Networking, Can't Get Them to Ask for Resume

How do you guys usually get alumni to ask for your resume during an informational phone call?

I usually talk about the typical things: career path, culture at the bank, typical day etc. but then the conversation usually just ends with my last question and I rarely get asked for a resume.

I don't think I'm rude or too pushy but maybe it's because this is only my freshman summer? Most contacts tell me to keep in touch but I've only had one tell me to forward my resume come summer recruiting season.

Any tips WSO?

 

Write an email, and say thank you for taking the time to talk to me bla bla... At the bottow of your email write "Attached is my resume for your reference" or something along the line with that.

 

i would disagree. i don't think he would come off as annoying. kids just trying to get some positive feedback. If the person wants to help he will respond back if not he will ignore it. simple as that... it is what it is.

 
quirinus:
I usually talk about the typical things: career path, culture at the bank, typical day etc. but then the conversation usually just ends with my last question and I rarely get asked for a resume.

soudns like youre interviewing them and not personally connecting with them. you are golden if u get them talking about family (for VPs/MDs) or sports, and make them laugh 1-2 times throughout the convo.

 

Haha, spot on Born Again. I usually have no trouble getting the person on the other end of the line to like me. But I usually have some problems with transferring from informational career questions to personal conversation.

Other than starting things off with 'Hey how are the kids?' what are some ways you've gotten into a more personal conversation?

 

haha i hope ur kidding about "Hey how are the kids"

just start off the convo asking questions about the other person... where you from, where did you go to school... those two questions alone should give you enough material to get into a non-work related conversation.

i know its tough, u will make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. people expect you to be rough aroudn the edges as a college student. id suggest reading How to Win Friends and Influence People... that book did wonders for my networking efforts. and use the search function, theres tons of threads that cover this

 

Haha, hilarious thread.

To the OP, if your contact isn't asking for your resume that means they probably wont do much with your resume even if you were to somehow get it to them. Which either indicates they don't feel like being bothered with helping yuo, or you didn't make much of an impression.

A better approach would be to use them to improve. So ask them for suggestions on how you can improve yourself as a candidate, make yourself stand out from your peers, get some additional experience, learn about X, etc... ask for references to someone else you can talk to. Also ask them to critique your resume. Ask for feedback on it, this way you'll know what needs work and you'll know how you can improve.

 

Sometimes they dont ask for your resume because you are only a freshman....?

dont worry too much about it, develop the conenctions now and ask for advice every couple months, then get back to them later.

some alum will ask, and some wont, just depends on if you ask the right question

if you say something like " do you know how i can improve my chance at securing the interview at xxx," they should get the hint. If they still don't help you after that, you should try to get referrals and move on.

But, i am thinking it might just be because you are just a 1st year

 

Eric, yeah I think that might be a factor but I'll definitely try to push maybe a little bit more by asking how to improve my chances etc. Is it alright to ask for more connections after the call? Maybe in a follow-up thank you e-mail or something?

Jturner, what are you even talking about?

 

my tip is, unless you are from wharton/haravrd etc those schools with a huge alumni database, always ask for referrals even after you forgot to ask during the call.

But it's still a good idea to get more contacts anyways.

Also, it's kind of a waste of their time to push for your resume anyways since i assume you dont have much experience but course work. If you are trying to get an internship during 2nd year summer, your best bet is local IB or MM IB, unless you have some incredible connection ( e.g. your dad is best friend with the MD in GS).

However, keep in mind this is a tip from someone who networks a lot but is not a full time hire yet.

 

The referral idea is a pretty good one, but I don't usually ask for a blanket referral, instead I ask about any contacts in a group or 2. Example, as you talk to person X, you find out he is in Industrial Growth. As the conversation continues and things seem to be progressing, you can ask if he happens to know anyone in lev fin, or financial institutions as you are interested in those groups as well and just want to get as much first hand insight into the groups as possible. This usually works better with more junior bankers, and it is valid as different groups, of course, do different things, and have different experiences. This, of course, assumes that you have done some homework into the position and the bank (where your contact works), if not, then I would go with the general referral as a backup.

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I'm curious how many people have successfully used alumni to get them to forward their resume and get an interview? I'd just like to hear some results from other people, as I have just started contacting alumni now as a rising senior (only got access recently). When did you start networking, how many people did you reach out to, how long did you keep in touch, your results, etc.

 
banker88:
I'm curious how many people have successfully used alumni to get them to forward their resume and get an interview? I'd just like to hear some results from other people, as I have just started contacting alumni now as a rising senior (only got access recently). When did you start networking, how many people did you reach out to, how long did you keep in touch, your results, etc.

I'd also like to hear some answers to what banker asked here. There a lot of talk about calling banks but when it comes down to it, what's the success rate?

 
Ulqini:

I'd also like to hear some answers to what banker asked here. There a lot of talk about calling banks but when it comes down to it, what's the success rate?

I'm ignoring you unless your relationship to me is friend of one of my good friends, or better. That is probably atypically harsh.

 
Best Response

for my internship searching this past Jan. I got one interview because my friend worked in one BB. However, it was pure luck because he was the one screening resumes.

Usually, when you contact alum, they will tell you what they can do for you. Some of them are not involved on the recruiting side in the larger banks so they might not be able to help you much.

However, be sure to get referrals from those guys to the guys who actually screens resumes, aka guys who are on the recruiting team( usually a couple analysts + associate) and connect with them through the referral.

In the end, the alum cannot help you much if he doesn't have the power to, even if he's the MD. I meant, why would he want to put his neck out for you when you only talked to him for 20 mins? Of course, if you personally met with me, it's a different story.

I have reached out to about 190, talked on the phone with around 50, have not seen the results yet since full time recruiting has not rolled around. But I will see it when times come. Sometimes it's not really about having the best resume, as long as you " get your name out there." If people you contact are in charge of or are close to the person in charge of resume screening, you will get an interview.

 

While we are on the topic of networking / calling alums, what is a good way to do this if I currently have a summer internship and sit right next to my coworkers? I don't want to actively be networking for another job while I am supposed to be working. Perhaps I could schedule calls during lunch-time but that is probably difficult, and calling from a cell phone at Starbucks aint exactly the best ambience...

 

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