I am a college student now and I would like to know what it is that Investment Banks look for when hiring a young college student like myself? Is it a specific college major, gpa? Also what are the most useful college degrees the financial industry looks for to hire somebody?
Thank You.
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Guys, be nice. This one's too young/clueless to count as prey.
They look for kids who look like they know how to bend over and take it.
They look for people who can work long hours, are dependable at all times for relatively routine tasks, and intelligent enough to be able to crunch numbers and navigate complex models on occasion.
The hard part is figuring out how exactly to demonstrate these traits. A high GPA demonstrates (potentially) diligence and intellect, leadership positions show initiative and management skills, but ultimately it comes down to two things. You need someone to vouch for you - e.g. a professor vouches for you to an alum who happens to be an MD; that MD vouches for you after confirming everything your professor said by interviewing you. And you have to be a good "fit," which is more random and not entirely within your control.
So yeah, 3.8+ GPA in a quantitative major, great recommendations and superior people skills. Just remember at all times that it's really not supposed to be easy.
First off thank you for taking the time and helping me out. Unlike some people on the forum. Second if I am majoring in Computer Engineering (hardware) can i still be qualified for the financial industry? Maybe eventually get a CFA certification also?
Unlike some people on the forum? Stop being a little bitch, bitch.
On a more helpful note, CFA doesn't do shit for IB. You'll either break into IB or not before you're able to attain the CFA. And to the people who say you can get a CFA level 1 in college, a CFA is only impressive if its a real CFA (level 3), there are much better ways to show initiative.
Doesn't really matter what your major is. All it means is that you have to do more work on your own to learn what the finance kids have learned in classes. Use the M&I training courses - they're quite good. Know financial statements inside and out and be able to answer the technical questions you get in interviews. CFA doesn't mean anything in the IB world. But yeah, like the others have mentioned, attitude is key. This job absolutely sucks sometimes, but you're expected to take it all without losing your poker face.
Most important factors in getting IB or banking jobs? (Originally Posted: 07/04/2011)
Hey guys, I'm a true noob at wall-street related business, so I would really appreciate any help I can get here :)
I'm about to start my sophomore year at USC as a business major (planning to do finance concentration) and I was wondering, in order to get a good IB internship/job or just about any finance related job, what are the important factors I should take care of, and what factors are not so important? From reading around, I have gotten the fact that networking is the most important, so I will definitely try to take care of that. But how important are the following other factors?:
1) GPA 2) extracurriculars 3) freshman/sophomore year internships 4) intensity of courseload 5) minor(s) 6) undergraduate school
thank you in advance
A giant bulge in your pants.
(In the front, just to be clear.)
Fuck. Are you telling me I've had the rolled-up sock tucked in the wrong place all these years?
1) GPA - definitely important..above 3.5 at least 2) EC's - somewhat important but you're probably better off spending your time networking 3) internships are a vital part of receiving an offer in IB..freshman or sophomore internships can better position yourself for a BB internship your junior summer 4) intensity of courseload - not sure what you mean here but not relatively important as long as you're learning the finance 5) minor - not important, can give you an extra edge but don't ruin your gpa for one 6) UG school - very important. USC is a good school and you can probably get offers for BB's on the west coast if you bust your ass.
In order of importance: 1. GPA and Undergrad (equal in importance) 2. Internships 3. ECs 4. Courseload intensity 5. Minor
GPA gets you through the screening, then, it's all about you. You need to show your the cool guy that's going to work 90hrs a week and still be cool about it.
1) Undergrad 2) Extracurricular / Internships 3) GPA
Like Dibbs said, GPA gets you through the screening. However, typically anything north of 3.5 will get you into anything. But as they look through your resume, you need something to jump out at them. If you are ranked in karate, put that down. If you have a sailing license, put that down. You will have to differentiate yourself from other kids at your school from the moment the resume hits the recruiter's desk.
So extracurriculars should ideally be something that "stands out" instead of finance-related things? So is it useless for me to join business clubs and stuff like that?
Interested to know the answer to this as well. If you intend to do internships in finance anyway, is it even necessary to be a part of the business/finance clubs?
I think joining business/finance clubs makes sense if you aren't a business/finance major. If you're engineering or along those lines, then you want to show your interest by doing these activities. However, it probably doesn't make sense to list that you're in a finance club if you're a finance major unless you hold a leadership position.
^ Thanks. But, what if you're an Economics major? [My school does offer a 'Financial Economics' major, but it's just a less quantitative + 3 finance courses version of the Economics major, so I'm not too interested in it.]
Depends. Does your school have a business undergraduate program? If so, then I would say join the finance club. If not, then I wouldn't bother, since most econ majors at your school would be gunning for finance anyway.
Another factor I would put forth is the strength of your network. If you feel you are behind others you should reach out to alumni and take a trip to meet them and chat. They will pull for you. If you are from a semi-target, non-target this is one of the most important early steps. GPA is important but it is just a hurdle to be cleared. Once you've cleared it move on to the next obstacle.
smart enough to tie your own shoelaces (but ideally not much smarter), absolute workhorse, takes it up the ass at any time of the day without ever complaining, great attitude towards sucking cock of superiors and doing mundane work.
What does investmentbanks look for (Originally Posted: 02/17/2017)
Hello!
Dont know if this is the right forum to be asking this question but ill give it a a try. Im about to pick an University in about six months and i was set to take a major in finance, but after reading that over 8700 people is examined each year in my rather small country im beginning to have doubts if thats the right way to get a future employment on a investmentbank in the future. So my question is really:
Is there any university study that the investmentsbanks is looking for in particular?
Best wishes Nick
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