Senior looking to break into Sales and Trading
I'm a senior at a target school that will have a business degree with a concentration in marketing. Internship experience is all non-finance related except for a stint at an executive search firm in the PE and HF spaces. I learned a lot about finance in that internship, but I don't think it counts as a real finance internship. I'm looking to break into Sales and Trading because I'm interested in the fast paced nature of the job. I have a friend in S&T at a BB that has told me what it is like, and I want to do it. I just had a phone interview for a S&T graduate scheme at an international bank that's non-BB but still pretty big. What should I do moving forward?
self-bump
Being brutally honest here you are in a really tough spot. Full time recruiting is much harder for S&T than for banking. The full time offer rate is lower than IB for internships so there are many more kids with relevant experience looking for a role. Many banks also only hire for S&T out of undergrad. So unless you do a specialized financial engineering masters or something you wont be able to to do an MBA and get looks. You need to find your edge for recruiting and you dont have a quant background so i recommend you dig into something and specialize in it. Find something esoteric and dig into it and then network with people to show them you speak the language. Network network network. So are going to need to explain to people why you want this all of the sudden and saying you heard it was fun from a friend isnt going to cut it.
So this is interesting to me. I'm in a part-time B-school program at a target school in NYC. I don't get recruiting perks being a PT student but I have connections to a few MDs at BB's in the NYC area that stated they were willing to refer me once I was ready to recruit on my own (I wanted to save $ on tuition and the main difference between the two programs is the recruitment). I was hoping for IBD, but given I have no relevant experience they said I could start with S&T especially since I'm personable/great at building relationships with clients (So obviously sales, not trading). Why would they say it's easier to break into S&T, but you're saying it's more difficult. Are you saying it's solely due to the fact that there are limited spots compared to IB?
Well i disagree with your premise: that because you don’t have any experience you cant apply for IB. Nearly all MBA associates have no Ib experience so theres nothing stopping you from prepping technicals, networking, and getting recommended for a first round regardless of your part time status. I also disagree with the premise that S&T gives you relevant experience for IB. I have worked on both sides and theres basically zero overlap in work especially if you are going into sales. MBA associate is way more competitive than undergrad IB analyst too. And its even harder to get into S&T after undergrad because few banks have big MBA recruiting. My BB for example does not recruit out of MBA for S&T. The MD may be suggesting that you get a job in S&T and internally move to IB, i have seen people do that but the logic is flawed. No one goes into S&T for the purpose of breaking into IB. Again the personalities and skill sets are totally unrelated. I really don’t know what the MD was saying there. You should network your ass off and get a MBA associate internship it will be harder cause no campus recruiting but if you can get a first round no one will give a shit if youre part time or not.
I know this is old, but do you have any insight into FT recruiting for S&T? Currently a junior at a target, 4.0 GPA. Last summer I did a summer program at a BB (not in S&T), and will be incoming to another very well known firm this upcoming summer in NYC (also not in S&T, although probably some very minor relevant overlap like understanding asset classes, etc). Do you think it's worth my time to try and prep for FT recruitment this upcoming summer? Need brutal honesty, thanks.
Probably yes focus on FT. Unfortunately internship cycle is too fast nowadays.
thanks. Any insight into when I should start reaching out to new contacts at firms I am interested in? I don't want to start too early like I am not giving my summer internship a chance. But as someone who didn't do a ton of SA recruiting I also want to make sure I have enough time to expand my network.
Whatever your previous internship/upcoming internship is in, just try and get the return offer. The job market is horrendous and you can always try to lateral internally.
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