Upcoming Recruiting season strategy

Hey guys, i will be a rising junior at a nontarget (Rutgers). In preparation for this fall's recruiting season, should i be doing anything different from what i have planned out for myself right now. I just finished up a corporate finance internship at a F50 firm, so any advice would be awesome.

1) reach out to alumni, ask for informational interview, and then meet (in the two years that i've been at Rutgers, about 10 people have gotten FO offers at BB's (heavily concentrated at Citi)
2) speak, and then ask for referrals/connections
3)cold call regional boutiques. (numbers game is what i understand, and being a nontarget means busting it.)
4) Two months before the interviews (Nov/Dec??) reach out to contacts and plan out a weekend trip.
5) One month before interviews, reach out one last time and ask about summer internships.

I figure that if i reach out to about 25 alumni, and 5-7 respond, then i can use that to branch out my network and rinse and repeat. Any additional tips? am i too early/late to network? flawed strategy?

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Sounds like a good base to work from. I have a few comments that apply to both target and non-target candidates...

-Take time to figure out why you actually want to pursue banking. If you have a good reason and figure out how to articulate it with conviction, that's excellent. If you don't have a good reason, then reconsider pursuing banking. -Get in contact with HR. It always helps to be in touch, as they are often gate keepers. -Know your stuff - study up on the industry and technicals (not only for interviews - good to be knowledge when you speak with alumni). This especially applies to non-targets. If you know pretty much everything about the job, know what's going on in the industry, and are able to do the work (technical know-how), that's infinitely better than having "promise" / aptitude. -As the winter approaches, scan BB websites to find important application dates -Get your paperwork teed up. This means having a generic cover letter (which you can easily adapt to the firm you're applying to) and a polished resume

LASTLY... As you're going through the motions, make sure you stay grounded and genuine. Be appreciative of alumni's time and don't expect favors just because you attend their alma matter. Networking is about building meaningful relationships. Also be a team player with friends at your school that are also recruiting. Going in with the mentality that helping others hurts your chances is dangerous. Instead, establish norms of reciprocity within your circles.

Best of luck with the process!

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