Tips for Upcoming Coffee Chats?
Hey guys!
I'll be grabbing coffee with a few analysts, associates, and VPs from a couple BBs next month (PB/PWM, all separate meetings) and hoped to get some advice to be as memorable as possible going into recruitment for next summer.
More info:
- I've already had one or more conversations over phone call with each of the people I'll be meeting with.
- I'm recruiting to be a first-year analyst off-cycle, currently a first-year analyst in corporate finance.
Thank you all in advance!
Besides making yourself stand out in regards to work, I would find something besides work to connect with them on, such as a sports team that you both have in common, music that you like, instruments that you play, and so on. That will help them remember you more than if you were just another young person wanting an internship/job.
Second this. The best chats I had were with people where we had things in common. Helps immensely.
Very true! I'll be sure to check my call notes with them all and try to be authentic in my approach. I know I should be as prepared as possible, but do you feel I could be hit with some potential softball interview questions? I.e. "How do you feel about the state of the economy, recession fears, international markets, etc." or even fit questions?
Regardless of how comfortable they try to make you, you are being judged on basically everything in all interactions. Especially the softball questions / cultural fit / hobbies type discussion.
Anything is fair game, I have seen people use it to ask a bunch of technical questions. I've also seen people just chat about hiking Machu Picchu the whole time.
Pretty unlikely, but be prepared just in case
AUTHENTICITY.
Don’t be a little brown noser, be prepared on fundamentals/technicals but most importantly you want them leaving thinking, “Man, I wish that person worked on my team.”
Last, HAVE A FOLLOW UP. Worst thing you can do is leave the meeting with no set follow up then you’re stuck sending the, “thank you for your time.” Email to which they’ll respond, “you’re welcome.”
Thank you for the reply! You're very right, too easy to catch someone kissing ass and not actually being interested. I definitely want to leave that impression of them wanting me on their team.
In regards to the follow up, can you elaborate on a possible example? What else can I add to a follow up email along with thanking them for their time? Sounds like great advice, just gotta formulate it while keeping it natural.
Could be anything... just make sure you set it DURING THE COFFEE MEETING ie
Keep the ask simple and make sure it's not a big time commitment on their end. They'll appreciate that and be more willing to help.
Just be normal. You want to be someone that they won't mind being around for 80-90 hours a week while you move punctuation around in powerpoint or reformat spreadsheets or whatever else bankers do at 2 am on a Saturday.
You do not know more about banking than they do so there is no need to try to impress them with your knowledge. Be direct with your resume and your accomplishments, ask them tons of questions because people like hearing themselves talk, and try to talk about other things outside of banking.
As with all networking, you should be aiming to make friends, not "connections." People help out their friends and go to bat for them. They don't really remember their connections' names.
Thank you for replying! Being authentic and normal is definitely crucial. Gotta find that middle ground of showing interest but not being annoying at the same time.
I'm creating a list of open-ended questions to ask to keep them talking. I've definitely caught myself talking more in some chats so I'll need to back off a bit for sure.
And you're right, having the mindset of making friends, not connections, can definitely be a difference maker. I'm glad I'll be meeting with some analysts that are my age, will definitely bring comfort as I meet with more senior people. Thanks for the advice!
Don't expect people to be on your schedule. I was at an event the Friday before last, and agreed to a coffee with a random student at a time to be determined later to explain the industry (it was not a job fair, it was a serious CFAi event) He didn't say anything for a week, then emailed me at 4pm last Friday (the day after Thanksgiving!) and when I didn't respond, he emailed me again at 4pm Monday. I'm sorry, but my schedule just filled up.
Very true!! I've let everyone know that I'll be flying in the 19th and will be there for a few days. I've ended those emails/calls with, "No worries if you're not available. I'd still love to catch up Q1 if you've got bandwidth," or something along those lines. Most of them have been available/more than willing to talk if they won't be in town.
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