Hello everyone,
Recent grad here from a non-target undergrad. Just started in Corporate Banking with a regional bank about 6 months ago now, and although I don't mind it, I want to move to "the real thing" - IB. I actually started realizing I wanted to do IB about 3 months before I graduated from my non-target, needless to say, I didn't have very much luck.
So, now I'm planning on building up my work experience profile (becoming a Corporate Banking Lender in ~2 years) and do a top MBA within the next 3-5 years - my main pick is Ross, namely because I live in Michigan and love the atmosphere of that school (plus its a pretty good school to begin with) - also, I do not think I have a shot at MBA business schools">M7 at all, even with my non-target 3.94 GPA. I believe I could get a 700+ on the GMAT with enough studying.
My question for you guys: what can I do to really build up my profile to make me an attractive candidate for Ross?
You don't need an MBA to go into IB from CB.
I would agree with you if I worked for JPM's CIB, however, my regional bank's "corporate banking" is more like participating in syndicated deals, not agenting the deals - plus my bank doesn't have a "real" investment banking division, we outsource it to a few boutique shops.
Could you provide me some advice for making the transition from CB to IB? I'm thinking that I can continue my modeling courses that I'm doing right now (BIWS) and begin to network heavily once I feel confident enough that I know the material to shine in an interview. Another option would be to lateral to a firm like JPM in their Corporate banking division (which would look a lot better on my resume) and use that to move into IB from there or just use the JPM brand to hopefully get accepted to Ross.
With a 3.94 and a 730 GMAT you can easily get M7. You just have to learn to sell yourself. Ross is a fine school, but shoot higher.
Also agree on the above about not needing an MBA.
I lateraled from a similar role at a larger CB (not one of the BBs) to a BB analyst job. It was mostly just a function of being in the right place at the right time and executing on the interview. Just make sure you're prepared - know why you want IB instead of CB, know exactly why you like the IB you're interviewing with as opposed to the one down the street, know your technicals and be able to point to how the cash flow modeling you do in CB isn't all that different from IB and just be somebody that the interviewers might want to work with.
Network really hard - there are tons of open spots, you just need to find them and get in front of the people picking the interviewees. Headhunters might be able to help with this, but I would rely primarily on your own efforts.
I think your idea of moving to a BB CB and using that as a springboard to IB or a good MBA is an excellent plan B if you can't go directly to IB from your current spot.
Thanks for the reply, how long were you in CB before you moved to a BB analyst job? and are there any other suggestions you have as far as networking goes? Like I mentioned above, I've been doing BIWS modeling courses and also purchased their IB networking kit - next is the interview guide after I finish up the fundamental modeling course.
Just a few months. I reached out to the bankers (Associate / VP / MD) on the WGLs that we received since we did a lot of syndicated deals. Just said stuff like "Hey I work at x CB and did y analysis for the credit facilities for deal z that your team led. Let's grab coffee / chat / whatever." That way it's a much warmer email, you can speak to the deal a little bit and seem somewhat intelligent. Do that type of stuff in addition to traditional cold emails. Reaching out to headhunters might not hurt either, though I think they're usually looking for people with IB experience. You never know though.
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Just curious, why do you want to go to Ross? Also do you want an MBA just to get into IB or would you get an MBA regardless? Other than that I would agree with what everyone else has posted so far, some good networking should get you into IB without an MBA
I live in Michigan and have friends that went there for undergrad and I love it. Honestly, I would never like going to a school like HBS because I just don't think I'd fit in (just speculating). Booth is actually my top choice because I want to stay in the Midwest but I guess I kind of short changed myself - I read all these men/women profiles on Linkedin that get into these schools and most (if not all) have amazing resumes that are 10x better than mine IMO - I'm lacking on name-brand undergrad and Company.
Plus, my non-target is actually a well known business school BUT only in Michigan - we do the second best on CPA exams next to Ross.
Yes, MBA is solely for IB.
Ross is a good school, but why not shoot for M7? 3.94 GPA is well above the average for every M7 school. There are obviously other important parts of the application, but don't sell yourself short.
I agree, In the future I will target some M7 schools - Booth would be my number one choice. H/S/W is deff a no-go IMO. But Booth may be possible, especially if I can network to a small boutique and use that to get in then go to a BB.
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