finance club events as I understand the importance of these things when applying but I know it would’ve been better if I had started doing that earlier on. My GPA as it stands right now is a 3.41 and I’m trying my absolute best to get it up to at least 3.50 this semester. 

I would say the area I lack the most right now is networking. Therefore, I would appreciate some advice on how to approach this area of your career building process. I’m confident in my ability to communicate with people and build rapport but unsure about exactly how and where to meet potential bankers to build a professional relationship. 

Besides that, I think being an international student also makes going into IB a lot harder according to some of the posts I’ve read. But I remain hopeful and am willing to work harder because of my foreign citizenship. One last thing I would like to ask the community is behavioural interview. I am going through the videos put out by Wall Street Oasis on YouTube about interviews as of right now but would appreciate any other resources as well. 

My goal is to land an internship at a reputable IB firm in the Greater New York City area. I understand the top firms such as Goldman and Morgan Stanley are ultra competitive with acceptance rates as low as 1% but I’m still willing to aim a little bit higher and give everything a try. As you can see I don’t have the most perfect background, timing or experience for getting into IB but if I had all of those I probably wouldn’t be here… So thanks everyone for helping and please reach out if you would like to connect. 

Martin