Roast my Networking Call
Hello WSO community,
Edit: This thread kind of turned into "what to ask an Analyst/Associate"
I had some kind Investmemt Banker respond back to me a week ago and he gave me the go ahead to call him for an informational interview in the near future.
I've searched hard throughout the networking guide and around the site and I feel as if many, many of the networking questions offered are not conversational or fit for a first conversation.
I wanted to get some input on the questions I think are good for a conversation and hope some of you guys could offer some input and some more conversational questions to share with others.
Here's my plan:
Easy, ease in questions:
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Start the call by introducing myself
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Ask him what's exciting him regarding future plans, work, etc.
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Get into the connection that we have in common, previous similar experiences, etc.
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Ask him why he entered into IB, what he was thinking at the time.
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Ask why he joined X Firm.
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Ask how their experiences working at X firm/in IB have been?
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What do you like about working at your company? (redundant to above?)
Harder Hitting:
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Has anything surprised you over the course of your career? What have you found most challenging?
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What have you found enjoyable about your sector? What do you like about?
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How about challenging or surprising about your sector?
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Given your sector, what have been some interesting projects you have got to work on?
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What do you think makes someone stand out for and in Investment Banking?
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What do you find valuable in an Analyst?
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What characteristics do you like to see in your co-workers?
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How can I make myself stand out given I want to work at your firm? What advice would you give for someone looking to work in IB who knows its what they want to do.
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How to position myself to work at your firm?
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End: Anyone else I can talk to/you could refer me to.
I do have one concern: I don't really sell myself other than talk and ask questions and maybe tail off his answers to show my skills, interests, and experience relevancy to IB, so I wanted to ask how to sell myself during the call, or if I should even try to sell myself? How do I get the call to push me?
Just be casual - ask him about weekend plans and stuff and the convo will flow if you're not weird. Main takeaway from a networking is to get the other person to like you enough to push your resume by being enthusiastic, chill, and intelligent enough.
Thanks, this reinforces what I thought is the right thing to do.
If you put this much planning and scripting into a networking call its guaranteed to come off as rehearsed and awkward. Just have a normal conversation, be legitimately interested in the other person and if it feels right, make a request for other people to reach out to etc.
The bullet points are a good jumping off point, I don't think OP was going to rattle off these questions word for word. Explicitly asking about culture should be avoided, it's really generic and there are better ways of getting the same answer (e.g. what is your favorite part about working at Firm X?)
Thanks for the concern.
Don't worry I'm not going to be rattling these questions off! These are just general guidelines to premise my conversation off.
Thanks!
Good preparation, much more than I put into my first call. I’m sure the person on the other end will have questions for you too, like why you are interested in IB and what school stuff is helping you, etc.
You may want to hold off on asking for other people to speak with, especially if the person doesn’t know you well. Maybe instead you can ask for recommendations to be ready, follow through with recommendations, then follow up with him/her and let them know your progress so that they see your motivation and offer their support.
He'll drive the conversation. Just have thoughtful semi-open-ended questions to ask him, so he can spend a lot of time talking and feel good about himself
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