"If anything opens up, I have your resume" - Information Interview...
I just had an informational interview with a JPM trader and I'm confused with how it went... He's an alum from my school and is a distant family member (through marriage) ..
He was extremely busy, so he couldn't really talk much in the beginning.. but when things settled down he asked for my resume.. he kept saying "good" when looking at the resume..
I let him know that I was interviewing for SA positions.. But he kept saying that I should look at some buy-side firms. And as I was leaving he said "If anything opens up, I'll submit your resume"
From what I know, JPM is definitely hiring SAs... Did I not make a good impression or am I misinformed about JPM SA recruiting this year?
It is really up in the air when you go networking. Sometimes your contacts would ask for your resume just so you would shut up and stop bothering them. Other times they might be sincere and pass it along to HR but who knows. Best is just to keep on going down that contact list until you get a job.
you would have a much easier time getting a job at a hedge fund or prop firm. he probably was being honest that despite his help, you might not get a job at JPM. or he could just be bullshitting.
Well, he invited me to come back in January.. He said it was slow today and that I'd learn more in January when it's more busy.. So, idk if he was trying to get rid of me...
But I was surely expecting him to say something along the lines of "I'll have HR take a look at your resume" .. not "If anything pops up I'll let you know" .. cause I'm pretty sure he's not going to keep my resume on his desk just waiting for something to "pop up" ...
argh, I guess the best I can do is send a 'thank you' email, follow up in Jan. and hope for the best.. just disappointed..
You must stay in contact with him once every couple of weeks. Send a xmas email saying Merry xmas yada yada, short but sweet. As far as JPM goes, there are two things that can happen: One, you get the SA interview because this guy helps you, or two, he does not help land you an interview. The last thing on his mind is making sure you get an interview, he is busy. Follow up with him every couple of weeks like I said earlier and reiterate how interested you are (always be tasteful). Take him up on his offer to come back in January, maybe even ask for HR email so you can drop her a line. You are in good spot if you begin to capitlize and keep networking with him.
KMM thanks for the moral support. I'll certainly keep in touch with him.
Persistence is key. These guys get so busy that you may easily be forgotten in a week or two if you do not follow up. You need to find the right balance between being persistent and annoying. I agree with KMM; I would reach out to him every couple of weeks.
This tip helped me when following up:
If you do resort to sending follow up emails every few weeks, try to make each email unique. If you can come up with things that "you want to update him about", you can make your emails sound fresh. For example, when I completed coursework outside of my undergraduate studies, I had an excuse to email an "updated resume" to the folks I was reaching out to.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Having been on both sides of the email chain I can assure you that follow up emails with updated resumes are very annoying. If the guy is unable and/or unwilling to help you after a few emails you should leave him alone.
Thanks for your insight there. While we're on that note, can you (and anyone else) expound on what other things get on your nerves that people trying to network do?
I'm still an undergraduate student, and as much as I want to break into finance, I don't want to annoy people while I'm at it--so any information you can provide on that front would be really helpful.
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