You still have time to network. Check out each banks deadline for alumni to refer you for your school. For my school some have passed, GS, Citi, JPM, and CS have all passed. Figure out which banks are still an option and start networking. Make sure you have stuff down like your story, why you want to do investment banking, why you chose your school, etc. Also, you'll probably be fine given your boutique experience, but make sure you know your technicals very well and can talk about everything you did last summer. Explain why you aren't going back to the firm and be prepared for more difficult questions than most candidates because you have experience on your resume.
Thanks man. It is frustrating because my friend told me that for one of the elite boutiques, out of the hundreds that dropped the resume for OCR in my school, the analyst just ended up picking her best friends for the dozen or so interview spots. It's really unfair and I am just thinking that OCR is not the only channel in the door.
That sucks, just plain and simple. But then again, that's often how it goes. Ideally, you should build good relationships with as many alumni as possible to maximize your chances of being referred and getting the interview. You're basically shooting for conveying yourself as someone who is 1) passionate about investment banking, 2) willing to work very very very hard to do the work and do it right, and 3) personable, and someone who the alumnus would like to be working with on those nights where you work to 4 am. 1 and 2 are very important, but I'd argue that 3 is the most important.
I understand your frustration, though. I have a very difficult major and had a really bad year in terms of academics last year, so my gpa is low, a good bit below the 3.5 threshold many banks set. As a result, I often don't get the referral even if I developed a good relationship with the alumni because they want to maximize the chances of someone from our school getting the job.
You sound ridiculous - really unfair? C'mon man, what do you expect happens in these situations? If you were in charge of picking who got interviews, and you could recommend your friends without coming across as foolish (ie they have sound resumes) why on earth would you pick anyone else?
This is how business works (or how most things work, for that matter) and it shouldn't surprise you in the slightest. Networking is huge and any research you may have done would have indicated that - there's no way around it.
Go out of your way and network every single day. Use LinkedIn, friends, whatever you have to do. You don't have any excuse for not landing interviews. I'm a non-target who locked in an EB offer for the summer and a BB offer for FT. It's all about how badly you want it.
Exactly my thoughts. Another non-target here who networked like hell, and a lot of people stuck their necks out for me. Note: this is not unfair, this is how the world works. You don't get anywhere alone, and you don't have to kiss ass either. I shot the shit with them, got drinks, stayed in touch and now i'm at a BB.
There's plenty of time to make ground. IF you can't get your coveted job for SA, well the next best thing for the summer, or do something interesting, and then come FT recruiting, assuming you take our advice, you're networking effects will then kick-in with the people you've connected with and they'd gladly help. Remember, everyone wants to help out if they can.
Cum repellendus sapiente delectus minus quo esse. Placeat ut natus autem dolores vitae. Qui perferendis ab enim ut dolor at. Fugiat est nostrum accusamus ut odit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
Sorry, you need to login or sign up in order to vote. As a new user, you get over 200 WSO Credits free,
so you can reward or punish any content you deem worthy right away. See you on the other side!
You still have time to network. Check out each banks deadline for alumni to refer you for your school. For my school some have passed, GS, Citi, JPM, and CS have all passed. Figure out which banks are still an option and start networking. Make sure you have stuff down like your story, why you want to do investment banking, why you chose your school, etc. Also, you'll probably be fine given your boutique experience, but make sure you know your technicals very well and can talk about everything you did last summer. Explain why you aren't going back to the firm and be prepared for more difficult questions than most candidates because you have experience on your resume.
Thanks man. It is frustrating because my friend told me that for one of the elite boutiques, out of the hundreds that dropped the resume for OCR in my school, the analyst just ended up picking her best friends for the dozen or so interview spots. It's really unfair and I am just thinking that OCR is not the only channel in the door.
That sucks, just plain and simple. But then again, that's often how it goes. Ideally, you should build good relationships with as many alumni as possible to maximize your chances of being referred and getting the interview. You're basically shooting for conveying yourself as someone who is 1) passionate about investment banking, 2) willing to work very very very hard to do the work and do it right, and 3) personable, and someone who the alumnus would like to be working with on those nights where you work to 4 am. 1 and 2 are very important, but I'd argue that 3 is the most important.
I understand your frustration, though. I have a very difficult major and had a really bad year in terms of academics last year, so my gpa is low, a good bit below the 3.5 threshold many banks set. As a result, I often don't get the referral even if I developed a good relationship with the alumni because they want to maximize the chances of someone from our school getting the job.
You sound ridiculous - really unfair? C'mon man, what do you expect happens in these situations? If you were in charge of picking who got interviews, and you could recommend your friends without coming across as foolish (ie they have sound resumes) why on earth would you pick anyone else?
This is how business works (or how most things work, for that matter) and it shouldn't surprise you in the slightest. Networking is huge and any research you may have done would have indicated that - there's no way around it.
Go out of your way and network every single day. Use LinkedIn, friends, whatever you have to do. You don't have any excuse for not landing interviews. I'm a non-target who locked in an EB offer for the summer and a BB offer for FT. It's all about how badly you want it.
Exactly my thoughts. Another non-target here who networked like hell, and a lot of people stuck their necks out for me. Note: this is not unfair, this is how the world works. You don't get anywhere alone, and you don't have to kiss ass either. I shot the shit with them, got drinks, stayed in touch and now i'm at a BB.
There's plenty of time to make ground. IF you can't get your coveted job for SA, well the next best thing for the summer, or do something interesting, and then come FT recruiting, assuming you take our advice, you're networking effects will then kick-in with the people you've connected with and they'd gladly help. Remember, everyone wants to help out if they can.
Cum repellendus sapiente delectus minus quo esse. Placeat ut natus autem dolores vitae. Qui perferendis ab enim ut dolor at. Fugiat est nostrum accusamus ut odit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...