EQ vs. IQ in Finance

Hey Guys,

Having a pretty rough time with recruiting this year. After a pretty poor 1st year GPA wise I am really struggling to get an interview anywhere. Any advice ? I wont give up and believe my options now are to start cold emailing every small shop I know because big banks recruiting is closing quickly and I haven't heard back from any.

I am curious if EQ matters in finance, people skills, sales abilities, likability, etc. Any senior people here value someone with a strong personality over IQ.

Every single GS, MS, KKR, Bridgewater, Etc. All the best shops in diverse areas of finance I see. Summa Cum Laude, Graduated top 5% of class, HBS, Stanford, Ivys. Its painful creeping on Linkedin.

Is there a place for people with good sales ability, good with people, and has a strong integrity. Or will I never make it.

Curious where do those people work in finance the people who do best with clients not models. Where is the money in sales within finance.

Please let me know.

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Finance - especially investment banking - can be incredibly difficult to break into. I think rather than being "EQ vs, IQ" it is more like EQ AND IQ. With 100 applications for only 1 spot it is pretty much a given that the person will have to have both. This being said, some things in finance are more "IQ" heavy, i.e. equity research or prop trading, while others are much more "EQ" heavy, i.e. wealth management or sales. If EQ is truly your strength then you should be networking, networking, networking. That's the only real tangible way to overcome a subpar GPA, otherwise you will never get any looks.

 

I would say that my IQ skills are very average. My work ethic is high but I struggle with test writing and writing in general. I am a strong communicator. You would recommend trying to pursue AM. What are the best "sales" roles within Finance ?

 

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