Moving From Informational to Actual Interviews

Hey all,

Long time lurker posting for the first time. So, I am a graduating senior trying to land an IS Analyst roll for some of the top teams on the west coast. I have been doing informational interviews for months now, networked my ass off, have made a bunch of contacts across the industry, and gotten in front of the main guys on teams I want to work for. I feel that most of the meetings went really well and generally think have left a great impression everywhere. However, none of these informationals or meetings have progressed into formal interviews. I am just sort of staying in contact and continuing to network.

My question is this:

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be more forward in these meetings and explicitly say "Hey successful broker, I would like to work for you. Please let me know if there would be a chance for me to interview for a position?" Not really sure if i need to "pop the question" or if that is too head on and might come off weird. I understand that these teams hire at their own pace and a lot of these senior brokers tell me "don't accept the first offer you get, make sure you take the one that's right for you" but I don't feel like I'm anywhere near an offer with any of them.

Any advice on where I should be going from here would be much appreciated.

 

I mean i'm not entirely sure how you leave the informational meetings, but you should always leave them by expressing interest in working for the firm.

It also depends on the shop, market, and team... some brokerage shops wouldn't necessarily want to hire a guy straight out of undergrad without 1-3 years of professional experience.

 
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