Signs that a Networking Call is Going Well
I literally can never tell when networking calls are going well. I always think they're terrible but I always receive such nice responses to my thank you emails. e.g.
"Don’t hesitate to text me or set up another call if you have any other questions."
"Let me know when you're making the trip to NYC so we can grab a coffee"
ya'll, I'm so confused. Are they just distracted? What are obvious signs the call is going well?
LOL i feel like i need to include this piece of info. i created a throwaway to ask q's. I'm a 22 y/o girl in consulting. I'm not a traditional candidate and i'm usually the same age as the bankers i'm talking to. i'm tryna switch into banking and i can not apply thru the normal cycle.
Coming from a prospect...
- They give you names of people you should get in touch with, without you even asking.
- They are not eager to get off the phone (I.e. they just keep talking and keep giving you advice, you haven’t said much)
- You find that you’re not really talking about finance. You’re just connecting with them. They sound like they have a genuine smile on their face.
- They ask you specific questions and seem to care about the answer. “Are you in X club and have you talked with X yet?”
- They say, “What can I do to help you//how can I act as a resource to you?” Which is different from “Always happy to act as a resource for people from our school”
The above is generally from best to worst signs. I’ve found my worst calls are the ones I’m least prepared for, and don’t even feel like following up myself. Everyone is an angel on follow up texts/emails, so don’t read into those.
No one has been actively eager to get off the phone with me. I'm always the one that ends it out of respect for their time. It always ends up being around the hour mark, which I know is a good sign. I offer to hang up and they're like "no, we can continue chatting" But like, they never sound happy when speaking to me. I'm getting such mixed signals.
can someone tell me what this means lol. please be extremely honest
Hold up, your networking calls are 1 hour long?
Yeah dude wtf I think you’re fine. An hour is a long time. Maybe you should try to sound happier and they will reciprocate the energy. Otherwise nothing to read into.
End the call at 30 minutes, regardless of what the analyst says. Oftentimes they will offer to keep chatting to be polite, but an hour is a long time for a burnt out analyst
Coming from someone on the other end, if you are chatting with me and we are NOT talking about finance but rather your interests, my interests, whatever, that is a good sign in my book. That means I've most likely OK'd you at least, and find you a chill enough person to actually see myself working with and helping out.
coverage analyst at BB.
I take every networking call that comes my way - it's my way of giving back. I would say 90% of the calls I take, I end the call thinking the kid is a fuckin idiot who thinks racking up networking calls = success. You can tell when the kid keeps asking to get connected with another person either throughout or at the end of the call to "learn more about the group?" What the fuck do you have more to learn? You just asked me all the questions you had in 30 minutes and you couldn't think of any more when I asked.
Do not ask your stupid cookie cutter questions: "what is the culture like?" "what are your hobbies?" The culture is me getting virtually pegged by my autistic MD and my hobbies include browsing ubereats and passing out. Go fuck yourself.
Ask me which verticals my group specializes in, the senior banker to junior ratio, product strengths, opportunities for cross staffing, etc. - literally anything that is mildly related to my group that you wouldn't be able to find online. It shows you know what banking is and that you're interested in what I'm actually doing as opposed to just networking for the sake of networking. And please for the love of god, know what the fuck you're getting into. If I ask you what got you interested in IB or "what is IB," please have a coherent answer. Don't try to shit out a story that you concocted by trying to string together random moments of your life that somehow aligned towards banking.
My favorite response, "honestly, I didn't know much coming into college, but a lot of upperclassmen do it and I talked to them and it seems like something I would be interested in - and to learn more, I took on X, Y, and Z internships/clubs/orgs."
Thank you for taking all the calls, it is very nice of you. Can I ask you a quick follow-up: what's wrong with asking politely for a referral, getting on the phone with someone with a cold email is very hard, and if you think I am smart enough referring can be useful to get an additional perspective.
Thanks for your comment tho, helpful
because you are probably not as smart as you think you are and it's not like people are dying to talk to you. Most people do these calls to get a break from the day and feel good about themselves. You are trying to rack up calls for the sake of racking them up. If you flub the call by stuttering and asking stupid questions and you ask me to talk to more people, then I'm going to say "sure just follow up with me in a week" and then I will ghost you. If you want to talk to someone else after you talk to me, you should have a reason to (ie: you asked a question that I wasn't able to answer or you are curious on a certain vertical that I don't have experience in).
this is just me - everyone is different.
so can i hop on a call with you ? just shooting my shot here:)
if you can find me yea
Do not listen to this idiot....Jesus Christ what an asshole. I’m an analyst, the whole point of networking calls is so we can give you a bit of guidance when you’re early in your career and trying to figure things out. I try to be as helpful as possible, just don’t be a dick and bring up “models and bottles” or something and you’ll be fine. My parents were poor, I know the struggle, just keep your head up and keep grinding
i am poor too never seen above 50k, i was wondering does it actually make you happy when you get that check. Kinda been reflecting on life rn.
Best ones:
"Let me introduce you to X, Y, Z in the group"
"Once the interviews start, you should be one of the first ones to hear back"
When I send a thank you email and he asks me if I want to catch up again before my interview.
Ones where I talk about nothing related to the group but instead interests outside the group.
The ones where the guy is interested in knowing more about me and also where he's not giving one-word replies.
The one time an MD texted me and said he was hearing great things about me from the guy I just spoke to.
The one time when the guy I networked with told me that he had already heard about me through his roommate and the roommate had great things to say about me.
Bro teach me ur ways
Teach me the method
If they start moaning or breathing heavily, it's a good sign
del
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