Hey guys, I recently reached out to an alum who is a VP at a small boutique in NYC that has notable deal flow and specializes in M&A. Seems like the predominant recruitment talent there is from Wharton / Harvard / Yale (the usual for such reputable boutiques), but I attend a different Ivy that is not a part of that list.
Shot the VP a cold e-mail and he responded back that he'd like to meet for coffee. Forwarded my resume to his secretary / recruitment coordinator, she set us up for a meet-up around the office and pressed me for another copy of my resume. How should I treat this - given the small structure of the company, would this hold similar weight as an interview if it works out?
Also, more importantly, anyone have similar experiences and know how I should prepare for this? Don't know if I should be brushing up on my technicals or if it'll be moreso behavioral. I know it often depends on the firm, but I'd like to gauge your perspectives if you've ever been in a coffee chat that had an escalated significance or whatnot.
Would highly appreciate a response. Sort of panicky given that I sort of put all my cards into boutiques (not really interested in working at a BB), and that process is largely beginning now.
Thanks.
Bump.
This is more or less going to be a 1st round interview. It depends on the place, they might come in and start asking you interview questions, or they might just open up with a few general background getting-to-know-you questions and then it'll be a typical networking convo from there just so they can get a feel for your fit.
The line between networking/recruiting very much starts to blend once you exit the lexicon of BBs. I would prepare for this as if it were a formal 1st round interview just so that you are not caught out (brush up on basic technicals at the very least).
Awesome, thanks man. I'm really nervous right now because I have the same perspective as the one you shared - I've been studying the markets, technicals, and everything else down to the core. I really, really want to work at this firm. It sucks to think about it but I know I'm competing with tons of top talent in the market with IB backgrounds with a bias towards them because they're from Penn/Harvard/etc., but nonetheless, hope I can get through this.
Not sure what the rest of your background is - but I think many people would laugh at the notion that you're in a tough situation simply because you're "only" from a non H/Y/P Ivy. You're in a good spot being from a target school, now just be sure to execute the interview part.
Right, no I understand that. That's not my only obstacle, I also lack the previous summers' experience in the finance world. Instead, I worked at non-profits and startups, independently picking up my interest in finance through my finance major @ target / finance clubs. Would you have any perspective actually on the content of first round technicals at smaller shops by chance? In the process of ramming through the vault guides - would def. be awesome to narrow down the list of study material. As for behavioral, I'm sure I can present myself as eager and whatnot, just not sure where the boundary is between being enjoyable and being overly eager.
I think there's certainly a way to show your passion for the role without coming across as weird. Maintaining a level composure and tone of voice while at the same time emphasizing how "enthusiastic" or "excited at the prospects of working at firm X" is a good way to do that.
Boutiques (assuming you mean true boutique, not Evercore/Moelis/Lazard) will typically have easier technicals - at least for the first go around. "Walk me through the 3 financial statements" "How does change in depreciation affect the statements" "Name the main valuation methods" "Walk me through a DCF" are all possible questions. I would doubt they're going to ask you things like that given the circumstances you've described, but it would be good to be prepared for those types of technicals.
Do you mind sharing the name of the firm? Thanks. If not it's totally fine
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