When is the "standard" time to apply to an analyst position in investment banking with a non standard background?
I graduated this May and took a job at a large commercial bank (BOA, CITI, Wells) doing a credit analyst training program. I realized way too late in college that I wanted to do investment banking so I just decided to land some sort of finance job and try to transition down the road.
I have spent the past few months learning modeling, etc to prepare for upcoming investment banking interviews, but now I'm kind of lost on how I go about applying. Everything I read applies to SAs and not really people who are out of college. Is there a "standard" time period when I should start applying? I really want to start applying ASAP. Any help would be appreciated.
From someone who is doing the same thing coming from an even more untraditional background (pre-med), I would say there is no truth in "applying" at any point. Your opportunities, and those that I am also working on getting, are all through virtue of networking. We would most likely be "off-cycle" analysts. It is less common in the US, but it does happen. Would definitely say don't look for online job apps but get on the phone w. alum in the space. You have SOME finance exp (your current job). Use that to tell a story.
Point being that the true relevant opportunities that are of interest to YOU in this situation are most likely not going to be publicized but are going to go through banks internally.
Is LinkedIn is the best way to set up a phone call? Do you try to connect with analysts first?
Go to your college's LinkedIn page, then go to alum, then filter by "investment banking". Some schools also have an alumni database, which I cannot speak to. Reach out to analysts, associates, VP, MD - everyone! It helps if you have alum in the space, but I have had traction just cold emailing. Definitely don't message like 5 people in a 10 person regional office. Look into the cold emailing threads on this site. Bankers, from my experience, typically understand your motives with these things. Be cool, ask good questions, forge a relationship, and pray that somehow someway you've bettered your situation by that call. It's a long game, man. There will always be forces such as luck that act in highly mysterious ways too. Also, it may be helpful also if you post a little bit about your background, because I personally have no idea what stats/ school you need for the credit analyst position. The only reason I say that is because 1) school will give a sense of your most proximate network 2) GPA is a just a quick proxy that everyone seems to use 3) Major.
Most importantly, I would say to enjoy life. I do some work for a family run startup right now, so I have a lot of free time. I'm sure your hours are decently long, but take those extra hours for family, friends, and yourself. This period of life may only exist once.
I appreciate the advice, thanks man. I went to a semi-target, 3.8 GPA, studied finance. In college IB didn't appeal to me initially, so I applied to a bunch of random finance internships (including this credit one) to kind of test the waters and see what I liked. Senior year I started to get more serious about my long term career and I realized that shit I actually want to do IB but kind of missed the boat on applying. So I took this job and came in with an open mind, but it's just not that interesting tbh. Pretty relaxed work environment. Which for some people is great. It's just not for me.
Nice - 3.8 semi target sounds really good to me. Just get to networking! Talk to banks of all sizes, boutique, MM, BB, EB. A semi-target probably has people all around IB. While we are on the topic, in my research I think there's 4 probable ways to get into IBD. 1) SA (doesn't matter) 2) MFin (Vandy/MIT type) 3) Post MBA Associate 4) Off Cycle Analyst I think you'll be fine, just be authentic on calls and welcoming of all opportunities. I think this forum skews the perception to BB/EB or bust, but I think if you truly want to start off in IB then anywhere will be just fine. Best of luck as you set out on creating this next chapter of life for yourself and lmk if there are any other things I can provide anecdotally to help too.
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