Advice for a Sophomore
Hi all,
Currently I'm a sophomore economics major at the University of Chicago. My GPA from my first year is a 3.1 (had a pretty rough time to say the least); however, this quarter (and most likely this year) should increase my grades tremendously and I expect to have around a 3.4-3.5 by the end of this year.
None the less recruiting for ibanking/finance will start next month (GPA will only be around 3.2) and I am very interested in breaking in. I have a TON of work experience although my experience is primarily in marketing and social psychology. I was the marketing manager for TWO (still work for one) successful start-up and am currently conducting research under a very prestigious Marketing professor. As interesting as marketing first was to me, I am finding it less and less attractive and more and more bullshit.
What advice do you have for me to break into ibanking/finance this summer? I understand that my GPA will be the the very low side come next quarter but is it still possible to perhaps work at a boutique or MM firm? If so how? I've cold emailed (email has been reviewed by my career services dept) a lot (100+) of boutique firms but none have responded back.
Obviously I also need to network. Could someone paint a picture of how it works? Do I start with a cold email or cold call? After securing an information/phone interview, do I need to overly impress him/her in order to be considered for a career opportunity or do I just casually have a conversation? Beyond knowing the industry and coming off as an social person, what else can I do to impress?
Thanks! I really appreciate any responses!
Raise the GPA and keep networking. You're gonna have to be aggressive to get MM with that GPA, unfortunately. It's really hard for any sophomore to get MM.
Also, I think there's something wrong with your emails if you'd sent out over 100 and have gotten no responses. Maybe it's too long? Maybe there's something wrong with your subject line? I dunno, but 0/100 means you're messing it up somehow. Post an example?
Many people here swear by cold emails/calls but in my humble opinion, I think it's weird. I'd suggest at least establishing SOMETHING first - whether that is a LinkedIn connection, meet for coffee, friends, friends of friends, family friends, alumni, etc. After meeting you and seeing your enthusiasm, I think they'd be much more inclined to help.
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