What to say to an MD at a 16B hedge fund when you're from a non-target?

Dude, the fact that he wants to talk to you is amazing! You have a very good shot, you have good grades and have pretty decent experience. I would go into the call with an optimistic mindset. Anything is possible, don't discount your abilities solely based on the fact that you went to a non-target....that's bullshit. We all know its all about "connects" in this industry.

Good luck.

1) Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right! - Henry Ford 2) Who cares why he's reaching out? His expectations are of no concern to you and impossible to tell. 3) Show him you know your shit, there should be an opportunity for you to show that during the conversation. Don't suck his dick...act like it's their loss if they don't hire you, but don't be cocky either. Don't apologize for Big4 Valuation, I don't care if a candidate is from McDonald's so long as they know their finance. Know the fund really well, know current finance events really well, and have some investment ideas (artfully steer the conversation to finance news you know...HF guys love talking about the markets, where to allocate money, etc.)

you should ask him ass or mouth.

In addition to above, let him talk about himself. As a PM at a multi billion dollar hedge fund, his is king swinging dick, and these guys love to talk about themselves. Pick his brain, and actually listen to what he has to say. Find a common interest..golf, sports, etc. He doesn't want some nerd from valuations at Big 4, but make him realize you are more than that.

And yes I know what I am talking about, I worked at a fund about this size as an analyst ...so it was either the fund you are going to talk to the PM at or a short list of a few others.

I'm at one of the major ($15-30Bn) blue chip equity/credit hedge funds, and I can say that even though there are a ton of people here who were MD in x/y/z group at GS/MS/JPM via Oxbridge/Harvard, there are also a bunch of guys with non traditional backgrounds (from accountants to consultants), who just have a certain 'it' factor, and are seriously good at what they do. The pedigreed guys are not necessarily the best.

If I was you, i'd firstly be listening to what he says and answering anything he asks you. Beyond that, i'd be asking about the kind of strategy/analysis he/his group does, and if he could offer you any advice for an analyst career path. There are two realistic scenarios:

1 - he's talking to you purely because his boss told him to.

2 - he's interested in hiring you.

(1) means that if you are decent/humble and impress him, even if he's not hiring, next time someone he knows does (and a lot of this goes through word of mouth), you may get a call. (2) means, well, that's obvious.

Worse case scenario, you get to ask a few questions from someone very experienced and successful.

And re: your point of not feeling worthy - Nobel prize winners are not all Harvard graduates; nor are top hedge fund managers. Pedigree gets you in the door, intelligence and hard work takes you the rest of the way. This business is not kind to those who cannot deliver the goods...

Thanks for the response guys. Just to let you know, because you've all mentioned the "don't let pedigree/experience stop you" - I've had more than one experience where through my network I've been able to get my resume into a Credit Fund/Mezzanine etc - and the feedback has been "Sorry you don't have Banking, we're only looking for Post 2 year banking" at the analyst level. So that has totally thrown off my mindset of where/what I should be looking to break into, and what's realistic or not.

Also maybe I'm incredibly awkward on the phone, but I find it hard to talk about sports/golf right after speaking first time on the phone - half the time it always seems like the other person needs to go, or I'm worried about taking too much time.

And do you guys think it makes sense to throw into my story that I actively pursued Banking/ High Yield Research etc in 2009 but the economy got in the way? (Which is true, I was interviewing at Merrill/Lehman at the time.) Or just speak about the NOW?

go in with stock pitch or have a model to show him. you have to demonstrate your interest instead of just saying it. dont fuck up

The key is to show you have what it takes to succeed in this type of firm. Like someone said above some of the guys seem to have "it" and you need show you are one of these guys. My first piece of advice is stop worrying so much about your akwardness or how much time you are taking, the worst that can happen is the PM says he needs to run and you thank him for his time. Otherwise, I would pick his brain and be insightful as possible. I don't know when your call is but you really need to learn as much as you can about him and the firm. This should make it much easier to steer the conversation and avoid transition gaps. I would say you interviewed at some top firms for banking positions but don't linger on it. Move on to what you are currently doing and how your skills would translate over.

As far as talking about sports/gold it won't be too difficult. He will definitely ask you to tell him about yourself. Make sure to come across as interesting and well rounded. This will make for an easy transition to a lighter conversation. Mention a few exciting trips you have taken or sports you've played and hopefully something common will be found. If it isn't, then after you guys have the work part of the conversation just ask him what he likes to do away from work and then make sure you like to do the same things :).

Good luck man, let us know how it goes.

thats it. have pitch ready . google the guy and get a part of his story . tie it in with yours and charms his pants off. btw i'm looking to switch into big4 valuation role. would like to convo with you about the job, skill set needed , what to know and how to be impressive to seniors and co. your input would be most useful. Also hw was the training for you and what books would be a good prep for the interview and the job

The point of a target school is to open up networking options.....if you're talking to the MD, then mission accomplished. Now it's about how good you are. How good......are you?

It all comes down to your skills man. Did you dick around at the big 4 valuation or have you reached finance nirvana?

Dude this is a great opportunity.

I'd love to repeat what I've read from other posts -- having an Ivy degree can help, but its ultimately about the person. Warren Buffett left Wharton and finished up at Nebraska -- did that impact him negatively? Why not?

Goodluck, and when you're running your own major fund and need an assistant to get you coffee with an ivy league degree, hit me up!

Thanks for the overwhelming positive energy here guys.

B/c there's a really fine line in being annoying versus being eager and I don't want this opportunity to pass- if he wrote to me late Wednesday night "Would you have a moment over the coming days to speak by phone?" and I responded Thursday Morning 10AM, "...Absolutely, does anytime Friday work for you?" and he has yet to respond - do I email again today and suggest next week if he's busy, or just wait until Monday to see if I hear from him and reach out then? Is there a chance he just forgot I emailed back and I should remind him with another email?

In reality I would like to think this stuff is all nitty gritty, and there's no way if he wanted to talk yesterday, he won't want to talk next week - but you never know with some of these guys...

I would wait till monday and just shoot him another email. Don't worry too much about being annoying. It just shows you're hungry for a chance.

Wow, what a big fail, I never even spoke to him yet - does anybody have any advice what to do?

On July 20, Wednesday at 11:30PM, I received this message "XXXXX, a friend of XXXXX, passed on to me a copy of your resume. I’d like to introduce myself and XXXX (insert 16B firm). Would you have a moment over the coming days to speak by phone? "

I responded July 21, Thursday Morning 10AM, "...does anytime tomorrow work for you?" - No response I then sent another email yesterday, Monday July 25, at 9:30AM "...I'm available anytime this week, very much looking forward." - No response to this either

So now, I guess wait until tomorrow/Thursday morning? and then either send a 3rd email, or just call Thursday? His number is on the email signature...

I understand these guys are busy, but if he reached out, and he really is busy to write back, he won't be bothered that I call, right? Any advice? It's so funny, I wonder if these guys realize how much emotions they can make 1 other random person feel, and how much power they have over little Monkeys' professional careers

Agree with the above - call him, and ask when is a convenient time to speak - he'll either say now, or give you a time. Best of luck.

Appreciate the advice above. I'll let you know how it goes - Idk why I'm "scared", its ridiculous. I guess I'm afraid he'll be like "clearly I'm busy, I'll let you know, but please don't bother me"

I would recommend you calling him at 7:30-8am on Friday. It's the last day of the week, you're more likely to get him and not his secretary as well. If he doesn't answer, then leave a time on his voicemail of when you called, why "to chat briefly about the firm" and throw in nifty statement about the market, something from the morning news/journal or a 30-second thought on the debt crisis. Before hanging up, say you'll call back at 11am or 2:30. His secretary may get summer Friday's and be gone at 2:30.

Don't ask for a job... ask for advice on your resume, his thoughts on the probability of your profile making a transition to a place like his and if you can get a 10-min coffee chat next week.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Yeah you should call Thurs or Fri. And as far as being scared, you need to get over it quickly. Theres a chance this doesn't work out. Then you find someone else and call them. Keep working towards what you want & eventually you will get it.

Finally just called - secretary put him on, he apologized for not getting back b/c of earnings season, said call him back Friday midday.

Wish he could have just sent me that via e-mail, would have saved me a lot of wondering.

I'm nobody, need to remind myself that.

Email is a much less personal form of communication than the phone, especially when it's a person you haven't met.

It's not that you're a nobody, it's that your email is not the center of his universe. You have to reach out and grab people.

Jesus just talk to the guy. I'm the king of over thinking situations like this and every good outcome I have had was a result of talking to the person on the other line like a person. Relate with him and don't ask him for anything, he'll offer it to you if he likes you.

four simple words to live by: don't be an idiot

Dwight: Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, "Would an idiot do that?" And if they would, I do not do that thing.

In midst of call, we've been talking for 20, said something just came up, call him back in 40. He started with "people speak very highly of you."

He reached out to me, but b/c I called him now, I have no time to ask him questions - he keeps firing away.

Why aren't you trying to do I-banking instead of talking to me? What is your take on debt ceiling? What are you investing in and why? All while he's eating lunch in the background, so I get no feedback, and he asks another question :/

I'll let you know how it goes after I call back.

He's just testing you. Be confident, man.

So it went unfortunately, how I would have more likely expected...based on what other people have said as well.

We spent another 30 minutes, and he put someone on who was covering the AMC Cablevision Spinoff that I mentioned as a trade idea, and then asked me on Visa numbers which I suggested as well.

Ultimately after an hour of talking all together, he said: Listen, you're at XXX. People don't just make the switch to Hedge Fund. I would suggest you get into an I-Banking program, because you need to be involved in transactions, you need to be a part of the 'wall street community' and at XXXX you are just not a part of it. He said he would say equity research too, or if not analyst program then an MBA and Associate to be in Banking first. He said that without banking, people (im assuming him too) just look at me as someone who needs to be trained, and everyone here wants to make money not train people. What do banking analysts learn about event driven investing, that I wouldn't learn here on my own time anyways?

So there's that. With a good recommendation from a PM at another fund (family friend) to the part owner of this 16B fund to him - it just wasn't enough. He kept mentioning that bottom line I need a bank's pedigree. What a downer. I have an actual interview at a 2B fund next week though, so on to the next one

Ask him out for a drink and bring a lot of tail with you. Just be yourself.

I just wanted to make a quick comment, thou I probably shouldn't giving any advice. Anyways from the sound of it things didn't go the way you were hoping for because you were lacking the experience, but first you needed that knowledge for that experience if that made any sense. I would suggest taking as a best effort test and improving on what you now know you have to improve on, that all being said you WERE given a opportunity, so learn and work even harder to create more of those opportunities.

That's unfortunate - but well done, not many people can survive a grilling from a hedge fund PM/analyst - a lot of the more senior guys in hedge funds aren't familiar with the model whereby people go direct to the buyside. I think you need to pursue a few leads now:

1 - thank him for his time, do two things: a - tell him you want to follow his advice, and ask him if he'd be willing to help you make some connections on the sellside (IBD, ER). If he's at a major hedge fund, he should have senior guys at every BB who are dying to do him a favor. Just ask if he'd be willing to make an introduction and see if you can get an interview. b - try and work him into the mentor role - keep him up to date on what you're doing - then when you get an interview at another fund, you can use him as a referee. The big hedge funds tend to be very clique-ey, and a recommendation from this guy may be enough to sway an interview.

2 - just continue cracking away looking for roles in hedge funds.

Best of luck!