How to enter IB after Teach For America?

Hi there,

I graduated from Yale in 2015 without any background whatsoever in finance. I'll be completing my two-year Teach For America program in June 2017. At that time, I'll be 24 years old without any formal finance training but great interest in banking.

Questions I have for y'all:
1. What avenues/options do I have for breaking into IB?
2. If you could recommend some "first steps," what would you suggest? I've been reading "Investment Banking for Dummies" and "corporate finance for Dummies" to get started, seriously...
3. If I graduated from Yale with two non-finance related degrees, have an impressive track record in a variety of academic and professional areas (none of which are finance-related), and will have TFA on my resume, how can I leverage these to break into IB?

Thanks in advance! Interested and willing to learn! :-)

 

You may honestly have to complete an MBA program. IB recruiting is all about risk management, that is, picking the applicants most likely to succeed and stick it out for two years. While your background is certainly impressive, it poses one red flag: is this guy really interested in IB, or did he realize after two years of TFA that he really, really needs money for those students loans and now wants to do IB? Just my two cents. Good luck.

 

if you really network, i'm sure you can swing it. if your long term goal is sellside, then going balls out for analyst recruiting is worth it. going to have to hustle.

if you are just focused on IB/dont know what you want to do with your life, apply for an MBA -- transition into IB or consulting. I'd suggest consulting if you just want to work in business. Post-MBA IB somewhat of a career choice.

that's my genuine advice.

now for my cynical side, what made you go from a social justice warrior, fighting for the inner-city youth, to someone who just wants to $TACK cash in a corporate environment? you will have to answer this interview in questions -- especially if you are trying to transition with no MBA. gonna be hard to convince people that teaching the YOUTH made you want to write equity offerings.

also, do you know what investment bankers do?

 

"I'll be 24 years old without any formal finance training but great interest in banking."

Bankers want to see passion, enthusiasm, commitment and interest for these types of jobs, and you've not yet actively demonstrated either. Does TFA offer a specific recruiting/prep track for people looking to transition into banking? Do they have relationships with recruiters? Or if your goal is to brute force your way in, are there any Yale and TFA alums currently in banking you could reach out to in order to build out a finance/IB network?

I know a number of TFA vets, but only one who went straight into any industry (Advertising/PR). A couple others are in academia and law school. The rest-a good majority- nearly ALL went the MBA route. That at least seems to be the path of least resistance-immerse yourself in finance courses and interview prep, master technicals, crush it at OCI, and start off as an Associate.

Good luck!

 

Your resume won't make it past HR screening without anything finance related. You do have an interesting background though, and a lot of people these days are looking for 'diversity' in recruiting. You do have an advantage over some business grads, though it may not be very obvious at first. Think about it - how well can someone really innovate in an industry if they spent the last 4-6 years in school learning about what the industry's already doing?

Anyway, you should start making connections right away. Maybe you'll have students with parents in investment banking? Maybe you have friends from Yale. Anyway, try to impress some bankers with your story now and stay friends with them over the next two years. If you don't know anyone, your background probably won't get you a job.

Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: "To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods."
 

I don't know about IB but MBB seems to really love people from TFA and a mentor of mine got an internship after his sting that turned into a full time role. I also know people who worked for educational non-profits that lateraled into MBB. That might be your ticket with a switch after B-school (or go straight to B-school)

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
Best Response

Don't listen to the haters on this thread saying it's not possible without an MBA. I personally know two people that made the transition from TFA to IB Analyst, and I'm positive there are hundreds more.

Investment banking is not rocket science and anyone with slightly above average intelligence can become a good banker with the right personality and drive. Everyone knows this but since you have a non-traditional background, you have to do extra to get there. Groups will see you as high beta - Obviously a smart guy but may end up being a disaster if hired into the group, especially considering there are thousands of hungry kids that have more relevant experience (accountants, consultants, students with banking internships) that will likely be better at the job initially. It's your job to convince them otherwise.

Yale is a great school with a deep alumni network. The same goes for Teach for America. You need to use this to your advantage. Go on linkedin and find people with similar backgrounds - Ask how they made the transition. Before doing this, I would read the books you bought (along with the Josh Rosenbaum IB book), practice financial modeling on your own (asimplemodel and macabacus are great free resources), read industry news, and reach out to your alumni network (both Yale and TFA). Additionally, there are 500+ investment banks in the country including smaller boutiques - once you have built a few models and can hold a genuine conversation re: deals and the industry, start cold emailing them and introducing yourself and your situation. I guarantee that you will get a surprising amount of traction if you do your homework. Good luck.

 

Dude you went to Yale this makes things way easier. Obviously you need to teach yourself some basic finance - this is easy and there is tons of info on the internet.

For networking: 1) Do a Linkedin search for people that did TFA and currently working in IB, reach out to them, 2) reach out to Yale alumni - if you have friends / friends of friends even better, 3) reach out to HR at big banks that likely have programs for people like you.

These are easy first steps. Again, if you play this right and network correctly I dont think you'll have a hard time getting an analyst role given you went to Yale.

As an aside - not sure you want to do consulting but MBB typically eat this shit up and they love top ivies even more than banking.

 

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