Hey ibankers,
I am 1.5 years out of undergrad working in industry (strategy role). I want to move into an ibanking analyst role, but the battle has been uphill. Every role listing seems to require previous ibanking experience of some sort, which I clearly do not have.
Everyone tells me networking is going to be the best shot for me to get. I have sent out emails of interest to chat, but do not get very many responses. I have seen previous threads on templates and such, but I just wanted to know, for everyone in ibanking currently, what would you like to see in an email that would get you to pass a resume along to the recruiter/refer a candidate that you do not know and is not in the industry? Also, what level (analyst, associate, VP, etc.) should I be targeting?
Not in a cocky way or anything, but I know I can do the job. I pick things up fast, I work hard, and I know the sacrifices people make to work in banking and I am more than willing to do that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your responses.
What types of banks have you been targeting? Or what are the names of a few? I think it would be better to target Lower middle market or smaller boutique firms
Thank you for the response. I have been targeting BB bracket for the most part across cities along with well-known MM banks and boutiques. My goal is to go into PE after 2-3 years, based on what everyone seems to say, I need to be at a relatively well-known bank. Which is why I have only been targeting these. Obviously, to break into ibanking, I should be targeting LMM but then I am worried about PE prospects.
Unless you have experience working on larger acquisitions and similar projects, would say your best bet is targeting MM known boutiques and smaller LMM boutiques
BBs are very competitive to break into without prior IB experience or out of MBA at your level of experience. I get what your goals are but you need to make effective use of your time and be realistic. There are plenty of LMM PE firms that are very good at what they do, and you will get great operational experience depending on where you go as well
You'll be targeting analyst roles, which is the lowest rung but the usual entry point for someone either straight out of school or with a couple years of non-IB experience.
It's not the email that gets you a pass along to recruiters, it's the info chat itself - if you have a decent resume and we have a nice chat, then that gets your resume passed along. There might not always be openings though, so one thing you may want to do is just look for openings and then apply and follow up with alumni at that bank/office. If you're not getting very many responses, there could be a number of reasons: are you contacting alumni, or just anyone? Is your email short and succinct but makes a good polite ask? Are you a competitive candidate in the first place?
Might also be a good idea to hit up headhunters for IB's like the usual finance suspects - SG Partners, Glocap, HSP, etc.
I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way, but you should stop using the term "ibanking" it sounds very cringe. Just say banking or investment banking. I feel like your response rate to cold emails will improve just by changing this.
Lol no worries. I type out investment banking in all of my emails. Just being lazy on the forum and wrote ibanking. But will make sure I don't get into a habit of that.
It may also help to target lower MM firms simply because they probably have less structured recruiting programs and are more willing to take recommendations. It would be a little awkward for anyone that isn't an Associate or above at a BB to pass along a resume unsolicited from HR. Being 1.5 years out of school most of your network is likely at the Analyst level. Utilizing any analysts at LMM / MM banks will help from a strictly numbers game perspective as well.
was curious about this as well. thanks for posting
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