Please help-- undergrad desperately seeking advice on resume and apps
Hi WSO,
I'm a 20-year-old student at an American liberal arts college (reputable, but not target) hoping to get into investment banking. I am in a bit of a time crunch right now for several reasons, and would appreciate some help.
My particular predicament is this: due to financial reasons (and lots of AP credit from high school) I am set to graduate in 3 rather than 4 years. I also only recently figured out how amazing IB is. As a result, I am a bit behind in career preparations. I only have two internships under my belt, both of which were fun and challenging, but neither of which is strictly related to investment banking. I'm an Econ and Chinese Language major, and I also speak French (and English, obviously), and I am hoping to get jobs that use my language skills and interest in international trade and global financial markets.
My resume is attached. I welcome you guys to tear it apart as much as possible. I have huge amounts of low-level service work experience, and many on-campus jobs and activities, so it was really hard to whittle my resume down to one page. Input, please: is it necessary to go with a one-pager?
Anyone with experience in IB, please help me with this problem: as a third-year student who is still planning to graduate this year, would it be out of the question to apply for internship spots rather than graduate positions? Is there a way for me to explain this situation when I apply for these jobs? How much will this situation hurt my chances?
Please, I would love to get some input on any or all of my questions. Thanks!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Resume 48 KB | 48 KB |
s.
Agree with the above comment- use the University Student Resume on this website since it's free. You have 2 options here: 1) try to get a full time offer this year (which you have plenty of time to do) or 2) figure out a way to stay another year (i.e. another major, minor, grad program, etc.). which would set you up for an SA stint.
There are pros and cons with both but if your GPA is solid, you learn the technicals, and network enough, you can definitely get an offer somewhere. Keep in mind though, it may be a boutique in Cleveland or some other less desirable city and not likely NYC. (Although getting an offer in NYC is possible). I would definitely reformat the resume and start emailing, linked in, or getting in touch with anyone who's in the industry with some sort of connection to you. Beyond that, I would try to come up with a list of banks across the country and send a cold email asking if they're looking for analysts and if so you would like to begin the interview process. You never know what you'll come up with but these things take time. If you feel as if you need a "hedge" you can always apply for Duke/Northwestern/Michigan's Master's in Management program and that should allow you to take an unpaid SA stint or a winter externship and will give you a fresh shot at recruiting. Here, it's just like campus recruiting except you have a "business background" to leverage now. You can definitely get in, it just depends on how motivated you are.
-Otto
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