Advice needed:
Iâ€m really looking for some advice or just plain feedback on bettering my chances to “live the dream.†I should probably preface my goal of working in IB by letting you in on my past and then fast-forwarding to my present state. Like all high school graduates I was heading to college in the fall. I had accepted a Division I baseball scholarship and was well on my to the majors, at least if the scouts didnâ€t think so, I was sure of it. In the midst of my tenure at the New England college I had chosen, things were sidetracked tremendously. Due to a family situation I had to leave my first institution and begin working full-time to pay for school, since the scholarship was now void after leaving.
As for the present situation, I ended up getting a job in IT at one of the prominent hospitals in Boston, working anywhere between 40-60 hours a week and going to school at night at one of the universities here. Unfortunately, I had to let go of my childhood dream of being a Yankee killer. For the past two years at the hospital, I have begun to work my way up the ladder, however, I realized that IT wasnâ€t something I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but was rather efficient in my benevolence. Also during this time I had become very interested in finance and the market and found myself not only reading the Sports section in the Globe (Boston newspaper), but also subscribing to the Journal. I will be finishing up my Political Science major this spring and Iâ€m really hoping to get into finance, more specifically IB. While I know the idea of getting into the BB isnâ€t attainable, Iâ€m willing to start small, even if it means landing any finance job and working my way into IB. I have been self-educating myself in the aspects of I-banking by reading several books concerning IB and staying current with the market, however, in no way am I trying to say that Iâ€m proficient in everything IB related, but rather have a small understanding. Also, I have an idea of the IB culture like the awful schedules of analysts and I am ready to take this challenge in full stride. In a sense, I know what itâ€s like to be going 16hours a day, once again though Iâ€m not attempting to say I know what itâ€s like to be working analyst hours, however, Iâ€m envious and eventually want to be able to say the same. Any advice or hating would be much appreciated; the haters out there make me want this more. Take into consideration I have no finance experience and havenâ€t had any type of finance internship, but Iâ€m a 3.9 student. I want “living the dream†to become a reality.
not to be mean but have you applied anywhere yet?
no i'm actually in the process of getting things together... i actually have 5 or 6 friends who are analysts in the BB and they're helping me out tremendously, and they were thinking it would be best to not be in the major recruiting wave, but to let it settle down...
Try applying; your cover letter is going to be essential to explain your unique situation. Given your past it seems like you'd be a lot more mature than the average applicant. A 3.9 GPA is great too, but highly dependent on where you go to school. If it's UMass Lowell then you could have a 4.0 and it's going to be nearly impossible for you to go directly into IB.
That being said, banking recruiters love athletes, they love people who are self-made, and they love people who know what they want. So you have those things going for you.
Do everything you can to get in contact with recruiters at the BBs. It's late in the game but maybe a Wachovia or BoA would still have a spot open. At the same time, get your name out to every MM and boutique you can find. There's a good sticky of regional banks at the top of the forum.
Also, look into rotational finance programs; they're a great way to get into finance and develop your skills. Raytheon, EMC, Lockheed, GE, and Liberty Mutual all have big ones based in the northeast (NE and NY). Finally, check out working in the finance department of a F500 company. Those places really do a good job of recognizing their top talent and promote quickly, after which you could leverage into a good MBA program and enter IB as an associate.
Seems like you are motivated and that is the most important thing. If you really want to get into this job you'll be able to, given a base line of intelligence and work ethic. If you have a 3.9 you probably have both. Do your best to become more well-rounded- join the finance club at your school and try to get ANY finance internship you can find at a respectable place.
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