Lots of Interviews, No Jobs
Hey Everyone,
I go to a school in the northeast that has a 3 co-op program and recently went through the process. It’s a top 100 but I wouldn’t call it a “target”.
I applied to about 10 internships in the finance sector along with a few in the general business sector.
I had interviews with Goldman (PWM), BlackRock (Bonds Group), ML (PWM), JP Morgan (Equities), and Bloomberg.
Every single interview felt like it went well.
The guy at Goldman even mentioned a call back to meet some more guys. Two weeks later when decisions came out...I got a whole lot of nothing.
I emailed everyone basically asking how I could improve, no one answered besides the guy at BR. He told me he really liked me and I was a good fit, but they “clicked” better with someone else.
I’m taking an internship with SAP this fall on a go to market team. Not what I wanted, but it’s with a reputable company at least.
I don’t really know what went wrong and am looking for advice. I founded and still run to this day two companies (one in tech, and on in automotive parts), both have been successful.
My major is Business and Engineering with a minor in finance (although I haven’t taken any finance classes yet).
I know this is somewhat long winded but I am looking for advice so next year when I apply to these same types of jobs, this doesn’t happen again.
Well, you got an interview with Goldman, at a non-target top 100, which seems pretty excellent
well if you are landing the interviews, it means you should be fine from a resume/CV point of view. This probably means you aren't performing as well in interviews as you think you are.
The fact that the feedback you have gotten includes 'fit' (they "clicked" better with someone else) might suggest that you don't have a compelling story for why you want to do IBD (and want to work for the specific firm you are interviewing at) - this may be something you want to look at. Also to show passion for finance - If you aren't already, you should also be reading the WSJ (financial news) everyday to keep up with developments in financial markets, so that you can speak intelligently on whatever topic/deal comes up in the interview. More generally, for investment banking interview prep, I would recommend Daily IBD Prep
Good Luck!
The guy didn't mention IBD even once. That said, I agree with the notion that if he's getting looks at top firms (regardless of division), the issue isn't with resume it's with the interview. I'd look into setting up some mock interviews with your campus career services so that they can give you some candid and impartial advice. I'm glad you ended up taking a position though, that's what really matters. Best of luck!
You're an engineering and business major with a finance minor who has founded two start-ups. I can relate to you, because I was an engineering & Econ major with a bunch of minors, a varsity sport, and had founded a start-up too. I also went to a non-target but had multiple interviews at many places, just like you. At first, I kept not getting offers despite what I felt were great interviews. I kept asking for feedback, but all they were saying was that while they loved me, they decided to go with someone else. Super frustrating. Anyways, after tweaking my interview tactics, I got multiple offers in various companies/industries.
The problem with having such a diverse background, especially with entrepreneurship thrown in the mix, is that you can appear to be too spread out to really want the job. Hiring managers worry you'll get bored and leave after a few months, forcing them to do it all over again. Or they worry that you'll treat their job as a way to pay the bills, while really focusing on your start-ups. And there are multiple other kids who have top-notch credentials and who live and breathe for the positions you are applying for, so hiring managers prefer hiring them.
In my opinion, you should make sure you do ample research on each company/job you apply for, and STRESS how well it fits into your future goals. You need to have your story/narrative absolutely down pat, and convince those people that you really do wanna work for them. If you do plan on leaving soon, DON'T tell them that.
This is sound advice. I had some stuff on my resume I was proud of, and got similar answers back on feedback about "clicking" or whatever. A lot of times they just want someone competent enough and not necessarily outstanding. Managers might feel a bit insecure in the latter, and revert to whoever is most like them, who will just become their friend and follow them around best.
Sounds like you're on the right path man. Keep chugging and you'll land one of these interviews soon!
Thanks for your advice guys. I will definitely look into a mock interview and next time around do some more research on the companies themselves. I am financially literate and actively trade personally so I don't think it came down to me not knowing anything in terms of how the markets are doing.
Does anyone think I should remove the companies I founded as a pitch/resume section as it could be almost a negative? I had a lot of questions about how much time in a week it takes me to manage and run them. My general response was both combined consume about ten hours weekly.
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