Starting off in IB
Hey everyone, I am a freshman at a non-target school looking to break into IB. I was wondering if any of you had some u I que tips for me or know any people that could guide me in the right direction.
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I am a junior at a non target and it has been a very difficult path breaking into IB. I come from a poorer background, all my family are poor-paid roofers, I mean Jesus I live in a trailer park, and I finally just broke into capital markets - sales and trading desk.First, you just learn what perseverance, drive and wit are. Work hard and smart, and look at IB as if your mom will die if you don't break into it. You have no choice but to do this - there are no other options but IB.Have you already made that decision? Are you content with sacrificing everything for IB? Because you will not be handed this, you must die for it.Network is your net worth - you need to find successful alumni from your school and contact them immediately. You are in such a great position to allow yourself to be molded into the professional you aspire to me.
Showing How Hungry and Smart You Are By Networking:
Right now, you know nothing about IB and can't bullshit no one otherwise. So, start focusing on things you do know: yourself. Start working on your "professional voice" (start learning how to message people on LinkedIn, emails, etc.), learn how to read people and carry a conversation on an intellectual level (start reading the news, everyone I network with from PE to IB to AM love just shooting the shit on the Fed's #s, recessions speculation, talking about IB) and learn how to loosen up and have a casual convo with these folks. They watch sports, love some finance meme jokes (whatever that means).*Network is your net worth - you need to find successful alumni from your school and contact them immediately. You are in such a great position to allow yourself to be molded into the professional you aspire to me.
Getting Your Resume Built:
1) internships
You are going to get absolute jokes of professional experiences regarding internships. Assuming your dad isn't an MD, you're kicking rocks. My freshmen year I just did the Northwestern Mutual experience. Stop putting yourself on a pedestal and not thinking it's worth it but guess what the hard truth is - it'll always be the crumbs that add up to the pie. Every freshmen in my school who is under me in the investment club I am CEO of, I always tell them just do Northwestern your freshman year. No one will give you more solid work at such a very young age. Start being appreciative, open-minded and hungry asf. You are nothing but a peasant in the world of IB, especially a non target (I am absolute dirt compared to Ivy League Schools)
2) your school
Join your investment club and turn it into a literal side hustle. I'm the CEO of our investment club and i over see $600,000 AUM, 3 VPs, 11 PMs and 28 Analyst. I take pride in what I do because I know it is the small things that add up to the big picture (big picture meaning breaking into IB). Talk to your professors also, met a lot of IB ppl from getting close to all my professors (most of them aren't even school alum, just from past work, and my school barely has alum anyways).Programs Available as a Freshman:Goldman Sachs Insight Series, BlackRock Forum, Deutsche Bank Achieve program (sum like that), MS has one too I believe, CITI has a networking program like BR and GS. Take these opportunities immediately when possible. Get your name into their system. I'm order to be successful you must be a weasel about things - try to do whatever you can to make sure you're somewhere in their system this way.You can do this. I know people from networking who said they always wanted to work in IB and now are loan originators at their local bank. Stop saying you want it and start acting like you do.You got this.Quick note - when you're applying for SA gigs down the road, you will not get one in the city. Start applying to cities where these mega sized, high paying banks, or bulge bracket investment banks, aren't big.
Thank you for all the advice, I have done a lot of what you said already. I am also currently talking to Northwestern and am still not sure about it yet but will probably do it.
Can't PM, but just wanted to make you aware that it's pretty easy to find your name/LinkedIn based on your post history. Would edit out your college name to make it a bit harder.
Don’t do it. It’ll make ur life miserable like it did mine.
As a freshman you should be focusing on getting good grades and getting any kind of summer internship. Good grades will allow you to join whatever finance/IB club your school has and give you a better chance of getting looks for internships. I would be applying now (and leveraging your personal network - family friends, neighbors, etc.) to any and every paid/unpaid summer internship that might give you some experience. Doesn’t have to be banking or finance - I did an accounting internship my freshman year, leveraged that to get a IB internship during school, which then I used to get my summer analyst internships.
You should also be figuring out if there is an IB club on campus and how to join it (start networking with the kids in it, preping for the interviews, researching what banking is, etc.). If your school has an IB club, this is almost a must for a non-target - they will help you prep for interviews and connect with the alumni network.
Beyond that, enjoy freshman year while you can (while keeping your grades perfect) because by sophomore year your classes will start to pick up and then in sophomore spring you should be networking/preping for interviews starting late spring/summer.
Thank you for the advice, I’ll make sure to continue working. My grades aren’t perfect by any means but being a full time student on top of being in the army and rotc and finding time to volunteer 6 hours a week on top of clubs and networking gives me a pretty decent excuse for a 3.53, however, i don’t want that to be a crutch for why my gpa doesn’t improve because it will. My first semester was a lot of adjusting for sure.
All that shot doesn’t give you an excuse for a low GPA. There are going to be other non-targets who are doing all that shit and more and have 3.9+. Don’t make excuses.
Also, if you are in ROTC, why are you even pursuing IB if you are going to have to serve after you graduate? Just look to break in after you get your top MBA with your G.I. bill.
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