Networking and general strategy as a rising sophomore?

Hey all,

I'm a rising sophomore at a semi-target (JHU) interested in management consulting. For some background my major is Biomedical Engineering and I'm also planning on tacking on a stats major. So far my GPA and HS test scores are high (>3.95, >2300, etc.), but that'll probably change as I enter higher level courses. I am doing a summer research internship at a respected R&D hub in Western Europe, and I'm part of a consulting club and will be an account executive next semester (basically team leader/client liason).

Although I just left the premed track (as is tradition at JHU) to focus on consulting, I think I have a decent profile. My major problem is that I'm not sure how to go from here. Should I start networking, like reaching out to alumni and etc.? What kinds of opportunities should I be looking for this summer? A major obstacle I saw is that some firms I would be interested in (namely Deloitte and Accenture) locked us to DC federal recruiting and seem to be completely against letting us apply strategy. Thank you!

 

I'd recommend reaching out to alumni throughout the upcoming fall for informational interviews... Make your intro email short and sweet with a brief intro of yourself, a statement of interest in consulting, and a request to set up a call to ask a few questions

Securing a sophomore summer internship at a big consulting firm is nearly impossible. So, target boutique firms or analytical roles with start-ups or F500 companies for next summer.

Do this and you will be in a good position going into recruiting for junior summer internships

 

Both! There are obvious reasons to start developing relationships with people at the smaller short-term target firms. Additionally, the earlier you can start to develop your relationships with people at the firms you will eventually target for full time - the better. You can ask them about where to focus your efforts for sophomore year to make yourself most attractive for when you are applying to their firms (many people will appreciate this initiative and be happy to help steer you.) You can also develop a non-recruiting relationship with them that will be much more genuine and serve you well when it comes time to recruit, helping you stand out from the candidates who are "suddenly" interested in them and their firms come August of these students' junior or senior years.

 

At the very least, it suggests that the pipeline is decent, so getting your resume in front of the recruiter shouldn't be a problem.

I would still reach out to alumni - mostly young alumni, perhaps people you know who are new analysts or even incoming analysts. You're not looking for a referral, you're looking for info. Newer analysts will remember and be familiar with the recruiting process, and they can give you tips on how to navigate recruiting from a JHU specific perspective (for example which recruiting events are important, which recruiters are important, what they look for on JHU resumes etc.)

PS I wouldn't even bother with Deloitte and Accenture Federal recruiting unless gov work interests you.

 

One other pointer:

I strongly recommend signing up for, or at least looking into, Modern Guild's consulting career development accelerator. It will provide you with some excellent networking opportunities and help you build the skills you'll need to succeed in interviews.

I completed the accelerator and think it had a significant impact on my recruiting results (ended up securing offers from a few solid consulting firms)

 

MG has partnered with a number of big names (citi, deloitte to name two of probably 10) to build out their accelerator... The program pairs you with a mentor currently working in the industry, who will help you build the technical, industry and professional skills needed to succeed in interviews and on the job

Feel free to pm me with questions or anything like that.

 

You're in good shape.

I'm sure that MBB recruiters for DC understand the weight of a JHU BioE major, and a 3.95 is extremely high

Consulting is very different from banking, your internships can be in nearly anything (although consulting is preferred), and the junior summer internship is actually harder to land than full time spots.

For your sophomore summer, look for any big name (Tech, F100, etc) in a business related role, and junior summer should be no problem. I'd network with alums from those types of companies as well as MBB + S&O + All the other Tier 2's. And start now, relationships built over time are way more efficient.

 

also, for the record- you don't need a stats major it obv wouldn't hurt, but don't feel like you need to add anything else to get into consulting

if you graduate with a 3.9+ in BioE by itself, it'd be way more well received than a 3.5 double major

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice! One question though - do F500 companies require the same level of networking as firms do? I was under the impression that those are mostly prune resume/cover letter to the position's requirement and apply. Also, the main reason I'm doing the stats double (besides interest) is that BME at JHU has a focus area requirement, and the stats major almost perfectly overlaps with some of the focus areas. So I'll need like 1 additional class rather than 10, and otherwise I'd have to take similarly grade-deflating engineering classes for the focus area req.

Array
 

Your summer experience puts you near the top of the pack compared to your peers at those targets.

BB positions will not be attainable if you're not URM or female. However, plenty of target students get sophomore IB internships at boutiques or MMs.

 

It depends. If it was an on the books Finance Management Program Internship, then holy cow you don't need to spin it, it's amazing.

He said he got it through "connections" and it was hardly finance (obviously...what kind of finance work can they give to a freshman?). So it's probably some off the books random thing where he worked under his daddy's friend. In that case, it's not that favorable.

 
Most Helpful

I'll give you a quick piece of advice that I think would help tremendously.

Make a list of 100 people you want to connect with, by searching on Linkedin or alumni or people you want to be one day.

Build a database of these 100 people, and get all the information you possibly can, and keep track of who you get a reply from, and who you haven't, and what method worked and what you talked about during informational interviews or coffee meetups.

Keep track of it, and leverage the people you've spoken with so far and use that to speak with others (talk to a high level person at consulting group A, leverage that conversation and say that that person B you're trying to speak with was someone person A said would have great insights).

If you can spend the time and build the network, and I mean honestly build a network. You will do amazing. Check out this book: http://www.r-5.org/files/books/ethology/corporate/behaviour/Keith_Ferra…

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

I am no expert at networking by any means, but I suggest you use every resource that you have. E-mail anyone who's business card you still have. Remind them of how you know them. Find out how they have been doing, see if they have received a promotion or anything like that. Get more information about what Group that are in. Don't e-mail them all of the time, and wait for a response for about a week before you send a second e-mail. Trust me, these people are extremely busy, but willing to help. They would not hand out these business cards if they didn't expect students to get in contact with them. E-mail every person that you have information for, but customize each e-mail. Every last one of your contacts has the potential to land you a first round interview. Do NOT worry about whether or not they will be with the firm when you graduate. If they leave, they are probably going into PE or another great field but they will retain contacts at their banks. Good luck

 

As mentioned by others, network as much as possible. Also try to look into life science consulting boutiques around the US or in Europe (during/shortly after your internship). I know for a fact firms like Life Science Dynamics (offices in London, SF and Boston) sponsor candidates. This is a good stepping stone to larger firms if applications to larger firms don't work out first time around.

 

1) Get involved in one or two campus organizations, and get on a path to where you will be an officer by your junior year. Accomplish something; organize a community service activity, hold a student workshop and bring in a business leader to teach something, grow the student investment fund, etc.

2) Get something published. Talk to a professor and offer to do the grunt work like data collection in order to be listed as a co-author in a paper they are trying to publish. This is something that is surprisingly easy to do, but very few students think of it. It looks awesome on a resume.

3) Start a business. Buy energy drinks in bulk and sell them for a profit out of your dorm room. Start a laundry service. Start a textbook exchange. Just start something. You'll probably never have as much free time and as little responsibility as you do now, so it's the perfect time to at least have the experience.

4) Get some internships. You already mentioned this, but don't underestimate the importance of having internship experience. This should be your top priority.

 

Pretty much echo the post by 808. Spend your time doing something productive that can help you build your brand in the long run. Examples include:

  1. Joining student organizations/clubs and taking up leadership positions (don't take on too much though, otherwise your grades may suffer). If you're targeting banking, get involved in your school's investment club and try to participate in a stock pitch competition or something.

  2. Get an on-campus job that involves some research in the subject you're interested in. If you have any well-known professors at school, send them an e-mail and ask to sit down and chat about their research. If it's clear that you're passionate and want to help, they may be willing to let you pitch in.

  3. Go to networking/recruiting events and start getting your name out there. Since you go to a semi-target, I'm assuming that there must be at least some banks that recruit at your schol, and it's never too earlier to get yourself on the radar.

  4. Read. Can't stress this enough. Check out the "Monkey's Review" of different books on WSO - they're all great reads and you can definitely impress interviewers if you can talk intelligibly with them about a book they have also read. It also demonstrates your interest in the industry.

  5. Get an internship this summer (already been mentioned above, so I won't elaborate).

 
AtypicalMonkey:

Will do! Thanks for all the input!

One more thing - what about LinkedIn?
Right now I have all the experiences above with a very brief or no description.

Well, let's think about this for a second.

How could it hurt you? No way it would. How could it help you? You are easier to find/people know what you did. Conclusion: Elaborate

Please think for a second the next time before posting or use the search function. These questions have been asked 10000 times before.

 

The education information is really clustered. Put stuff on separate lines so you don't have to abbreviate everything. That should also help cut down on the white space at the bottom.

I wouldn't include the AP coursework with your college stuff. I would actually leave it off completely since your relevant coursework goes on for three lines and you dedicate only one to your majors.

Where are this leadership in local government position you speak of?

As a sophomore, keep your best high school stuff on there, but it should be coming off by the end of the year, replaced by the leadership and experience you gain this year.

I see that you are trying to make your bullets quantitative, try to emphasize the results of your efforts more as well. For example, what happened after your presentation to the CEO and client? That will hopefully take up enough space that you won't have to dedicate four bullets to being a cox.

Make sure you maintain a consistent tense with your verbs.

The spacing on the bullets looks... odd, I mean by the time we get to your final sub-bullet we're a third of the way across the page. If you fill in your bullets and sub-bullets more with results and whatnot, you shouldn't have to have it tab so far to fill space.

Two side notes: Based on your language proficiency, can we assume that the Capital, Developing Country was Beijing, China?

You took Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus as a freshman, I'm impressed.

 
olafenizer:
You took Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus as a freshman, I'm impressed.

Its almost a necessity to take Linear Algebra as a freshman for Math majors. I know a few guys who took Multi variable in their senior year of high school as they had completed AP Calculus in their junior year.

I win here, I win there...
 

-Keep the dividing lines from the original M&I template. They actually organize the resume quite nicely.

-Keep the GPA so as not to make them assume you have worse than a 3.3

-Split your degree programs to two separate lines and write the programs out completely. Change: "B.S." to "Bachelor of Science" "App." to "Applied" "conc." to "concentration" "Sci." to "Science" etc.

-EMPHASIZE your athletic experience as much as possible! I would go so far as to create a new section header, titled "ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE," that goes above your work experience and under your education. Also, instead of "Varsity Crew" have it read "[University name] [Women's/Men's] Varsity Crew Team." Athletes are annoyingly revered, so make sure you show them that you're committing to more than just school throughout the year. Plus, I'm sure there are plenty of Yale crew alumni in Finance for you to network with.

-Go into more detail on your job descriptions.

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." - J. Paul Getty
 

Taking a quick look, your format needs work for sure - check out this sample on the proper format - http://www.bankonbanking.com/resume-revisions/

Beyond the basic format, you need to use bullet points to separate your GPAs and SAT scores so it doesn't look so cluttered, and remove the indents from the bullet points to open up some space and not present the resume in such a cluttered fashion

Given your limited experience, you really want to expand on those experiences that you have. Show me more in your bullet points, especially your most recent experience - you've got some interesting points, but you aren't showing how you accomplished your projects and the impact you made on your team.

Combine interests and activities - take out Daily Newspaper

All of your verbs should be in past tense and you definitely want to expand on your microcredit position - you've got 3 short bullet points, expand on them

PM me if you have any other questions.

 

http://www.razume.com/documents/16323 is a second draft.

You will find that in addition to suggested formatting changes, I attempted to condense the coxing experience and expand on my internship experience. Unfortunately, I don't know the results of my work there. I made a guess with the "due diligence" phrase, because I've seen it used with regards to banking experience before, but I'm not sure that it is applicable here. I'm having a lot of trouble expanding on my experiences, does anyone have any pointers on where to start?

I have a couple more questions: - Should all verbs be in past tense, even if the activity is ongoing? - Is it better that I condensed the first two bullet points of crew into one? - How can I better expand on the first two activities? - How good do I have to be to list programming skills? I've taken AP computer science (with a 5) for Java, and have similar depth in Visual Basic and Python.

RE: High School Experience I served as the student representative to the Board of Education and led a number of student organizations. Some positions included: class president, magazine editor-in-chief and publisher, rotary interact executive, political group vice president, math/science team captain, tennis team co-captain, and regional pre-professional musicians organization president. I also conducted really basic economics and statistics research.

I didn't include these on the resume as they are high school experiences, but I feel as though my college accomplishments don't mount to the same as my pre-college accomplishments.

RE: Athletic Experience While I do believe coxing has helped me develop a number of relevant skills (making important decisions on the run, motivating and coordinating people, time management), I don't believe that it is more important than other more relevant experiences. What do you guys think?

RE: Olafenizer For argument's sake, it could have been the capital of any developing country as business could have been conducted in English. But yeah, it was Beijing.

RE: San Fransiscan What makes you think I go to Yale?

RE: BankonBanking But I spend significant time writing for our daily... At least moreso than I do participating in the cultural organizations.

RE: arbitRAGE & Olafenizer Yeah, it's really common at my school for math/cs/physics/engineering majors to take multivariable calculus and linear algebra freshman year. A number go beyond... I actually took calculus bc my sophomore year of high school, but because my school didn't have the resources to offer more advanced courses, I had to wait two years before continuing my math education.

 
revoad:

RE: San Fransiscan What makes you think I go to Yale?

hmm, I don't know why I said it (Malcolm Gladwell could probably tell us), but when I saw your resume I instantly thought "Asian girl from Yale." IDK, you just reminded me of this girl from my HS that goes to Yale.

Perhaps it's also because people from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Wharton students never actually post their resumes on this site and your high school profile seems too strong to go anywhere else.

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." - J. Paul Getty
 

Congrats on a great work experience. Pretty hard to land anything finance related as a Freshman, so you are already ahead in this regard.

Sophomore IBD recruiting is tough. Even tougher without a strong GPA. Being a URM may help you out though- I would suggest networking with other URMs at firms you are interested in and getting your name out early.

Don't stress out too much about landing a top notch IBD position for your sophomore summer. My best advice is to focus on your grades this year and get your GPA as high as possible, so when junior year recruiting comes around you are in a good spot. Starting early with networking is always good too. Look into smaller MM firms/ boutique IB internships for this summer, or corporate finance/f500 positions like you are already doing.

Good luck.

 

The best advice I can give you as a rising junior (so obviously take it with a grain of salt) is to get your GPA up. I don't know which target you attend, but where I go to school, you need a 3.5+ to even be allowed to drop your resume. Unless you're doing some sort of difficult engineering double major, it'll be really difficult to get through the resume screen with a

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. If it provides any more info, I attend Stern. What originally screwed up my GPA was a B- in a writing class, as creative - philosophical writing is probably my worst academical area. That said, there is an upward trend in my GPA (that I hope to keep), 3.18 and 3.6 for my first and second semester, respectively. I'm aiming for a GPA that is at the least a 3.4 ( 3.58 for semester seems to be the worst case scenario, given my schedule), but will try to raise it by as much as I can.

I'll start to network as well. Would I be too straight-forward if after asking a few industry / team questions I said something along the lines 'I know this may sound straight-forward, but the reason I asked to meet with you is not to get on anyone's radar, but, given that you're working in the industry, to ask for your honest advice.'? I'd then proceed to basically explain what I explained here.

Thanks

 

Just relax. Do well in school and focus on your grades, send short e-mails for networking and ask to meet in person or chat on the phone. Don't send huge walls of text asking specific questions to them via e-mail because that definitely will lessen your chances of a reply. Don't worry about what product group or industry either, you aren't that far along.

 

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Ill get my GPA up and ill network as much as I can. I just find it a little awkward, haha. Should I be like, hey, any chance you could pull my resume? Lol. And, should I ask pretty much any analyst that I chat with, or only with those with whom I kicked it off well. Or should they be the ones to offer? I know they know this is the purpose of networking, but it is still kind of weird for me.

 

At my BB, and most BB's, the internship recruiting cycle is after the full-time. Typically, the deadline to apply is Fall and main interviews in the Winter for interns. However, I would look into any events that are being held at your target school (there should be). Talk to the career center and leverage that. I would suggest spending the summer beefing up your resume and networking.

 

Not bad - I would clean up the readability. Weird spaces on GPA line. Get rid of all your periods, and try to make every bullet a coherent single sentence. Make the writing a little less colloquial, and remove excess phrases (e.g: remove "using Excel" in the IBD section, since it's assumed modeling is with excel). Good luck.

 

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