Connected with MD - No Idea what to Do

Guys, give the kid some slack. He's an engineering major from a Canadian school (possibly) - and admit it, we've all been there at some point of time, totally clueless about stuff. Props for doing an MSFT-LNKD M&A model - I doubt even we did it correctly at Qatalyst lol. Yet my fam, Satya, played along, so we cool.

As for OP, change the title to something clearer - I thought this was some shit related to some banker breakdown. That's when I saw that BillBelichick37 had tagged me and understood that it would have something to do with either @whattherock" or Robert Duval. Turns out it was neither.

This late in the game, your approach is in the right direction. I had a chance to MEET with an MF SMD even later than now (in May). I did something most people would deem retarded on this forum or in the West, but for a number of reasons would work in my region - I waited outside his office building for 4 days straight till he agreed to give me a few minutes. But that's not the most retarded thing I've ever done - there's one that trumps all, that I'll disclose once I become VP or something.

As you might guess, a few minutes lasted a good half-hour, as we went through two models I had built for practice - one was an actual model detailing a defence sector merger deal (I had some familiarity with the sector), the other was a 'hypothetical' (at the time), merger between Solarcity and Tesla (at the time, I had to defend that like crazy - and lol, look what happened). For engineering interns, unfortunately, especially those outside the US, it is very difficult to showcase your interest in finance. You'll often have to take extreme steps to get even a toe into the door. If you're not in an engineering program (or non-finance STEM related program), I doubt doing so would have any benefits though.

Regarding models, really I cannot stress this often - use something easier, and preferably more niche. If you explain to me why MSFT is acquiring LNKD, I'm going to be feeling meh - the ER is everywhere, so I wouldn't bother much. But if you explain to me why Qualcomm and NXP (another Q deal) are merging, I'll be listening somewhat more carefully. Besides NXPI-QCOM is much easier to model than MSFT-LNKD, even though the deal was bigger.

Now here's the thing - you do not want to flaunt those models. You'll want to indicate that you've tried your hand at building models, but if there's even one ambiguous assumption unaccounted for, you're a goner. Your prime focus should be on getting any technical questions he might throw your way correct. Even if you accurately built a 26.2b$ MSFT-LNKD model, if I hear one BS statement from you, I'm going to assume that somebody else built the model for you. Treat this call as you would any interview - know your technicals, show that you are willing to learn, etc. If he wonders out loud why you haven't received an internship this late in the year, tell him it was hard to find places willing to take on internationals or something. In short, be prepared for whatever he may throw at you.

And be chill af. Don't lose your steam when chatting - he's only another human, and moreover he, an MD, has given his time to meet a student. With this mentality, during my student years, I was able to kick ass, while the kids from my uni languished in ambiguity and darkness. I used to go straight for the top usually, instead of following the hierarchy - the guys who would appreciate that kind of tenacity would appreciate it, the guys who would hate it wouldn't be worth talking to anyways - they might be prestige whores themselves. Mostly I've seen top level people from the former, and grunts from the latter group.

As for how my chat turned out? Kid from the projects gets an unpaid offcycle internship at an MF, got to meet 3 MDs over summer, who got promoted to partner themselves a year later, and who gunned for this kid to join the firm from a smaller, regional office to the second biggest office of the firm. Oh, total non-target btw. A number of reasons why this worked, but yeah, if you pull a networking chat right, you'll go a long ways.