No Alumni to Contact
Hey all, looking to become an investment banking intern for next summer. As I understand one of the ways to break into the industry and not have your resume simply over browsed over is to contact and meet with alumni already in the industry. My problem is that I do not know of any alumni in IB and there are none on linked who are currently in IB.
However, alumni do work for the banks in question. Should I contact the alumni and ask that they put me in contact with the right people or is that an unacceptable question to ask off someone?
Please advise, Thanks
Honestly, I'd just cold email people at the banks you are looking at. Will probably have more luck at boutiques. That's how I got my boutique internship. Had no connection with anyone at the firm. Finally got someone to speak with me. People are usually interested in helping if you come off as likable and interested.
If they don't work in the same departments, it's still worth a shot if they have a good connection with someone in the IBD team. However, it's still a long shot and I'd do more research and time trying to network with the actual IBD teams.
The world is not over if you cannot find alumni get over it and hustle. There's plenty of other people to contact that may have similarities if you actually do some digging. I've had plenty of success networking with non alumni.
I feel alumni is the 1st line of contact, but often you can dig deeper to find some kind of similar connection. Sometimes, even people who arent alumni are willing to help. For example, I had an undergrad from a different school email me recently and ask to get on the phone. The only connection was that he went to a school in the same city (Boston) as I did, so I got on the phone with him and the first 5-10 mins of our call was talking about some of the food/drink spots we both went to. There's a post somewhere on this site where they talk about how to cast a broader net when networking. For example, if you went to a small liberal arts school in the NE, contact grads from similar schools and things of that nature. (its a good post, I recommend looking it up) Obviously, this may result in a lower % of responses because they aren't alumni, but at the end of the day all you need is one person to pull for you.
Another bit of advice, is to fill out your linkedin profile as much as possible. I don't mean put your entire resume under your experiences. But if you did a service trip, put that. If you are in any intramurals, include that. Get someone from the photography club at your school to take a headshot and use that as your linkedin pic. These are all ways that someone you email can find a connection with you. Another quick story of mine. Kid emails me interested in an intern position my group has listed, we have absolutely NO ties (alumni, club, etc). I check out his linkedin profile and I saw he did a service trip to my home country. I got on the phone with him solely because of that. I hope you see the point im trying to get across.
Apologies for the long post, just had my coffee and Fridays are slow. Hope this is of some help.
First off, thanks for taking the time to respond. I understand the idea behind what you are saying. Find any common interest or connection and use that in place of the alumni connection. However, how the club I have been active in is political in nature (Republican Club). How/can I use this as a possible connection? As I understand politics is off limits and I would not want to tick off the person who I am trying to get to help me.
That might be too specific of a thing and controversial, try targeting a broader net, maybe start with type of school. And understand that when doing this you'll have to craft your email in a different way given the circumstance. Example:
Hi Person,
My name is XX I go to school and I'm interested learning more about the work you do yada yada. I see you attended (school that's doesnt have recruiting just like mine or school in middlefuck Wisconsin, Top 10 Liberal arts, etc), I was wondering if you can get on the phone for a few minutes this week and share some advice about breaking into the industry coming from a similar background.
You can and should email random people. My school had two alumni in IB, and only one was helpful. You would be amazed at how many random people love helping others.
This is the plan but I want to know if it is better to ask alumni in other departments to put me in contact with IB departments or should I forgo that approach and go straight to IB even though I do not have the same connection.
Most departments will have no contact with the IBD, so unless those alumni just happen to be friends with someone who works in the IBD, chances are they will not be able to connect you with someone. You should still reach out and network, however, as networking and learning about different divisions in a bank is always a good opportunity to take.
I have the same issue in regards to my undergrad. According to LinkedIN I am literally the only person from my undergrad to ever have the word "investment banking" show up in a position title.
Look for more obtuse connections. People who have a mutual connection, ones from your hometown/state, ones who have worked at firms you have, and so on.
Joining a frat can help too. There's a lot of ones that have chapters at both targets and non-targets, and the alumni from one chapter will usually pick up the phone for someone from another chapter.
Same for adult fraternal organizations. Masons, Knights of Columbus, Rotary Club, Eagle's Club, etc. all can help put you in touch with people. I've also noticed that my Mormon and Orthodox Jewish peers seems exceptionally skilled at connecting with professionals who share their religion.
Who do I reach out to if there are no alumni at the firm or in the industry group I want to work with? (Originally Posted: 10/09/2017)
Hi guys, I am currently recruiting for full time. I have had no luck reaching out to recruiters; they usually ignore me. My school has an extensive alumni network, however, at some of the banks, I want to apply to there are no alumni. How could I get my email noticed to non alumni and network into the firm?
Try and find some mutual interest like your major matches theirs or you play the same sport. If all else fails, just pick someone who looks nice.
This is exactly what I do. Going for non-target guys/galls (as a non-target myself) usually helps. I make sure my email is as personalized as possible (based on any similarities I can find on their Linkedin or company website) and just try to be polite, and explain that I know they are busy and understand if they dont have time. This has worked wonders for me.
Good luck!
This. My university barely sends anyone to BB Banking so I just found people on LinkedIn with a similar educational path/who looked like they’d be enjoyable to work with and reached out.
Try to find people with a slightly similar background (ex. fellow non-target) and start blasting out a couple of hundred cold emails per day (number may be exaggerated, but you get the point). It's a numbers game. Someone will eventually respond to you.
You could use a template and copy-paste the same thing to everyone, but it's better and more effective if you personalize the email a bit, according to whatever common ground you've found. People can smell copy-pasted templates from miles, and are turned off.
Hahah i know not to copy paste now. It happened to me last year and I got called out on it. Thank you!
Why X firm when there are no alumni there? (Originally Posted: 10/01/2016)
This one is for my non-target people out there.
If I landed an interview with a firm, with virtually no alumni (and consequently nobody I spoke to prior to getting the interview), what are some reasons I can give for "why X firm?"
Usually if you get a good sense of the culture, you can speak about that - but I have somewhat limited information. What would you all do in this situation?
Thanks all!!!
As a non-target the majority of firms I interviewed at didn't have alumni. There is nothing stopping you reaching out to non-alumni. If the only people you are going to reach out to is a very limited circle of alumni, you're going to struggle to land interviews.
No Alumni at boutiques (Originally Posted: 07/14/2016)
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You know that non-alumni are also people that you can talk to, right?
How would you get there emails though?
Dude - you go to an Ivy. That should get you a coffee chat with just about anyone at a boutique and has the time.
Reach out to them through Linkedin, or use an email verification website to guess their email. Common email formats are [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] (without the + sign)
I find this hard to believe.
It's possible. Some smaller schools don't have people at small boutiques.
In that case don't bother looking for "alumni". It's time consuming but you should just look at their associate and VP profiles looking for any commonality. I was able to get in touch with one guy at a decent industry-specific boutique by finding someone who is from the same state I grew up in.
No Alumni, but I have experience (Originally Posted: 06/10/2011)
I am a Canadian entering my third year as a finance major at a small, research-intensive university that was founded about twenty years ago. I am presently interning as an investment banking analyst at a boutique investment bank in New York. I would like to meet others in investment banking before I return to university for summer classes in July. Would anyone be available to meet on Thursdays or Fridays to discuss their experience in the industry? The university I attend has absolutely no alumni in the industry, so It has been difficult to meet others outside of where I work. I would really appreciate any time to hear about someone elses experience.
Ask your teachers to refer you to someone they might know. That someone does not have to be an alumnus.
Go to WSO's next happy hour
You got a internship in NY even though you go to a Canadian uni??
You're kidding right? My school placed 15+ SA in NYC. Poor Rotman kids.
WLU?
Umer Zain?
WLU is like a 100 years old. But I guess that's what he must mean.
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Networking with firm that has no alumni (Originally Posted: 02/26/2013)
There is a private equity firm that posted a internship position on my school's career website. Their company's website lists all of their employees but there is no alumni there from my school. I've emailed 2 people on there, but no replies. Any ideas?
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