How to sell my "why IB" story?

Just a bit of background about myself - my father died when I was 14. I have two sisters and mother who's slowly become more mentally ill and is now unable to find stable employment. They are currently surviving off of my father's life insurance (down to 25% of the original lump sump) and Social Security. I am at a non-target university with a 3.7 GPA, and both of my sisters are going to be in college this fall.

So my question is: how can I bring this up as "motivation" for wanting to go into IB? I want to support my family/mother and buy her a small house somewhere so she doesn't have to worry about rent. I don't want to a) give off the impression that I'm only in IB for the money, and b) that I'm looking for a pity party. However, I do believe that this component of my "story" might show that I'm a more motivated, more eager summer analyst than the typical upper middle class applicant that IB might have (not everyone, of course, just a lot of people).

I have a few interviews coming up (not enough, nontarget life feelsbadman) and I'm unsure how to bring this up, or if I should at all. If anyone has any advice or if anyone's gone through recruiting with similar situations I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!

 
 

Why is it so wrong to be motivated by money? I know there are social norms to keep in banking. And if we were all truly honest about our desire to get into banking it would not be 100% about the money but 110%.

 
jimjangles52:
Why is it so wrong to be motivated by money? I know there are social norms to keep in banking. And if we were all truly honest about our desire to get into banking it would not be 100% about the money but 110%.

That's absolutely right... If it depended on me, it wouldn't be that way. If we think it, it is really hypocrite, we all have to pretend that we are motivated by anything but money, when in reality everybody wants to be there for the money. Even if you really like the nature of the job, nobody works for +80hrs/week if it is not for the money. But hey, we all have to play the game.

I cam understand that they look for people who really has an interest in finance and whose ONLY interest is not money. However, ig is the #1 motivation of all the applicants.

Array
 

I wouldn’t mention money. Maybe try to emphasize how important it is for you to give back to your family and how this opportunity would help you achieve both your personal and professional goals? It’s a very personal story so you’ll have to decide how to tell it.

Just focus on being genuine and don’t try to sell a pity story. It should be what motivates you, rather than the reason why you ‘should’ get the offer, if that makes sense.

My 2 cents.

 

Right, that's makes sense. It's just a fine line between having a solid story and it being a pity story.

I think a better angle might be to say that even though I got into better schools than I am attending now, I couldn't afford to attend them because my father had passed away, and that I've always been motivated to do better and be more excellent because of those circumstances.

 

I don't think framing your story based on your family's hardships is the best route. I think to steer clear of the "pity" story is to talk about how these circumstances have changed you as a person - made you more hardworking, achieve more, or even made you more financially aware where you assist your family in filing taxes. So instead of saying something along the lines of "I could've" done all these things but my family faced hardships, tell the story of what you've learned from these challenges and how that's built your ideal character for IB. The "spark" ideally wouldn't be your family's circumstances, but it is a driving force. Something like "I met peers/representatives working within __" and explain why it sparked your interest in IB.

I also came from a disadvantaged place in the recruiting process, but I only mentioned that background if the topic/conversation was relevant. It was not part of my story unless asked for, because I wanted to rely on my character, personality, and intelligence, my current state rather than the past.

 

just know there's people who would ding you for mentioning the money or even "giving back"

 

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