Soon-to-be MBA Grad Applying Out of Cycle
I am due to graduate from B-school in the next few weeks, which I should note is not a target school, with an MBA in finance. Due to attending a non-target school and wanting to pursue a career in IB, I have taken some steps to position myself to be considered for a position in the field. During my MBA, I sought a boutique IB firm to intern part-time so that I could at least be exposed to several of the deals they conduct. I did this while also working full-time as a data analyst for an online travel agency (rhymes with briceline).
I've read that managing all of these responsibilities (work, school, internship) should look appealing. While at the internship, I was able to form a good relationship with the president and CEO of the firm and he offered a full-time position there once I graduate; though, he did mention that he believes I should try to get a position in a BB bank so that I can get exposed to several coverage teams rather than be pigeon-holed at his firm, which focuses mostly on reinsurance. He has handed me a list of 40+ names, emails, and phone numbers of MDs and other executives who have either worked for him in the past or have worked with him extensively over the last few years. The list even includes David Solomon's info (obviously I would not reach out to him). I have reached out to a few of the contacts, namely Jefferies, Citigroup, and Evercore. I was able to secure an interview with Jefferies but not the position. I spoke with two individuals at Citigroup but this was only an informational interview, which went well but they don't have a position currently available.
I haven't continued reaching out because I think I clearly need more advice in regards to how I go about this. So I'm reaching out to the WSO community. Is anyone willing to advise this chimp?
I'll preface my comment by saying I'm not in IB so am not entirely familiar with the standard post-MBA recruitment cycle timeline. What I would say though is that your CEO would be able to provide much more value to you (which he seems genuinely interested in doing) by bridging the connect and reaching out to these contacts himself. Which interaction would you feel holds more gravitas were you to be an MD at Evercore, the CEO of your firm or a newly minted summer associate? I would do my research to narrow down my boss's list to my target firms, express my sincere gratitude for providing the connections, and see if he would mind penning off an email or giving a call to the execs on my list. Perhaps this would mitigate some of the tribulations associated with off cycle recruiting. Regardless, it sounds like you're in a good position and it's great to hear senior executives going to bat for the younger guys. Good luck on the Jefferies interview!
Thank you for the advice! I will reach out to him and see if he can help me with that. I had thought about it before but I was a bit timid in how to approach it given that he had already helped me out tremendously by providing this list. I did not want to come across as being lazy and wanting to have my hand held through the process.
Reach out to every person/company you are interested in. It sounds like you have a fall back offer, so you have nothing to lose. Plus, your fall back offer CEO will endorse you for a better position if you see fit.
This is a very good position to be in. You might see this years down the road, but a CEO like this really cares about his employees and their long term success (not just for the profits of their company). People like this usually have well run companies and he may just be cross-training you in another group to come back to his later. Either way, even if you have to use your fall back offer, it sounds like a good place to work.
Thanks! I didn't see it that way previously but you bring up a very good point. I would very much like to work for him because during my time as an intern, he has shown that he has an interest in getting me involved as much as possible in all of the deals as well as teaching me through his own experiences. This certainly provided some perspective in that I don't really have much to lose by reaching out to those companies.
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