Recently, I was approached on LinkedIn by a guy who works as a career coach, providing advise and help to young graduates to secure internships and jobs in IB in London.
He sent me an inbox asking me for a call, and then we talked for about 30 min. He invited me to join his program (which apparently is exclusive for people with decent profiles and is tailored for people looking to break in IB). For this 3 months program, he wants to charge me 3,000 GBP, which is a lot of money for me.
On one hand, I feel tempted, as I have failed to secure a job after my graduation, and I didn't get many interviews this year, so he says he will help me to tailor my CV and cover letters and will give me access to a network of bankers and Oxford graduates. Clearly if I get a job, it will be more than worthy. But on the other hand, this is a lot of money, and I don't have many references of this people, they look professional and serious, but I don't know at what extend they will be helpful.
Does anyone have any experience working with career coaches? Would you recommend me to pay for the service or do you think this is bulls**t?
Just remember. No coach can guarantee a job.
He didn't promise me anything. He said he has an 80% successful rate placing people in front office roles. Anyway, I turned it down, no way I'll pay that money.
This is total bullshit especially for that price. You can easily network with bankers yourself for free. They'll be more willing to help you if you reach out independently vs via some guy selling their network.
Resume reviewing is a legitimate service and potentially worth a few hundred dollars with a professional company if you need it, but $3k for this is ridiculous. Run far away.
do you think it is worth paying for interview prep?
No, you can do most of the prep by yourself. Learn the technicals and have an answer to every behavioral you can find online. Have some friends or family do mock interviews or network your way into phone calls which are basically interview prep.
This is bullshit. If he is incessant, counter and let him know that any compensation should be tied to acceptance of a full-time position at a reputable platform of your choosing. Then again, a counter might not even be worth the time taken to send the e-mail/message. It's probably best to stop responding.
This is what I replied! I would pay that money for a guaranteed job, not for a "maybe". He replied he doesn't work this way, so I told them to get lost.
Good man. I can only hope others don't fall for the same shit.
I would find a mentor woh is genuinely interested in your progress vs. a career coach. Coaches are great later on when you actually have a career to discuss.
I would 100% find a mentor or two if you can. Especially with the spot you’re in. It’s hard to not know what you don’t know. That being said, $3,000 a month is steep and it’s odd he came to you. I will say I’ve seen similar programs for $8,000 but there isn’t like a time limit on it. I had a friend who did it and they did end up with a BB SA and they guy was in IB then PE then did 2 startups and cashed out. I’m still even skeptical of that though because something feels off telling kids you can help them get a job if they pay you multiple thousands of dollars.
Can't you find a mentor any other way? Does your university offer any mentorship programmes? I am studying towards qualifying for an ACCA charter and I do know that ACCA does offer free mentorship programmes for those who need them. So, do your research.
is that the ICP people? they love targeting international students
3000 gbp is a ton of money to pay for a mentor. Definitely don't do it. Unless it's prep for something specialized like the LSAT, MCATs, GMAT, etc. and even then you may not need it.
This is interesting because I think I got the same message when I was searching back in college. On the one hand, it was really intriguing because I had no network, went to a super non-target (retail at J-crew was at our job fair), and was coming down to the wire my senior year.
On the other hand, like you, I couldn't quite come to terms with the cost (can't remember what the price tag was), but I remembering weighing the pros and cons and thinking the upfront cost was too much - too little guarantee and too much ambiguity for the money
I think the main advice I can give you is to go with your instinct. Only you know your financial situation (college debt, savings, five-year plan, etc.) and your strengths and weaknesses.
On a final note, in regards to your last part of the post, what ended up really deterring me from what the guy was offering was he sounded too much like a salesman without substance - what I mean is I would ask a question in the context of a normal conversation and he would follow-up like he was in an infomercial, totally disregarding what I was saying. To me, that wasn't going to be mentorship or coaching; I was just going to be unearned revenue.
Any help to secure an IB role may feel tempting, specially when you don't have a top profile. But 3k for this service is a joke. I obviously turned it down.
Is this that Sam Shiah guy lol
what's the deal with that dude. can anyone from personal experience with him talk about the legitimacy of the program? All i see are his countless videos and posts - dude seems so unlikable
Tell that guy to pound sand.
As someone who also provides guidance to current students and recent alumni (interview coaching, resume refinement, pitch crafting, etc), that rate is laughable. Tell the guy to get lost. Like others said, as long as you have the foundation you can network with who he is trying to "get you in with"
What a scam. I have done mentoring for young professionals/students and the legitimate ones don't charge you. You reach out to them via word of mouth and once they understand your situation and they think they could help, then they reach back to you
lol sam shiahs of the world
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