How can I become successful from a no-name school?

I have a 4.0 GPA at a shit CC but have a very rigorous courseload while my peers are taking arts and ethics classes. I want to break into an investment bank but when I cruise Quora, Reddit, etc they all say that I have no chance since I'm from CC and that this forum suffers from Survivorship Bias. I have a real passion for deals and I'm not like those weird Ivy leaguers who stutter 20 times during the interview and ask questions like "what do you think of the interest rates?"

I can try to transfer into a target but every fucker said it's impossible so that's a no go. I was not afforded the same opportunities like all the Certified Users here. My parents couldn't afford college so I couldn't go even though I got into some decent non-targets. I've taught myself how to make lbo models as well as DCFs. I just looked up the Rosenbaum PDF and got it for free. Excel is pretty easy to use since I used to play StarCraft, I'm pretty quick at using it and know most of the shortcuts but nonetheless how can I get my foot in the door? I know once I'm in the interview I will standout compared to all the privileged fucks around me.

I'm scared to reach out to people on LinkedIn because they wont take me seriously. Once they hear I'm from a CC they'll assume I was a highschool dropout who got a GED and went to CC but this isn't the case.

Thank you all so much and please don't mention my "woe-is-me" attitude. Because the fact of the matter is I have a 4.0 and can do the work Investment Bankers do proficiently

Thanks you so much :)

 

A couple of suggestions, first and foremost network. Have an elevator pitch that explains your desire for finance in 30 seconds.

Secondly, recognize there are a lot of Ivy League and target school alumni on the street so be humble. You do have something to prove, because many have come from the same background and made it. I've known MDs whose dad's were coal miners in Appalachia or steelworkers. The truth is many of those people you seem to think stutter through their interviews are smart, hard working and emotionally intelligent.

Keep up the GPA, apply broadly and get an internship at a boutique or in PWM.

 

Lol ivy leaguers who stutter on interview. Please they work just as hard as you.

You can transfer into a target and network.

Clearly you've just never made the effort to do so and need a place to cry.

 

Transfer to a better school. Once you get into at least a descent program people will look at that ahead of starting in CC. Gun for the top schools when you apply. If you do have a 4.0 it should not be impossible.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

Then apply to the top school you want to go to. Seriously, 4.0 with a positive course load, positive attitude and you will be fine. Also, so try and get an internship or job doing something in between. Even if at an FA office. Some experience is better than none. Good luck!

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

You need to graduate from a 4-year school in order to get ib interviews, at the very least.

Also, maybe try not to make it obvious to literally every one of your potential future coworkers that you detest them.

"decent non-targets" - this is an oxymoron. Either they were decent schools (targets or semi targets) or they were non targets.

 
Best Response

Try to transfer. That's what I did and still broke into IB from a non-target. Read up on networking strategies and get a campaign going. I had to cold call shops for an internship. I finally got a hold of someone that had a need for an intern and liked that I called their firm directly so I got the interview. I would caution you not to cold call BBs. Use that approach for boutiques and mid-markets where they don't have a full-blown HR machine. Keep it to LinkedIn and email for bigger shops.

If you have a 4.0 with tough classes, good extra-curriculars, and can legitimately say that tuition/home costs made going to another school infeasible, then you have a great story for a target admissions committee.

Come interview day act like you belong there- after all, they invited you. Know some basic technicals, how what deals/work the target firm does (IB, PE/AM, etc.) and how it makes them money. Show you're hungry and prepared and the school name on your degree won't slow you down.

The most important thing to remember is mindset. Your tone says you want to work in finance, you are willing to put in the time to learn key fundamentals for success, but you feel like you don't belong there because of your lack of pedigree. I don't care if you have Ph.D. from the Bilderberg Institute of World Domination, the minute that you feel like xyz factor is unfairly holding you back, you're fucked.

 

Transfer to a better school.

The best possible school you can transfer to.

Honestly, it's the only option you have. It doesn't matter if you try to network your way in, you'll never be able to be at a BB (save me the "there's a chance" bullshit) so the best option is to get into the best school you can.

If you can't go to a great school, then get a MS in Finance from the top school you possibly can after graduating. That should be your goal. To network, get to know everyone in the industry, and get into a top MSF program. That's your chance for getting into a BB or MM.

Just being honest. Have stretch goals, but you need to be realistic.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

I would second this. Try for a target school, get some internships while you are there. You don't have to start off with an internship from a top BB. Keep up the academic work and graduate with a good GPA. Build up your CV from education and experience/internships and you can land at least a solid boutique job to start. Network and work your way up from there.

 

Same as you bro. You've seen my other spiderman post. All I see is pain from people's eyes saying that its impossible. The very mention of the HALF THE WORD ( goldm... / jp mor... / rothsc...) they burst out in laughter. "Not even CFA would let you get an interview, let alone the 2nd round or even the internship/job" says the woman I met who advised me. It's like a taboo to speak such "DIVINE" words, coming from a non-target's mouth as he will be cursed for 7 years if he does so! Transfer isn't an option when parents can't even afford to pay for the current university's fees, yet alone the tuition cost and exam cost of CFA. A tragic life. Still, I wont let my effort go to waste. I'll likely get a CFA, while working and earning money to fund my education. Doing whatever I can. Not sitting down, beaten by the words others put in my head. If I dont succeed, I wont be completely disheartened. I will still have some qualification and experience.

 

You're doing good. Just keep networking more and applying for roles more suited to your profile. I think you'll do much better at a quant role in a top shop rather than in IBD with your current profile. IBD isn't the be-all-end-all.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Thanks for your suggestion. Would you mind going into a little more detail about potential quant roles I could aim for? Also, would I have to/do you think it would be very beneficial to consider graduate programs like MFE or PHD? Ideally, I would like to avoid graduate school and get out into the real world sooner.

 

Great post as always, SBed.

I think one of the most important things I've ever learned is your point #2: life is a numbers game and it applies to literally every aspect of life.

No matter how great your resume is, there will always be companies/universities/etc who aren't interested. No matter how good looking you are there will always be girls who aren't interested, etc.

But if you pursue many opportunities then there is a good chance that eventually something works out.

I think where people give up is they don't realize these opportunities can literally come from whenever. Frankly if you lack work experience, have a shitty GPA, etc. then there needs to be some moment where you make 'the jump'. For Marcus it sounds like he was in an interview that he shouldn't have been in and capitalized.

For me, I was going into my senior year having finished up an extremely BO internship and had no finance experience. I contacted every PWM office within a 2-3 hr radius and happened to reach out to a small boutique IB also who I would later find out needed a new analyst after their summer intern declined their offer.

I must have reached out to 30 or so PWM offices willing to work for free and was told no by every single one of them. And then this investment bank gives me an opportunity and eventually tells me yes. Changed everything going forward as I've made a few jumps since then.

Just goes to show that the opportunity can come from anything. The good thing in life is that for most things it only takes one yes and after that it doesn't matter who had said no in the past.

 

Awesome. Great snippets of advice provided. Coming out of a non-target is incredibly tough, but giving up and doing something you aren't passionate about is even tougher. Good luck to all of those still working their way out. Trust me, it's possible if you give more than the required amount of effort and keep your attitude and your spirits high.

Best of luck.

 

Think this quote pretty well encompasses these ideas.... "It will take a little bit of time. It's going to take a lot of effort, a lot of energy. And I'll give it that. I have to. I have to because that is what I want for my life, and what I want with my life I'm willing to work for, and what I'm willing to work for I'm definitely willing to achieve." -CR Johnson

 

Borderline non-target to Big 4 out of college to a long short equity hedge fund. It took me 5 years.

My buyside interview search was 13 months long. 70+ interviews, 10+ case studies and more rejections than I could count. Point (1) really resonates with me - I couldn't see myself doing anything else so I kept going. Not sure I recommend this approach but I literally had no backup plan. I was unemployed so I bounced around from sublet to sublet in case I had to move somewhere on short notice. Those 13 months contained both the lowest and highest points of my post-college life. Worth it.

 

congrats! and @"Marcus_Halberstram", thanks again for sharing your wisdom. You speak the truth. The issue is that the road is often long and hard and ...

  • Sometimes it's easier to give up rather than cold call or cold e-mail the 30th person that day.
  • Sometimes the candidates don't have any introspection and don't see where they are going wrong (too pushy, horrible answers to the fit questions, not polished on technicals, etc)
  • Sometimes it's better not to delude yourself into thinking that BB ibanking is your only destiny or you've failed...

There are great careers in FINANCE outside of the front office in IB at a BB. I promise :-)

 
Marcus_Halberstram:

(4) Tell your own story.

This was the best part of the post, I thought. Going into my interviews, I thought my non-target status would work to my detriment, but it wound up being a great asset. When you walk into the room knowing that your interviewers are wondering what the hell you're doing there, you have a chance to tell them what the hell you're doing there. You are not there because you blasted your resume all over the career fair, willy-nilly and footloose, you're there because you want the job more than everyone else they're interviewing. I said something like this during my interviews last fall and got great reactions. Non-targets have the chance to establish an image for themselves. Despite what you might think your non-target status says about you, you have the chance to make a real statement about yourself. It takes confidence, intentionality, and persistence to break in from outside. Make it clear you possess those traits, and your interviewers will find you a memorable and desirable candidate.
 

This was much needed. I am currently waiting for an email from this boutique bank for an internship. I graduated from a non-target a couple of months ago and while it has been tough, it has taught me a lot of things. There is no magical way to turn it all around in a day and the only way to get what you want is by working hard. I am scared and excited though definitely don't think event B has occurred or will occur anytime in the future.

 

'...from people who have repeatedly made it to final rounds and unable to close.' What is your advice for those who repeatedly get rejected pre-interview (even with referrals) but have better luck closing interviews when they do get the opportunity?

Great post btw!

 

That essentially means that either your resume isn't up to snuff and/or your resume in form is up to snuff but in substance is lacking... typically non-target, non-internship problems. If that's the situation you find yourself in, online job postings are useless for you. Referrals could get you in, but it would need to be a strong one with some force behind it. You'll have to depend on networking on your own to get someone's attention and make enough of an impact for that person to pull to get you an interview.

 

Pipsandsuch are you looking more towards Sales & Trading or do you want to be in M&A or sector coverage working on capital raises and transactions?

Either ways (assuming transferring to a target school is out of the question) here are some things you can do right now (no particular order):

1.) Join an Investment Banking club on-campus. If you don't have one, reach out to professors who can serve as advisers and start your own.

2.) Look into diversity programs or "jump start" programs that various banks offer (there is a thread on WSO that lists these...go find it).

3.) Reach out to bankers on LinkedIn and leverage any alumni that are working at IBs. Learn from them and use whatever advice they give you as a guide.

4.) Take financial modeling courses and start doing some self-study programs to gain technical skills.

5.) Search WSO and look at the various non-target success stories and start working on a plan to get you into IB.

5.) If IB as an internship is not possible consider a F500 internship as a Treasury Analyst or Commercial Banking. If all else fails, consider wealth management to gain some work experience.

That's all I have. Good luck!

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm looking more toward trading when i graduate, but I believe I can get an IB internship before then. Since we have a large Financier's Club and a large Investment club, I never considered starting an investment banking club. I will give that some thought. The Alumni networking has been slow so far, could you offer any advice on how to approach them on LinkedIn? I got an interview today with a very large marketing company that hires a lot of business school students apparently, hopefully I can meet some friends of friends that way as well.

 

I think it partially depends on your major as well. If you've got a notoriously hard major in engineering or computer science or something to that extent, you will be given leeway on your gpa vs. if you're a philosophy major. If you don't make the cutoff for submitting your resume you'll have to find another way in, try to find alumni or any other type of connection.

 
keyboardcat:
I think it partially depends on your major as well. If you've got a notoriously hard major in engineering or computer science or something to that extent, you will be given leeway on your gpa vs. if you're a philosophy major. If you don't make the cutoff for submitting your resume you'll have to find another way in, try to find alumni or any other type of connection.

Which sucks because Philosophy is a really difficult major.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

It's more a function of the networking you do. Your gpa does matter, but if you meet the right person you'll get in the door for an interview, and at that point it's all on you. Second to above regarding major and will add notoriety of school/alum connections, and presence of campus recruiters.

 
Old Major:
It's more a function of the networking you do. Your gpa does matter, but if you meet the right person you'll get in the door for an interview, and at that point it's all on you. Second to above regarding major and will add notoriety of school/alum connections, and presence of campus recruiters.

+1

 

2.8 if you know the right people and present yourself well. Confidence is everything in this industry. Show that your strong grades are in your major which will hopefully be finance related and that you worked and did EC's like a mother and you can talk clearly with confidence. Connection gets you into the interview, you handle the rest. I don't think I've had people ask about my GPA.

 
happypantsmcgee:
There are people (some on this site, in fact) that have broken in with ~2.5

Care to give us a few names? I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I'm a triple major with Math, Econ, and Finance, but my GPA is about 3.0 from a semi-target southern school.

 

So, between getting a 3.8 or higher and transferring to a target school for my sophomore year (and preferably not going to business school) OR having a 3.7+ all 4 years at Elon and then going to a top 25 b-school, which would you do?

 

Either do well and transfer as the others said or take the longer but proven (several times on this site alone) path from a non-target. One thing you should absolutely not do is go to b school right after undergrad. Unless you do something incredible you won't get into a b school that puts you in a vastly different position as coming out of undergrad. MSF might be a different story as it seems people do use that to rebrand after decent undergrad. I'd suggest using the search bar and researching what has worked for other users in the past.

 

Give Elon a shot. As much as many people in this forum foster the fact that "exit opportunities," "bulge bracket," and "elite boutique" are the end all, there is so much more to life and college than these words. I used to think like you did and it made my time in college unenjoyable because I was thinkng about transferring early on.

Now, I'm at a "target" school and I definitely enjoy having the greater networking opportunities, prestige, etc. But I wish I gave my old school a better shot to this day. You can and will have the ability to get an investment banking job from Elon, it just might be a little bit harder. It isn't like getting one from where I'm at is a given either.

 

I agree. Theres so much more to college than getting into those banking career. I feel like I invested too much energy into it my first year. Sure its nice to break into it, but there are many other ways to make it big.

 

I think we get caught up a lot of the time in hypothetical fantasies, regardless of whether they are realistic or not, and fail to see what's right in front of us.

This isn't to say you shouldn't consider transferring. But if I were you, I would wait until at least Jan/Feb to make that type of decision. Most of the applications aren't due until March if I remember correctly. Good luck.

 

Congrats on the position. I am currently heading into my sophomore year at a non-target school and am seriously preparing for the long road ahead. Your success is very encouraging!

 

Awesome! Congratulations! I'm a similar boat; good GPA/stats out of non-target, but no internships, and my resume is a bit all over the place. Would love to hear more about how you went about networking. Did you just email banks for the 4-week gig? You didn't mention cold-calling.

Thanks! Would love to learn as much from your experience as I can.

 
SymphonyBanker:
Awesome! Congratulations! I'm a similar boat; good GPA/stats out of non-target, but no internships, and my resume is a bit all over the place. Would love to hear more about how you went about networking. Did you just email banks for the 4-week gig? You didn't mention cold-calling.

Thanks! Would love to learn as much from your experience as I can.

I got a list of mid/small banks in the boston area. then searched online at their team pages and through linkedIn to see if any of them were alumni of my school. if there were alumni I emailed those people first. Otherwise i just tried to email one of the top persons from the bank to try to start out with an informational meeting.

didn't do any cold-calling, all through email. The best thing is to just email as many places as possible bc many won't be hiring. Also, aiming for the mid/small banks works well now because those will be the ones that tend to hire off-cycle and you'd be able to get into since they don't always have target school they recruit from.

Happy to answer any additional questions about this

 

Congrats Bro! Your story of perseverance is an inspiration for a lot in the hunt. I also graduated with 3.8 GPA from a school in Boston, studied FInance and Accouting. I will be starting a FDP in Strategy for a F100 in the fall but I am going to try to make a jump to IB. Same predicament as you, no relevant IB experience in resume when I was interviewing which held me back. I was also curious about how you went about networking? Cold-emailing alumni?

 
Powa23:
wow congrats, success stories like these are what makes me keep visiting this site!
I come for the success stories, and leave for the pessimistic, negative-minded trolls.
Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.
 

Congratulations.

Maybe another piece of advice: -Don't take the weak/unknown IB gig for granted You show people you're willing to work 80+ hours for chump change (paying out of your own pocket), they'll be a dozen places willing to write you the big checks 5+ years down the road. Nothing instills knowledge and hard work, like working for literally nothing.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever."
 
BiotechBanker:
Congratulations.

Maybe another piece of advice: -Don't take the weak/unknown IB gig for granted You show people you're willing to work 80+ hours for chump change (paying out of your own pocket), they'll be a dozen places willing to write you the big checks 5+ years down the road. Nothing instills knowledge and hard work, like working for literally nothing.

Somebody vote me down for my poor, 1st year analyst mistakes...

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever."
 

Congrats! Love these stories...hope you continue to share as you gain more wisdom in your upcoming years,

@corneroffice, As for trolls - we are going developing much more extensive user guidelines over the next month that will allow our moderators to be more aggressive with deleting content from trolls and/or violations to these guidelines.

 

Thanks, Canadian. I think you've used this forum to your advantage, and since you've been able to select the information most appropriate to your needs, the whole venture has been a success. Congratulations on the job!

I like the fact that you are reminding people to not believe everything everybody says, because no two situations are the same. Having landed my summer internship a few weeks ago, I can vouch for that. However, you fell in the same trap here as everyone else, when you gave advice on what interviews are like for Finance and Accounting majors. I encourage people to be ready for those questions, but not every firm will ask the same questions (or will focus on the same skills). But like you said, everyone should believe in themselves, do the best that they can and let the banks choose who they want to work with.

If they want you enough, you'll get it.

 

To mea04tdt:

Thanks for the reply and I really appreciate it. Congrats on your summer internship!

Yes -- I think I have mistakenly fell into the trap of giving one-sided advice on interviewing questions for Finance and Accounting students. On reflection, I think the example questions I have given are the most difficult ones; the more typical ones that I have encountered in actual interviews closely resembles the examples that are often cited here. For that, I owe yourself and the members of this board an apology.

I think my core belief is simply "GIVING BACK." That means, I took so much good information (and filtered out the bad) from this board that it is my duty and responsibility to give something back. Trust me, I would help any of you more if I actually know you in person and not through the anonymity of the internet. As materialistic and money-driven as the investment banking industry and personnel as it is, I still strongly believe that everybody -- regardless of whether you're target or non-target -- goes through the same shit in recruiting. Why not help each other out? At the end of the day, if you have the stuff to succeed, you will. Withholding information (or worst, giving incorrect information) will not help your candidacy.

And again, thanks to mea04tdt for the reply and pointing out the same fallacy I'm urging people to avoid.

 

To: SkipToMylou

Perhaps I could be of some help here. I'll answer this from two perspectives: (1) As an IBD insider; and (2) As an interviewee.

(1) As an IBD insider As mentioned in my post, I did have a summer internship with a top-tier Canadian ibank. (A note for those who are not familiar with the Canadian ibank system -- they offer a 4-month internship here vs. a 10 week program from a bulge bracket / global bank due to the education system here).

I can say that most bankers do not have a CFA. Some people, particularly at the analyst level, would only take the CFA to suit their interests / learning but they all reckon that it adds little to no value to their work or career advancement.

(2) As an interviewee If you don't have a Finance / Accounting background, then perhaps the CFA would be helpful for you; other individuals could perhaps say more to this as I don't belong to this category. If you do have an Finance / Accounting degree, then your degree is almost equivalent to your CFA Level 1 plus a little bit of Level 2 and maybe even a little bit of Level 3 if you're pushing it. Hence, if you belong in the latter category, then I believe that the CFA would add no value to you, especially in ibanking.

Hope that helps.

 

Well.... the Canadian universities offer a 4-year business program. So we literally start our finance and accounting courses in first year.

And yes I have looked at the CFA curriculum.

Finally, the point of and my intention of this post is not about the merits of the CFA; rather, it just so happened that somebody mentioned it and I thought it would be nice to reply the post.

 

I'm pretty much in the boat you used to be; 3rd year about to do a summer @ Big 5 CDN majoring in finance. Really nice to hear that there is hope to make it into the big bulge; any specific tips for us Canadians other than to work our butts off networking?

Thanks!

 

I'm wondering if you could speak a little more on the fit interview skills. I feel I missed my first offer because of my lack of technical skills. I realized my problems, and did what I could to be able to adequately answer anything they would dream of asking me, and by the end, I was able to do this with ease.

I come from a semi-target (some interviews on campus). I did get one offer (and was forced to take it because it was exploding before the rest of my interviews), but I did get rejected by two other places which was a bit sobering to me. I guess maybe it is just the way the process is structured - that you have to build yourself up to so many people - that when you get rejected it kind of sucks.

My question is, is there a specific attitude you went in with, to try to best work your chances of getting a job? Should you try to joke around with the people and BS the entire interview if they are willing to do that? Should you be serious and make sure they know why you are the best for the job and why your qualifications would prepare you? Something else?

 

To anon3333:

Having done at least dozens of different informational interviews, first rounds, second rounds and Superdays, I hope I could add some value to this discussion.

Firstly, it's great that you can hone in on the technical questions. To be quite honest, I personally find the Finance / Accounting technical questions to be relatively easier than the random brainteaser questions that they throw at you; I guess this is a given.

In terms of attitude, I literally walk in with the same attitude for every single interview --- regardless of which round it is. As cliched as this sounds like, I was simply being myself. I had experimented with the "being serious", "being casual and friendly" and "drawing whatever connections I can between me and them" approach and found that they may push me through to the next interview round but they never get me the offer.

If there's anything, I think the following are my two cents to the recipe to a good interview outcome:

(1) Be prepared and answer all the questions. And most importantly, answer THE question.

(2) There's really no point to keep repeating or emphasizing your rationale for "Why you should hire me" in one way or another. Of course, if this is the question, then it is your opportunity to shine. I find it redundant and pointless to close every single answer with a concluding "why I'm so good so hire me" ending.

(3) The luck factor in interviews might be a lot bigger than most people think. You can prepare every thing in the world, answer every single question perfectly and be of the best fit for the firm, but if you don't click naturally (the keyword is "naturally") with the interviewer, it makes it more challenging to move forward. But then again, some interviewers deliberately play the "bad cop" persona; I've met numerous interviewers who are assholes in the interview room but are actually very friendly and casual people.

Perhaps a further justification is due here. Unlike the American ibanking hiring system whereby each decent / bulge bracket firm hires almost 100+ people in each of IBD, Sales & Trading, etc., my interview experiences (i.e. Asia and Canada) are very different from this. That means, I constantly deal with small numbers -- i.e., small number of active firms and firms that hire anywhere from only 1% to 5% of what a typical American bulge bracket would hire (those percentages are for summer analysts; for full-time, it's more like 0.5%). Hence, my experience and insight could be vastly different from many of the members of this forum. The biggest difference might be this -- in my experiences and situations, all the interviewers (i.e. round one to superday) must 120% love you because they only have small amounts of openings so they can afford to be picky. Whereas in other situations -- perhaps -- you only need to be loved "enough". And sometimes when I talk about small openings, I'm talking about 1 - 5 per firm per year.

In the end, and as I mentioned above, you just need that one single offer to succeed. (Of course, that's not to say that multiple offers is a bad thing -- of course not). Just work hard at it.

 

i'm from a definite nontarget (providence), but have a high gpa (3.85) and decent internship experience, though none with an ibank or anything like that. as a junior i've only heard back from lehman for a cap markets summer analyst job, but have yet to interview. i really want to get into ibanking, but i fear its almost too late at this point to find an internship this summer even with a MM or boutique. anyone know of some more well-respected boutiques still accepting internship apps? if i get the lehman internship i'll likely take it, but i want to keep my options open.

 

i must say you have given some very helpful information. I have an interview with a big5 Canadian IBD tomorrow and am freaking out. I come from a Canadian school that I bet is lower than non-target status than you came from. Its small, has co-op, from a university town, i think you can do the math. I am in my 2nd year and have a good gpa, you have given me some hope to look to the future.

 

To adehbone:

Thanks! I really appreciate your comments and your time for reading my post.

Best of luck to your interviews with the Big5 Cdn IBD firms. I'm assuming this is either for Toronto (most likely) or even Calgary positions?

I have a sense which school you're from. Does it start with a "D" by any chance? But I wouldn't fret too much over this target-school thing in Canada. In Canada, everything is pretty liberal and especially so at the Canadian firms; less so at the US-based bulge brackets in Toronto. That means, don't play down yourself in the interview even though you're not from the typical Queens, McGill, Ivey.

 

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. After doing something like 30 or 40 individual interviews in the past 2 weeks I've had a lot of different experiences, so I am still trying to put it all together to better prepare myself for the future.

I wouldn't say your experience isn't relevant for US positions - in particular, in regional offices it is quite similar. They will bring in between 8 and 15 people for a superday and hire between 1 and 4 people.

I think you have given good advice as well. I think I sort of had the problem you were talking about where you try to bring everything back to why you were the best. I tend to talk a lot, which hurts me, as I can ramble and eventually get away from the topic. I think the key is to build a strong, natural rapport with your interviewer while being succint and specific in your answers. It is ok to joke with them a bit, but it could hurt if you don't talk about anything serious with them at all.

I got some assholes as well, and some robots that I just couldn't connect with for whatever reason. I answered all the questions but at the end I just didn't feel like I did well, even though I said the same exact things as in other interviews that I did feel went well.

In any event, this is a great post and I appreciate your contributions.

Good luck this summer, for both of us and all of the other people on this forum, it is only the first step. We actually still have to get in there and slave away for 10-12 weeks so we can get an offer for next year full time!

 

To adehbone:

Yes I know which university you're talking about. After all, there are just a handful of universities in Canada.

Great that the interview went well for you! Feel free to private message me if you have anything that I could help.

 

I would agree with all who have mentioned that a non-target school is no reason to give up. I come from a TOTALLY-non-target school (if there is such a thing) and have an engineering background.

It was hard as hell just getting the interviews, let alone answer the technical questions. Eventually, I did get a full-time offer from a tier 1-2 bank. No one said it would be easy, even for target schools, we only said it would be worth it. :)

A big thank you to everyone who had the guts to ask the 'stupid' questions and bigger thank you to those who replied and provided invaluable insights!

 

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