Lessons from an Investment Banking Club Reject

- An investment bank raises capital for companies, underwrites securities, and provides M&A advisory for their clients.
- EBITDA stands for Earnings before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization
- Fill the 3 gallon jug all the way, pour it into the 5 gallon jug. Fill the 3 gallon jug again, and pour until the 5 gallon jug is full. Empty the 5 gallon, pour the 1 gallon from the 3 into the 5. Fill the 3 gallon jug one more time to the brim, and pour it into the 5 gallon. You now have 4 gallons in the 5 gallon jug.

These were just a few of the numerous notes I continuously flipped through on my cheat sheet as I awaited for my name to be called. It was a cold day during the beginning of my 4th semester at school, and I was still interviewing for the Investment Banking Club.

The most prestigious student organization on campus, hands down, had an acceptance rate lower than most Ivy League admissions offices. For good reason, nearly every student went on to a high-paid position at a bulge bracket bank or private equity shop, despite coming from a non-target.

Coming into my freshman year, a finance major and merely interested in the stock market, I set my sights on IBC as a way to learn more about asset classes and keep up to date on the market. When I was not asked to come in for an interview, I decided to quit playing lacrosse and focus solely on my grades for my first semester to improve my chances for the future.

When pledging a fraternity controlled my focus for second semester and I was again rejected despite a PWM internship at a BB my freshman summer, I knew that I had few chances left to gain acceptance to this highly-touted club. I went hard to work, reading a chapter from Rosenbaum & Pearl a week and trying to further develop my modeling skills. Finally I sat here, a second semester sophomore, finally feeling prepared.

The interview went well, I thought at least. I answered all their questions thoroughly and accurately. I left the interview feeling content and excited as I assumed I would be included in the valuation crash course that new members immediately took the following week. From that point forward, I would be on track to work for a BB bank and move on to a PE shop, check the boxes so to speak.

However I was met with shock later that day as I received yet another rejection email. I will not bore you by listing all the different emotions I felt that afternoon, but I will tell you that it was a rough few days while contemplating my future plans.

The good thing is I have never let things permanently get me down, and within the next week I had a written plan of attack, mostly networking-based, which would get me to where I wanted to be. I spent the rest of my semester taking time out of my day to speak with bankers and traders on the phone and in person, forming relationships that could very well pay dividends for me in the next recruiting season.

I now stand in a great place, feeling confident about myself and not bound to the identity of a school extracurricular. I guess what I am saying is that you control your own destiny, target or non-target, internship or no internship, IBC or no IBC. I would like to welcome anyone else who has a similar story that they feel could contribute to this strand or help my readers.