Super Weird Profile for Investment Banking (Advice)

I'm an International student (from Asia) who studied in Sciences Po Paris (a target school in France) and am now doing my final year at UMich. I'm majoring in Econ and Sociology, minor in International Trade & Finance. 

I am authorised to work in the US (F-1 visa). 

I have an internship experience in VC and consulting. Both firms being local Asian firms. I'm really struggling to know where I should be applying for IB or Consulting, and if I should even be trying for IB. I know its late and the recruiting cycle is over, but I really need advice on what I should focus on, and what firms I should prioritise. 

I have a 4.0 GPA and ranked highly mostly, but it feels like nobody really cares because I'm on exchange? Idk. I really wanna hear someone's advice, please drop something. I'm really lost. Should I focus on IB or Consulting, what firms if so, how do I reach out to them to let them know I'm a special case, what firms actually care about Asia and European markets? 

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I assume you're talking about staying in the US? I can only speak to IB - yeah, BB/EB/MM are really done with their full time hiring needs, but you could always try to network with regional boutiques. They have a much more lenient recruiting timeline and I'm guessing some firms are still in interviewing mode. If you want IB this coming summer / fall, you just have to change your expectations. After working there for a year then you can lateral upmarket. If you can't get any regional boutique and still want IB, I'd recommend something that's related (transaction advisory, audit, consulting, etc.)

 

That's really useful advice, thank you very much. I asked an international student analyst on H1-B rn, and she confirmed that I should either just skip IB since its too late, focus on staying in the US for good experience and compensation - or to focus fully on regional banks and smaller firms. 

I'll be doing that, and I'll update my progress here. I'm certain this niche circumstance is bound to be faced by more people, and hope that they'll have something to refer to. Thanks again Pepperoni Toni!

yes
 

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