Continue to network after securing an SA 2021?
Honestly very bored at home and am not getting much social interaction aside from talking to family. I thought it'd be a good idea to reach out to investment bankers and other finance professionals to see if I could 1) maintain my social skills 2) develop connections while im still in college and 3) gain any tips and insight into others' careers.
For investment bankers in this forum, how would you perceive an incoming IB SA at your firm if you heard they were doing this?
your firm won't find out
Good idea in theory, but in practice networking at the college level is basically only used for recruiting. Anyone who you reach out to will assume you're looking for a FT seat even if you don't explicitly say so.
I'd look into other (covid-friendly) hobbies or even move somewhere fun for the spring semester. You have your whole life to talk finance, don't worry about it at this stage
This is interesting, so even if it's a 10 minute phone call about how I could prepare for an internship and how that person was able to receive a return, it would be viewed as networking for full-time?
Can't speak for everyone but that is how I would take it. I get 5-10 emails a week from college students and every single one is about SA or FT recruiting especially if you're asking them questions about the internship
how many do you reply to?
90% because networking sucks for college students. The other 10% I am too busy or they are just too late for our recruiting cycle
Wow good to hear, definitely one of the better associates out there, do you think right now is too early to send cold emails out for Sa 2022 for EBs?
Nope start sending them
As someone who is looking to network for SA 2022 recruiting, what differentiates someone you talk to that you think would be a good candidate and you vouch for vs someone you talk to and don't help?
For context, I have a boutique internship and a lower MM firm offer for this summer and usually mention this in the call to show interest in IB but transition to personal questions about them or their personal experience at said firm. I feel like building genuine relationships with people is better than just the usual using them for recruiting. Any advice?
You're on the right track.
I push outstanding candidates with the right quality of resume (even if you don't have direct experience, involvement at school can make up for this - bonus points if you have something interesting on there like a unique hobby or interest) and ease of talking to. Networking calls are good practice at getting comfortable talking to strangers on the phone. If you know you come off as nervous, get some friends to mock interview you to get better.
Have differentiated questions is one way to stand out, admittedly this can be difficult, but a few examples. I'd rather talk about the typical deal team structure at my bank and the roles/interactions you would have as a junior, how staffing works (client or project based? what would a typical analyst's staffings look like?), formal/informal mentorship and learning opportunities, my thoughts on a recent deal or industry trend, or my hobbies outside of work. The more specific you can be in your questions the better. Have at least 8-10 detailed questions you can pull as needed to keep the conversation going. This is way better than the generic "How is the culture at firm XYZ, What made you choose X bank" that a lot of people lean on.
what a nice guy i like you
would you say that if someone is unsure if they want to enter full-time recruiting that they should start developing these soft connections and reach out in the summer to get in contact about full-time?
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