Monkeys,
I've recently networked my way into a phone conversation with a chairman at Goldman scheduled over the next couple days.
I'm pretty much freaking the f out cause I know how legit this guy is. I hope I don't lock up mid-convo.
Mainly venting here, but also hoping for some advice.
What are some good questions to ask him?
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Tell him how much you want to do god's work...
Say hey to Lloyd for me.
Ask him if he wears chubbies on the weekend.
Look up his career and ask about why he switched from X role to Y role to Z role. How did X role compare with Z role? Ask what he thinks he did differently from his peers to get to the spot that he is in now.
He'll likely ask you to tell him about yourself so you should have a 2-3 minutes pitch prepared.
Have a list of maybe 15 questions prepared but try to only ask a couple from that list. Your questions should mostly flow from the conversation so you should ask questions based on what he tells you. If you can't think of one, pull one from your prepared list. Be personable and professional but also be easy to talk to and normal. Try to establish rapport.
At the end, say something like "I'm interested in working in Investment Banking/S&T/Whatever you're interested in in the future. What do you think the people that get hired at Goldman do to stand out in the process?"
I'm not sure how you got this informational interview but if it's through a family connection, it might be a more laid back conversation. If you got it through straight networking hustle, then it might be a little less laid back.
At the end, say something like "well I don't want to take up too much of your time. I really appreciate you speaking to me, blah blah blah"
thom.yorke.thom:
Thank you for that answer. Very informative. I'm looking to go into the ibd.
I think I'm gonna ask him about the effects of the change in the analyst ibd program (no mas contract). Maybe also mention something about Viniar retiring, and how this changes things. Maybe also talk about how the investment banking industry in general is sucking right now (deal flow way down).
This small talk, combined with a little elevator pitch, should (I'm hoping) do the trick.
At this point I'm basically trying to anticipate questions he may ask me and prepare answers. I'm also trying to formulate a closing statement to the phone call that thanks him for his time, but also sends a firm message that I'm looking to get hired. Not quite sure how to accomplish this balancing act.
I don't want to bash you, but literally everything you just mentioned is exactly what I would tell someone to stay away from when talking to an executive at the firm.
Changes in their IBD program are not exactly being praised right now and it actually sucks for a lot of incoming analysts, so I feel like bringing it up will undoubtedly lead to a conversation about how much more lucrative banking used to be.
Viniar retiring? The only thing you accomplish by bringing him up would be showing that you follow the market enough to know that one of their most senior executives is gone... which is not saying much. This will also be a very negative talking point. Great, we lost one of the longest serving CFOs in Wall Streets history.
Talking about how deal flow sucks?!? Dude this guys is an executive, trust me when I say that he probably hears enough about shitty deal flow on a daily basis. You are applying to an entry level role in the IBD. You want to sound positive. You want to sound like an inspired, young individual with a hunger to learn and eventually master the skills it takes to be successful in this industry. The ONLY time you should bring up bad deal flow is if you are speaking about your recruitment efforts. You can say something like "since deal flow has been down and analyst classes look to be shrinking for the upcoming year, I have really had to double my networking and overall recruitment efforts because I know this is what I want to do. Even though the economy hasn't seen the strong recovery that every one has been hoping for and anticipating, I am trying to do everything I can to still break in because there is no other job I would rather have coming out of my undergraduate degree." Other than that scenario, DO NOT bring up shitty deal flow. I can almost guarantee you he will. I just got back from Manhattan on a networking trip and met with multiple directors, VPs and associates and over half of them brought it up and gave me their two cents on the issue. All of the senior directors brought it up. Why? because it is their job to be concerned with deal flow. Your job is to be enthusiastic driven and personable. Find a way to make him understand that you are the type of person who can be given a project at 10pm (that you know will take 8 hours of work) that is due at 9am the next morning and that you would not only get it done, but that you would get it done with a fat smile on your face because you enjoy this work and want to learn and you know that the fastest way to learn is to put in a bunch of hard work.
The three talking points you mentioned are all negative or will likely lead to negative or neutral conversations at best. Be positive. Talk about all the extra cash on the books of the fortune five hundred companies this year and how you think this is going to result in increased M&A activity for 2013. Ask him if he agrees. Focus on talking about his experience BECAUSE HE HAS A SHIT TON OF IT. And more than anything, be incredibly humble, polite and find a way to show him that you are the definition of a true grinder... because that is what Wall Street loves to see in an analyst.
Sorry if this came off a little harsh. My intentions are not to bash your ideas. I just think this is an insanely good opportunity and hope that you crush it and don't look back on it as a completely missed opportunity.
In terms of prepping answers to anticipated questions, I wouldn't even look at interview book technical questions because there's no way he will ask any of those if he's a chairman at goldman.
Have an answer for "why should we hire you," "why investment banking," "why Goldman" just in case he asks. The second question is the most likely of the three.
It's good to bring in news stories into your questions (Like Viniar retiring and the changes to the analyst program) but don't be too weird about it or drill him on random facts. There is a fine line between sounding genuinely interested/showing initiative and coming across as a one dimensional douche. Gear most of it towards general trends, asking advice and light conversation.
Also, the best advice I can give with networking is to let the other person talk. If they want to ramble for 5 minutes about some dumb story, let them. Listen to the whole thing and ask a question off of it. Don't interrupt. You should sound like you are interested in what he/she has to say, not like you are impatiently waiting for him to finish speaking so you can ask question 3 on your list. People like to talk about themselves. Don't feel the need to jump in with a random fact in the middle of his sentence to show how smart you are. It just pisses people off.
Also, try to start the conversation off light.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is pjb780. Is now still a good time to talk?"
Then feel it out and make quick small talk bull shit about the weekend or whatever (unless he doesn't sound friendly on the phone) before you go into your shpeel. It's also good to have a pause after the beginning small talk. Some people that I network with will fill that pause by saying something like "so how can I help you?" or "So what are you interested in hearing about?" or "So my guess is that you're calling about recruiting" or "Let me tell you a bit about myself and then you can tell me a bit about yourself... After leaving Harvard as a youngster, I blah blah blah... then you tell him your 2-3 minute thing"
At some point, ask something like "I wanted to get your advice: it looks like the job market is really tough right now and many banks aren't even hiring. I was wondering if you have any tips as to how I can best position myself to get a job in investment banking. Anything I can do to increase my chances?" If he doesn't offer to help out after that question, then he's probably not going to help out.
End it with something like "Well I don't want to take up too much of your time. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me. I was wondering if you knew of anyone within investment banking at Goldman or any other bank that would be interested in speaking with me. It would be great to hear their perspective as well...blah blah blah."
^^^^ good advice up here, heed it. Focus on finding some commonalities you have and making it into a conversation, not a Q&A session, that's the last thing he wants. Definitely stroke his ego a little bit and get him to talk about how found his way to the BSD world. Just relax and be yourself. Don't try too hard.
If it were me I would definitely not mention ANYTHING about the change in the analyst program. Giving him the impression you are in it for the short-term is not a good idea. He's a fucking chairman at GS, those types of guys usually drink the coolaid in excess (not knocking it, worked out ok for him obv). As far as you're concerned, if you were given a job at GS you would work there until 80 years old.
Honestly, he's probably too senior to be useful to you
FYI, I've recently changed my username.
Monkey Gone Banking:
Thank you for that advice. It made a lot of sense, and I made sure not to mention any negativities. In fact, this is how the conversation went:
A family friend got me on the phone with him. He didnt drill me, quiz me, even put me on the spot. He first asked me if I were inclined to work in a the real estate group based off my previous real estate internship. He then asked me if I want to go back to the company where I interned after I graduate. I told him no because I want to go through the excellent training programs at goldman etc. After that he sent a copy of my resume to an associate, telling him to " put him into the analyst process". He told me to wait a minute, asked for my email, then cc'd me on the email, and told me to follow up with the associate in 2 weeks or so. He asked me if I had any more questions (I said no) and that he would help prepare me for interviews as they got closer. He offered himself as a resource.
That was it. It was surprisingly short, and I I'm not quite sure what to make of it. He pretty much jumped right in and emailed my resume to the associate (business unit manager). I feel like I wasn't aggressive enough.
thoughts?
I need some advice on how to leverage this excellent connection.
Good old fashioned nepotism. It's the GS way. Congrats man. I'd send him a carefully edited thank you email and ask him what the next steps are.
Is it Real Estate IB or some sort of Real Estate investment group within Goldman? If the former, get the M&I interview guide and study it. Make flash cards and quiz yourself. If the latter, I'm not totally sure but there's a good book called something like "What every real estate investor needs to know about cash flow." Might not be the exactly right title. google it. Probably not necessary though. As the interviews come closer, ask him to help prepare.
Sounds like it went well. He's not going to straight up hand you a job but he got your resume into the hands of the right person which is a whole lot farther then most people get in the process. Now it's on you to prove that you can do the work and are a go-getter.
so I spoke with associate who told me that the analyst class of 2013 is completely full. Kind of shoved me off...
and you know you can't blame the chairman, he's done his part, kid.
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