I am a Junior at a target with bulge bracket mid office experience(market risk), very good gpa, decent leadership positions(run the finance club and have a profitable startup), and I follow the markets very closely. However, I am not in a frat or play a varsity sport. How much will this hinder me when it comes to getting a job, especially in fixed income desks for S&T.
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It won't hinder you at all. While a sport/frat does help out, especially in S&T, it most definitely will not keep you out. Mid-Office experience at a BB is a great leeway into a front-office position at a BB or a regional bank.
bert the broker would argue, but you will b fine
I'm in a frat and play a varsity sport. To be honest, being in a frat has never come up in an interview. Playing a sport comes up every time w/o fail. I don't think that not playing a sport will kill you, but playing one shows that you have teamwork experience and are pretty well-rounded; it also gives you something interesting to talk about during the interview a lot of times, especially if it's a popular sport. You can definitely be a team player and be well-rounded w/o playing sports, though.
You go to a target, have a great GPA, and finance work experience: you shouldn't have a problem.
By varsity sport, do you mean being on a club team in college? Or do 4 years of HS sports count?
I think a club sport can count just as much as a traditional NCAA sport; it really depends on which particular sport you're talking about. I know lax is a club sport at a lot of colleges and it's still great competition. A lot of club hockey at D1 schools is also really solid. Even participating in a club sport that might not be as competitive can help you out because it makes you seem like a more well-rounded person; past a certain level of finance wizardry, the well-rounded guy will beat out the finance nerd.
I don't know how much the banks really care about HS varsity. On the one hand, it can be interesting to talk about in an interview, especially if your interviewer played/follows that sport. But, obviously the college athletes were balancing school and sports at a higher level, so that stands out more. I wouldn't use the high school sport as proof of "consistent dedication and teamwork". They want stuff you did more recently in time for that question.
I agree with the club sport thing to a limited degree. My brother plays club hockey at a huge state school but only because they don't have a D1 team. He got recruited to play D1 but took the academic scholarship to a better school instead. The only real difference, he says, is the time commitment. So in that way, I think putting a club sport on your resume helps because you show that you're well rounded as you said. But I would hesitate to put your sweet ultimate frisbee team anywhere on your resume other than the 'interests' or activities section.
As far as High School Sports, no one cares. It's high school. Everyone played sports. Definitely not something I would include on a resume. Something to talk about sure, but not something to put in writing.
You're fine dude. Target + Good GPA + ECs = not needing to worry about the varsity sport/frat thing to get you an interview
yea I mean I played high school sports(honestly, who hasn't) but just wasn't good enough to play at the D1 level... If I knew that being in a frat would help with recruitment, I would've just joined one lol nbd That's exactly the point... I want to show them that I'm personable and work well with others and I think greek life and a varsity sport would be perfect ways to project those two qualities... Without either, I'm just going to have to rely on personal charm, which is not as reliable and depends on who is interviewing you
I hear you, ambition.
But frats and college sports are not the only ways to show that you're more than an excel monkey. Like I said, my frat has never come up in an interview. The sport comes up all the time, but there are plenty of other things you can do that will have the same effect. You run the finance club so I'm sure you work with others all the time on club projects--no problem there. What are your interests? Are you an avid fan of any pro sports? Do you run or work out a lot, play golf, ski, etc.? There are lots of possibilities. It doesn't have to be a sport you play competitively in college, just one that you're passionate about (but use "playing pickup basketball every week with friends" to demonstrate you do things in your spare time, not a fierce competitive nature if you get my drift).
And even if you don't have an interesting hobby, don't underestimate the power of personal charm. You already have the school, the grades, and the ECs. Believe me, the fact that you didn't lead the NCAA in rushing last year isn't going to kill you.
Varsity sport (college...sadly that needs clarification) is a nice boost. Frat does nothing. I dot even have it on my resume and y shouldn't either unless you are still in school AND an officer. Even then questionable.
Why would you ever take it off? Especially if you were an officer...?
i do have random shit in my interests like snowboarding, paintballing, bartended for a while freshman year
I'd put snowboarding and paintballing under interests (I'd hold off on bartending-- don't put it on the resume). Then if they ask what you like to do in your spare time just talk about how you like snowboarding and paintballing; I'd only mention the bartending if, by chance, you got asked about what other types of jobs you worked not related to finance (rarely get that question, but you never know).
I played football at a D1 school, it was rarely ever brought up by interviewers. It's not as important as some make it seem. Given your stats, I think you should be fine.
Definitely highlight the skills you developed from your start up (that could be a very cool conversation that the interviewers might find refreshing as they talk to a lot of athletes and fraternity members), never think for a second that you're less qualified than anyone you are interviewing against.... go in there with a degree of confidence, articulate why you are fired up about finance and why you want to work at their firm and then let the chips fall where they may... can't change what you have/haven't done in the past anyway so just sell yourself and be confident and you'll kill it
True, you can't change the past...but you can spin it!
sounds like you'd make a great politician
I would never mention frat, but I agree with those saying sports comes up often. When I interview kids always look immediately to the interests section to see if there is anything we have in common that we an talk about. That always starts the conversation out with a positive tone (if you played a sport or have done anything semi-interesting in your life then you have checked this box just fine).
I interviewed a kid yesterday and his extracurricular stuff was crap like math olympics gold medalist and bridge tournament champion... kid had high test scores, but my feedback to HR was simple:
"this guys isn't a good fit"
How much does being in a fraternity help you land interviews/offers? (Originally Posted: 11/04/2015)
This is something I've always wondered and was hoping if anyone could shed some first hand experiences. Has being in a social fraternity within IFC helped you land any interviews or offers? Does it look positive or negative by putting it on your resume? For example, if you are being interviewed by someone who was also in the fraternity, does it actually help? Would they pick you over someone else who has a higher GPA and work experiences than you do?
Depends on the fraternity, but in general it's a positive. I've gotten a couple interviews/intros through my fraternity network
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