From nothing(non-target) to something and still hustling

Hi, I am senior, and have spent my last two summers interning at sell-side banks in NYC and Asia, and now I might be going back to Asia for full-time for S&T.

Brief background, I was not in a target school but later transferred to a target in my third year. Didn't know anything about Investment Banking and was really shocked when I went to my first info session. (Just by the sheer number of ppl surrounding each bankers and I was like holy crap, this is going to be tough)

I didn't know the industry, I thought talking to bankers was a intimidating act, it seems like everything was going against me. Until I stumbled upon this forum and looked at how hard people hustled and motivated each other.

I just wanted to be frank with you guys, I thought I wanted to do IBD, I've sent thousands of emails, had hundreds of chats, probably 50+ interviews and 10+ superdays in well known banks.

but...

I got 0 offer in the end.

So did I give up? no way, I went to bunch of info sessions, shifted my target from purely NYC to Asia as well and landed a S&T offer for my first S&T interview.

How did I do that? I am not better than any of you guys!

Of course you put the hard work in, but you also need to be efficient and know how to get to your goal! So, as interview season is around the corner, I thought of compiling the resources I found useful in getting a foothold in the industry, being a complete outsider. Maybe this will help others. Here is my first cut, in no particular order:

1) Good finance classes:
Find good finance classes/ professors, especially ones with practical experience and industry connections.
For example, one of the best finance classes I have taken at Columbia is Sid Dastidar's (A guy that helped me a ton, and maybe this gives away my school lol) capital markets. He works at a large NYC hedge fund and teaches part time. The class was practically focused, required no prior finance knowledge and was a lot of work. Sid did not use a textbook (he now has one, below), which made the class hard to follow, but he helped us with interviews and introductions.

2) Good reading matter: Sid Dastidar (www.columbia.edu/~sgd2002) has just released a new book to accompany his class. Part textbook and part career guide, this 300-page book should be the first stop for finance aspirants. If you have a prior finance background, much of the conceptual content maybe a review, but it is practically presented with short write-ups on big data, fintech, etc. He also has a few videos. I would have loved to use this book when I was preparing. I don't think anyone has heard of this book (it's very reasonably priced), so I want to highlight it.

I don't read the vault guide, I just figure out what type of stuff they'll ask for personal and behavior and had a 30pg prep sheet of whatever possible they might ask.

Morningbrew is a great news resource thats interesting, quick and has a brainteaser part.

3) CFA prep - for sales/ trading and research folks, preparing for CFA1 will demonstrate intent. The CFA has its own material; if the volume overwhelms you, Sid's book above can be a good starting point.

4) Networking, with sincerity:
This is where I can add value. Networking doesn't come to anyone naturally, but it can easily be improved. After 100+ calls, would you think you will be smoother than your first one? (I think the answer is obvious)

My rule of thumb is to do things that I think will not harm me, yes, you heard it right, I judge things by if it will harm me not if it will benefit me. Sometimes you don't want to go out of your way to do something, you'll be thinking, oh, this can't help me too much so Imma just pass. Instead of that, I think about, will it hurt me for hitting up all my alums in different back and systematically email bomb them? Probably not, as long as I don't hit up like 100ppl from the same bank the same day and send them same messages.

Tweak your email a bit, add a line about their background and how you thought that was interesting and how you wanted to learn more.

When you go meet them: STOP ASKING BORING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE JOB. THEY GOT OUT OF THE OFFICE TO HAVE A GOOD CHAT AND COFFEE, NOT ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTION EVERYONE ELSE ASK THEM IN THE INFOSESSION FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS. BE PERSONAL! BE INTERESTING! A SHORT COFFEE CHAT DOESN'T = A BAD ONE, JUST MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A GOOD IMPRESSION AND THEY INTRODUCE SOMEONE ELSE TO YOU.

5) Keeping in touch with current finance news. (This is basic and morningbrew can also help you)

Please feel free to add to this list, and let me know if you will marry, chill or kill Sid's book after you've read it. The Columbia career services and library have a few copies; I don't know if other schools do (maybe they should...). I know that some banks used it to train their interns/ analysts this year.

Good luck, and let's keep this thread going.