Against All Odds

I joined WSO a bit over a year ago during my junior year where I had no idea about the banking industry/networking/interviews/etc. While the industry appealed to me it seemed that I was vastly outnumbered in experience, GPA, credentials etc. However, with the help of individuals on the board who still continue to help me to this day such as: monty, anthony, compbanker, gekko, captk etc. (If any of you don't know who I am I've changed usernames quite some times), I was able to obtain a spot in a mid-tier bank within the 2011 IB analyst class.

A bit more about myself

Non-Target (I know of one other person with an FO IB offer from my school)
3.4 GPA / 100th in class
PWM Internship / Capital Markets Internship

I'm not going to lie, I often had thoughts of giving up as I wasn't even able to obtain middle office on campus interviews and often disregarded as a candidate due to my GPA / experience. However, perseverance, hard work, and great help here on WSO has allowed me to achieve my goal. I guarantee that I would have had ZERO chance without the WSO community, so for those that are prospective monkeys, I suggest reaching out to those on these forums for advice and help.

For some advice to those who are in positions similar to mine a year ago.

  1. Network (I sent about 50-100 cold emails a week with great results) My school had no updated alumni book so I randomly found people through linked in (Not sure if this is still possible.)
  2. Target MM firms, individuals within IB rather than recruiters.
  3. Buy the interview guides above, helped with every single question (The $60 is the best money I've ever spent)
  4. Don't be afraid to ask others for advice, people on these boards are generally kind enough to pass some on because they have been in your shoes in the past.
  5. PERSONALIZE emails. Dont BCC everyone. Change the heading name, and company. The rest can be copied. (i.e I noticed that you are at _____ within Investment banking)
  6. NEVER give up. Don't feel disappointed because others around you have secured FT offers and such. With the right phone call, with that one golden email, you may get your foot in the door.

I know that this post may not speak to many of you on these forums which come from more distinguished schools and such but I hope to speak to those that come to these forums with big dreams and perseverance, rather than pedigree and experience.
Thank you WSO.

I can't believe I'm so excited to work 100 hours a week.

 

Ok, this gets a SB because 1. You dropped my name (happy to help). 2. This post speaks to all readers and is more than the average "I got an offer, thanks" post.

Congrats.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Congrats! Would you mind sharing how exactly you were going about networking and sending your cold emails? Were your cold "netowkring" emails asking for positions at boutiques/MMs, or do you mean you were networking during junior year to try and build contacts for FT recruitment?

And were you just sending them to 50-100 random people a week?...b/c I haven't been able to build ANY relationships w/o first having some kind of commonality or via referral...

 

Congrats man - way to keep plugging and break down walls. Glad I could help out. Thanks also for posting a bit more in depth "I got an offer" thread with tips for other monkeys. Silver banana from me as well.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

I sent my cold emails EXTREMELY late, as in started in sept until oct of this year (senior year)

Looking back, I should have started sending them over the summer during my summer internship or late junior year.By that time, many banks were closing their doors and got luck enough to sneak into one. However, I have still been getting good feedback from smaller MM firms that recruit more off cycle & close up later.

As for the format, I followed one similar to the one on the boards. Rather than looking for a job I basically asked for an informational talk for a few minutes, and at the end 80% wanted to see a resume.

 

Congratulations! I too have been trying to break in and have fought my way in to a MM IB in Boston. I am from a local non-target, average GPA, but have exceptional work experience. My placement here was a result of 2 years of grinding away moving from PWM to a small IB startup, now I perform standard IB intern tasks here at the MM IB and have secured a position as the first intern working with their newly created VC fund. I'm now trying to make the move into NY and have begun my rounds of cold emails.

How exactly did you secure a distribution list? How did you get contacts in ancillary departments to connect you with recruiters/analysts in the IB division?

I am currently a junior and hope to have your success securing a summer analyst position/FT 2012 offer.

"You Want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet, What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid."
 
New Yorker:
first of all all "non targets" are not equal.

second of all, there are hundreds of people with a 3.4 gpa in banking. you were only fighting fucking odds if you went to a SEC or state school.

Come on man, why don't you get a job before you start criticizing other people....and I would consider a 3.4 from a non-target to be fighting the odds...I mean fuck, even Ivy league kids are technically fighting the odds, although they are a little more in their favor.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
New Yorker:
im not criticizing anyone gekko, i'm just saying all non-targets are not equal. wouldn't you agree? is a 3.4 from georgetown the same as a 3.4 from UGA? what about ole miss...
I wouldn't consider G-town a non-target...BarCap IBD recruits on-campus there and there's a pretty solid pipeline of G-town kids into Goldman from what I've heard.
 

Is Bentley University non-target enough for this discussion? for an analyst track, were not talking accounting or management

"You Want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet, What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid."
 
Best Response

Non-Target (at least nationally) 2.7 GPA, 3.1 Finance GPA PWM Internship / BB S&T Internship

I made it to a MM IBD as well. Networking is absolutely critical, as is perseverance and realism. The OP had it dead on when he said to target MM banks. If you're fighting the odds already there's not much point in wasting your time applying for that Goldman Principal Strategies position. I also filled out tons of job apps before anyone would give me the time of day, but I made it through. I personally had a disastrous freshman year and it killed my GPA, but was able to show improvement and good work experience, and had a lot of knowledge/extracurriculars related to the industry I was focusing on.

Congrats on the offer!

 

Congrats all around - I love reading these posts. And thank you for acknowledging some of our certified users like you did...many of them are on here giving great advice every day because they decide to take the time.

Good luck and when you have time, please come back to help other WSO chimps...our small group of Certified Users definitely needs help with the growth of the community. The new search helps, but there are still ~50-100 new chimps on here every day.

Thanks

 

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