What to do in order to break in?
I am currently a first year student at the DeGroote School of Business and I am quite confused on what to get into and how to break in. All I know is I want to do something in finance (IB, VC, PE, HF, CO, S & T, PC, Prop). Overall very confused on what steps I should take (should I minor in somthing? Get my cpa? Get my cfa? Do my masters at a target?). Any advice or guidance is appreciated, thanks.
Went to DeGroote as well! (graduated years ago).
It’s great that you’re thinking ahead. Don’t worry about CPA or CFA at all right now. The best thing to do in your first and second year is to maximize your gpa (aim for an 11+ on the McMaster 12 point scale, and minimum 10). Also join extracurriculars-DFIC is a must, other clubs like DCA or DCS can also be good.
1st and 2nd year is difficult to land internships, especially if you haven’t done the above, but there’s loads of boutiques and search funds that hire summer/off-cycle interns so look out for those. These are great to set you up for a high finance internship in your junior year.
lastly, take time do some research and understand what areas of finance you like and what you don’t. This comes from both personal research (reading posts from WSO or BIWS) as well as networking, which you should definitely start doing by 2nd year.
P.S. the CIP program sucks for high finance roles, it’s a waste of time imo
Hope this helps and good luck!
Network
If you don't get into DFIC, don't even bother.
How to break into IB from most important to least important
1. GPA (as close to 4.0 as possible)
2. Network
3. Technicals/Behaviorals prep closer to interview season
4. Have good luck/A father that is an MD at a bank
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