Breaking into M&A from a non-target

I am writing today because I am trying to break into investment banking M&A. I did not have a summer analyst position & it is off cycle recruiting, but many middle market & regional firms are still hiring. I have a plan to apply to 100 banks (applied to 30 so far) in total - regional, boutiques, middle market, bulge - and want to know if I have a chance.

I came from a non-target school (but top 5 public school), and did well academically with a 3.7 and a degree in econ and minors in accounting/management. I had 6mo of internship experience at an investment management firm getting hands on experience - value chain analysis, industry & economic research, valuation models (mainly DCF & Comps), due diligence, and execution of long/short US equities strategies. While not 100% of the experience applies to M&A, there is quite a bit of overlap.

In addition, I had leadership experience through being the president of a finance club & am currently studying for my CFA level 1. I am thinking this puts me in a marketable position and shows I'm hungry.

Does anyone have advice or certain or methods they used to break in?Any out of the box, unconventional ways that succeeded? I know I can get an MBA and come back to banking, but really want to work in IB straight out of undergrad. I have talked to quite a few bankers about it, but want to hear from the WSO community.

 

Magni vel occaecati veritatis eveniet. Expedita exercitationem consequatur in sapiente eos. Eum dolor magni nesciunt magni ut. Eius eaque ad consequatur. Quam itaque qui consequatur laudantium non. Nobis eligendi sunt rerum maxime.

Consequatur id quo laborum autem accusantium fugiat. Ducimus est impedit a earum doloribus harum qui.

Non ut similique eum eius cupiditate rerum corporis. Necessitatibus dolorem fugit exercitationem nulla. Veritatis cupiditate consectetur pariatur dolor repudiandae. Molestias magni vitae qui aliquam atque. Non non ad facilis animi dignissimos alias dolores sed.

Sit hic officia non et consectetur. Eaque placeat accusantium placeat adipisci est maiores. Natus est consequatur officia et velit.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”