Time to Start Panicking?
I posted a thread a couple weeks ago on my struggles with even getting contacted by firms:
//www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/need-advicehelp-in…
Now I'm sitting with 96 outstanding summer internship applications for 83 different firms. I laugh when people think applying to 30 programs is exhausting.
I look at WSO pretty much everyday and constantly see people posting on interviews, super days, and offers. Many to firms that I have applied to as well. I know most interviews start up in Feb and offers are extended in March. Besides JPM RFS internship I have yet to hear back from any BB or MM firms (small-cap firms seem to be pretty punctual).
Right now I'm at the point of just wanting some news, any type of news. So I ask all of you if I should start panicking and calling up HR departments for a status check or just let the machine roll on?
If you want my stats look at my previous post cited above.
Networking isn't the problem here, I have a giant excel spreadsheet organizing the vast amounts of people I've reached out to.
you're pretty fucking cool.
I was going to suggest networking, but apparently you have this excel spreadsheet so I guess that can't be the problem.
.
I appreciate the sarcasm ametista.
Everyone suggests networking, trust me I did that. All contacts say its now in the hands of the selection committee. It seems once the formal process begins there isn't a lot you can do.
Damnnn 96?!?! I didn't even know there were 96 firms lol (joke), have you had your resume looked at by other and also if I were you I would consider throwing in a cover letter explaining your passion, and desire to work in finance. Just make sure you get something as an internship, even if its something like IBD Ops. Good Luck.
Resume is on the 10th go around. My career services department at school told me I'm reaching the point that I shouldn't revise it any longer for fear of it being over corrected.
Yes to the feedback. A lot of them have become good friends in the process, which I suppose is rewarding in itself. All say I don't have the GPA for S&T or IB, but that I'm a born trader and my research skills are high. Unfortunately that's hard to throw on a Resume. It's the kind of thing that needs to be proven in person.
1man2nv, Cover Letter and Letter of Recommendation from a professor for research is out for all firms as well. Passion is there in both. Cover Letter explains what is hard to elaborate on in a resume, but through talks with my contacts I've learned that recruiters don't care what you claim to have. You have to show them and that's hard to do without getting the opportunity for an interview.
Post your god damn resume.
Dude, it sounds like you're applying to programs then just sitting around and twiddling your thumbs waiting for a response. You have to get in through the backdoor if you're from a non-target, the application process will not be your friend. Fuck HR, you should have been cold emailing individual bankers/traders back in December to find people that would pull your resume. Trust me, I'm from a non-target and this has worked for me.
Also, if you go to a non-target, the career services won't know anything about Investment Banking (if they did, they'd work at target schools), so those 10 resume turns are worthless.
People seem to be giving you advice here, but you seem to be ignoring it with the thought that your system, which doesn't seem to be working, is somehow better.
He nailed it right here. I'm definetly from a non target and everything he just said it right. I absolutely HATED my career services, they didn't know squat. I remember they told me my resume is all screwed up and I need to change it, couple of days later 3 or 4 recruiters told me they loved my format, etc......Anyways I got on LinkedIN found some people in the companies I wanted to work for and emailed them.
In the case of resume revisions I failed to extend beyond the career center. I've had multiple professionals revise it with me over the phone. One guy in London at Evercore actually was the most help (was a fan of my university's football team so that helped, which was weird coming from a Brit in that grew up over there).
Linkedin was a great help in the networking department. Got to know a lot of good people through it. Unfortunately it seemed a lot of them just turned into informational contacts. When I brought up the idea of pulling my resume in the selection process they went forward with it (at least that was what I was told). I've followed up with them and besides Citigroup they all came back with the response that targets had to be finished up first in order. The all important pecking order that many of my other non-target friends are experiencing as well.
Nouveau Richie, I'm not ignoring their advice. I've actually built my game plan from every successful story listed on this website among others. What I'm trying to say is I've done it all. I drove to Virginia and snuck into UVA's career fair just because some top firms were going to be there. I've actually done that to 4 target schools. That's how I have gotten to where I am with JPM. But besides there it doesn't seem to be working. Is there something else, something unique that you did?
what is RFS?
Retail Financial Services, I believe the department is mostly located in the Chase division of JPM Chase. They do some interesting, right now its something though.
Thats what I thought it meant. So basically its a branch banking internship?
This specific program is not branch. It would be corporate in this case but it deals with managing the branches.
oh ok. I'm not career bashing by any means by the way. I hope you break into the industry, but if you don't for the time being kick ass RFS, and keep trying. Good Luck!
It sounds like you have done everything right on paper to get an internship. There has to be a missing component here. You might want to ask interviewers for feedback, because you must be fucking something up really badly to apply to so many places, do so much networking and end up working in retail. You don't need to explain to me, I'm from a nontarget with a shitty gpa and no contacts on wall street, yet i applied to maybe 5 places and did a little bit of networking and i had 3 superdays and eventually an offer. the people i spoke with liked me, and therefore took the time to make sure i got into superdays and then got offers. the people that you spoke with clearly did not do that for you, and its time to start asking yourself why. not to be harsh, but you need to do some deep analysis and reflection on the process, as there is something drastically wrong with your situation.
I would ask for feedback from interviewers, but the only place that I've interviewed with and JPM and I just scheduled my superday. So I seem to be good in the interview setting. Perhaps you have a point with my contacts. Maybe they aren't walking their talk. That would be an unfortunate situation considering the amount of work I have put forward with every one of them. Congrats on the offer, can't say I'm not jealous.
I don't know if you are expecting someone here to just say "oh here's an offer" but the way you worded your first post almost sounded more like you wanted to prove that you've done "everything" rather than asking for genuine advice. Why don't you try boutiques? Contacts could have more pull there....
Perhaps I've been coming across poorly. Of course I'm not expecting an offer out of this, that would be rather abnormal.
I'm simply presenting what I have done up front to get rid of the comments that seem to plague most of these posts of the same advice. I'm searching for the "ok you did all that, your stuck, here is what could work" idea.
So here in my situation where no news (good or bad) is flowing my way. What do I do at this stage of the process? Is there anything I can do? What has been done here before that is something different and has worked?
Boutiques could work and I've applied to a few. No contacts in any however, do you think it is too late in the game to start there?
no--most boutiques have much less formal recruiting and dont recruit until later on in the year (i.e. nowish...from what i understand a bunch of firms start recruiting in march)
I really think you just need to post your resume and have people here take a look at it. You probably aren't making the kind of impression you think you are with the people you've spoken with. I've definitely been in a similar situation (working a sales job where I felt I was doing everything right and no one could pin point why I was in a slump... turned out I just wasn't having fun and came across as stressed, though I didn't feel like I was conveying that. After I identified the issue and started loosening up and joking around I was fine.) Maybe you are coming across as just a bit desperate and your personality isn't meshing with the people you talk to. Either way, we'd need to see your resume to give you any better idea of where to go from here, it seems you're a bit apprehensive to post it, which, if your assumption that it is fine holds true, you have nothing to lose. If on the other hand, there is something to be fixed, we can catch it, and again you have nothing to lose. Not really sure why you're so averse to that....
Here is a breakdown of Resume since I'm not sure how to upload it. All the firms already have a copy of it so I can't very well change anything. So I'm more posting this info in hopes that a good strategy might come out of it.
Education: B.S. Finance and Economics, GPA=3.53, Dean's List (Fall '08, Spring '09, Fall '10), Honors Program
CME Group Commodity Trading Challenge: -Team Leader of group competing nation wide electronically trading crude oil and gold
Financial Management Association: -Manager Equity Department Game
Registered Student Organization - Vice President: -Administered the development of a philanthropy benefiting St. Jude Children's Hospital -Coordinated $3500 scholarship for incoming Freshmen -Organized semi-annual banquet for 70+ people -Delegating officer on the Executive Board
Registered Student Organization - New Member Supervisor: -Prepared and executed speeches and lectures to emphasize career goals, academic success, personal growth, and community involvement -Organized organization retreat as a team-building exercise at a local ropes course -Developed a point-performance system as an efficient way to measure a member's commitment and achievement for future leadership consideration
Wall Street Prep: -Financial Modeling, M&A Modeling, LBO Modeling
Other Organizations: -National Association for Business Economics -Golden Key International Honor Society -Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society -Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society -National Society of Collegiate Scholars
I've omitted the name of the Registered Student Organization to help maintain anonymity. It holds approx 80 members and is very prevalent on campus.
while your ECs are pretty impressive, you definitely lack some real internships on ur resume..speaking from personal experience, even an unpaid part-time internship with a local boutique helps a LOT in getting interviews. i would suggest u start from there and build ur way up to BBs. just my thoughts.
I would say lack of real world experience..my tips: instead of saying Wall Street Prep why don't you just just these are the skills I possess.
Definitely don't't
I definitely don't recommend stating "these are the skills I possess...". Leave it as " Wall Street Prep, is a modeling program of strong repute... These are te skills I possess just sounds weird...
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