How One Student Did Coffee Chats Right - Received Offer From A BB

If you have followed my other postings then you already know that I am a VP at BB in a back office role. While I am not in HR, I do some OCR events and other on-boarding activities (interviews, resume screening, superdays, etc) for both my team and other teams within my org's back office structure. I also do this for both students coming on as analysts and experienced hires (everything from a few years removed from school to many decades in the business). One of my groups sent out Analyst offers last month and I guided a student through the process. In effect, this student did the "coffee chat" approach right and now they have an offer for employment from my BB (the same coffee chat approach that many of you see on here).

Because of my title and profile on LinkedIn, I get a few requests each year for coffee chats; I rarely (very rarely!) accept them. But I wanted to post this here to show you how one student got the approach right and I'll highlight the right things they did along the way. I'm going to obfuscate some facts about the process, myself and the student for everyone's privacy, but I think the story still comes through.

First Contact

I first met the student at a competition my BB hosted (think of like a marketing plan competition night, stuff like that). They came prepared with their resume that only had a single internship on it. But they were dressed properly, smiled a lot and made a very good, general impression. They had researched my BB and they asked smart questions about my department. I gave the student my card and told them that we would be interviewing very soon and the web site where they should apply.

What they did right: They came prepared, they target their resume and questions towards my company. But most of all, they made a good impression. Smiled a lot, good handshake, stood up straight, asked questions. I'm going to meet a lot of students in a given year, if you make a good impression I'm going to remember your resume. Otherwise, you're just another one of the hundreds (truth be told, I've probably met thousands of potential Analysts this year!).

First Follow Up

I received a very nice thank you note from the student the very next day. I had emphasized the short timeline, so they took that to heart and by the time they sent me the note, they had already applied for the position. Since I gave their resume a positive review, HR had also reached out to them with information on the deadline - they wrote back to the my HR rep right away. The student used all of this as an excuse to write me a great thank you note and I thought it was very classy on their part.

What they did right: They followed up immediately, they showed enthusiasm for the job. Us hiring you is just like dating - if you show enthusiasm, we're likely to reply in kind. But no one wants to "drag" someone along that doesn't show enthusiasm or the desire to be there. They also didn't wait very long, they were on top of it. There were students that reached out to me a full week after the event telling me their resume was "coming soon". Really? Don't bother, because I'm conducting interviews TODAY - yes, the deadlines can happen that quickly! I don't have time to wait for you to send in a resume weeks later. You should be going to all the OCR events ready as if the interviews are happening the same day - have a resume 100% ready, have your schedule open to interview, have your suits and ties ready & pressed, shoes & high heels polished. Things are going to happen quickly, with or without you. Plus, if you reach out to me weeks later, sorry, I'm just plain not going to remember you.

Second Follow Up

The student found good excuses to reach out and stay in contact. Any time they had a question on the process or upcoming interview cycles (we do 5 of them) they looked for help with a short note. They either asked smart questions or just kept me updated on how the previous round went. They knew that I was an interviewer so I could help them with any number of parts of the process.

What they did right: They sought help, advice. You would be surprised at how many people in my position actually enjoy helping students. When you reach out for advice, an opinion, you are likely to receive a reply. Be direct, smart and respectful in your questions and you'd be surprised at how many of my colleagues would be willing to help you. Every note started with "Dear Mr. GoingToBeAnMD . . . " and asked for help - that's much more likely to receive a reply than most other invites I get. When I offered them advice, they acted on it and gave me updates on the results. Quite frankly, this student sought me out more as a mentor and I welcomed that. Staying in constant contact shows that you want to work for me and that you can be coached - those are all very important things when we look for Analysts.

The Coffee Chat

Yes, yes, I know that you thought that the coffee chat comes first in this story. WRONG! In fact, I think it should rarely come first in the whole process. The whole point of the recruiting process should be to make friends; as Jeffrey Gitomer says (his books are very worthwhile), "No one likes to be pitched, but everyone wants to do business with their friends. So go out there and make friends!". The student (at this point felt like a mentee) made it to the final round which also happened to be at my campus. So they extended an offer for coffee which I accepted. At this stage in the interviews, I had coached them a bit and having coffee only seemed like a natural extension since they were going to be so close by. That's 100% different than a random student that reaches me on LinkedIn with no background, no introduction and just writes a ham-handed attempt at an invite to meet.

What they did right: They kept in touch, I knew who they were because they were respectful and replied to all emails right away. When you do this, the coffee invite comes easy.

The Offer

During the coffee chat I told the student that things would be happening very, very quickly so they should send thank-you notes right away. At least that's how my BB does it, I don't know about other places. But, once again, the student took this advice to heart and the student sent notes before they even left my campus. It's at this point that I went to bat for my mentee and I had hallway conversations with some colleagues, I popped my head into other people's offices, and I spoke about the strength of this student's resume and I put my influence where I could. The student deserved it, they had done the right things at all steps in the process, and I did my part and put my weight behind them.

What they did right: This student made it very easy for me to help them. They did the right things, they were respectful and they showed enthusiasm for my company. The combination of all those things made me more than happy to approach my colleagues and tell them to pay close attention to this particular resume and interview notes.

It was a few days later that I found out that the student was going to be made an offer. I was told before the student knew but I had to let HR do it's thing first. But immediately after notices went out, I received a thank you email from the student because they were very excited to receive an offer. I was genuinely happy for them and I got to help them throughout the process, that was very satisfying.

Who Else Is Doing Things Right

I have a freshman that I met earlier this year. They're a little too early in the process for me to help them right now. But I have seen them at other OCR events (I'll remain vague here for my privacy) and they've made a good impression each time because they always remember me and they stop to chat. Time will tell if that freshman will continue in the process, but they're in line for me to make them an offer at some point in the future.

Stay in contact, be respectful, be friendly and good things will happen.

 
AndyLouis:
thank you for continuing this series of posts! very helpful

Every time I do one of these I seem to end up on the front page, the LinkedIn profile and the email digest (-: https://media2.giphy.com/media/l3E6BG56dhjuawAX6/giphy-downsized.gif" alt="How One Student Did Coffee Chats Right - Received Offer From A BB" />

 

The soft skills demonstrated in the description above is sales 101. This kid will be a killer if he/she wants to be a career banker – or any kind of client facing career role for that matter.

I had a flair for languages. But I soon discovered that what talks best is dollars, dinars, drachmas, rubles, rupees and pounds fucking sterling.
 
faceslappingcompilation:
have you ever seen people who started in the back office at your firm move to the front office (sales / trading / research / banking / etc..)? how many? how did they do it?

Have I seen someone do it? No. Is it possible? I suppose so. There is a fair amount of "inner" networking that happens at the large orgs. So if you dedicated yourself to reaching out to people on a consistent basis, it can be done. It would require a lot of work and a lot of soft skills on your part. In addition, you'd have to make sure you keep your own internal rankings "clean" so that you'd be eligible to make those moves.

There's a lot of moving pieces to it, but yes, it can be done/

 

Imagine of one of the analysts who works under you (say, been there 1-2 years) and asked you to help him move to the front office (trading / sales)....would you be supportive? Would you approach the trading desks that you know and say "this kid who works for me wants to trade - he's smart, good with details, entrepreneurial - i think you should talk to him and see if he would be a fit on your desk".

just google it...you're welcome
 
faceslappingcompilation:
Imagine of one of the analysts who works under you (say, been there 1-2 years) and asked you to help him move to the front office (trading / sales)....would you be supportive? Would you approach the trading desks that you know and say "this kid who works for me wants to trade - he's smart, good with details, entrepreneurial - i think you should talk to him and see if he would be a fit on your desk".

That would all depend on the BO role you're in. Not everyone within a BB is connected to a front office role in that way (or at least not close enough as you describe). Most BBs are so massive that you can stay within your function for decades and never come across any trader/sales FO. So, your energy would be better spent networking on your own rather than trying to find the one person that can kinda-sorta recommend you.

 

Amazing quality post. This is exactly how I was able to get my BB IB superday. Make friends, get to know them, and keep in touch. The relationship is what matters the most when recruiting team members are thinking about the 100 kids that have been emailing them.

 

This is good for juniors in that it emphasizes the importance of: - thank you emails - prompt typo-free, professional communication

The communication piece is crucial to the job and something we're all looking for when we visit campus

 

Thanks for posting; I found this very helpful as a student trying to break in. If you don’t mind answering, I’m curious about your thoughts on two related points: How would you suggest cultivating the above for someone with no access to ocr? I usually use LinkedIn to ask people for a phone conversation regarding advice on something, and I make it about something project or industry related rather than something recruitment related. I’m in no rush for referrals. Also, what’s your advice on following up on an initial message that hasn’t received response? I understand the importance of persistence, but I’d like to execute that persistence delicately.

JUST DO IT. Don't let your memes be dreams.
 
Most Helpful
bossadelarbol:
How would you suggest cultivating the above for someone with no access to ocr? I usually use LinkedIn to ask people for a phone conversation regarding advice on something, and I make it about something project or industry related rather than something recruitment related. I’m in no rush for referrals.

Your goal shouldn't be for a call back, your goal should be to make friends. Do you send invites for your friend to call you in every email? No. So what do you email your friends about? Go out and do that instead.

bossadelarbol:
Also, what’s your advice on following up on an initial message that hasn’t received response? I understand the importance of persistence, but I’d like to execute that persistence delicately.
First, accept that some people just plain aren't going to respond. Others may not respond because they play no role in recruitment. For those that you think may reply, then mix it up. Send messages on weekends instead; send messages with pictures as attachments instead of a wall of text. There's plenty of ways to stand out like that.
 

Great post! Definitely going to use this to get into IB from my non-target. Can you more thoroughly flesh out what your position is in the BO? Also, did this student get a BO offer or a FO offer?

 
Jordan-Simkovic:
Great post! Definitely going to use this to get into IB from my non-target. Can you more thoroughly flesh out what your position is in the BO? Also, did this student get a BO offer or a FO offer?
No, I will not. I choose to eliminate some things for the benefit of my privacy. I'm just willing to say that I am not in HR and that when I hire, I might be looking to hire for multiple groups and I look for anything from summer analysts to experienced hires.

The student received a FT, BO offer (this was not for a summer internship, but the same approach would have worked for that).

 

I really appreciate your sharing of this student's case! If you don't mind me asking, how do you define "smart questions" here? Because you mentioned it several times in the post, like when the student first met you and later on, when the student reached you for advice. I was always worried about asking questions that would make people feel that I am aggressive. Thank you in advance!

 
Barry777:
I really appreciate your sharing of this student's case! If you don't mind me asking, how do you define "smart questions" here? Because you mentioned it several times in the post, like when the student first met you and later on, when the student reached you for advice. I was always worried about asking questions that would make people feel that I am aggressive. Thank you in advance!

I think that can come in many forms. But overall, show me that you have researched both the company and my division. Don't just ask about the BB, ask about the particular group you are applying to. Ask questions that demonstrate enthusiasm and prior knowledge of the work. I've put this in other places - the work I represent is not just something I'm "trying out" - its what I dedicate myself to and how I feed my wife and kids. I want to see students that show enthusiasm for the work, that's the people I want to hire.

 

How do you figure out how to stay in touch and what questions to ask? I always blank on those because I feel as a student I have little value to add. Especially post interview + rejection, I sometimes have people I think I've made a strong impression on, but just didn't make the cut and I'd like to stay in contact.

 
lakebeachadvisors:
How do you figure out how to stay in touch and what questions to ask? I always blank on those because I feel as a student I have little value to add. Especially post interview + rejection, I sometimes have people I think I've made a strong impression on, but just didn't make the cut and I'd like to stay in contact.
I like this question. While you may have little value to add, just realize that this value only goes for you as a working professional. But as a student, you still have value there. Send me interesting projects you are working on, send me whitepapers you are reading, send me research materials that you find interesting. As a student you have some time and resources available that I may not - use that to your advantage.

When it comes to staying in contact be honest and state exactly what you wrote here, "It's too bad that the job didn't work out but I enjoyed the interview with you and I think I can learn a lot from you" etc.

 

This is very helpful thanks for sharing your thoughts. I remember when I first hunted for jobs I was just sending out random emails to different people for coffee chat and now it makes sense why most of them reject me in the first place. One question tho, what if one who you have never met wants to invite you for a coffee chat? Without meeting face to face, it would be hard to make a great impression, and what are your thoughts for the fresh grads who have been working in the industry for a while and wants to make new connections?

 

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