Who exactly am I supposed to network with?
Let's say I want to work at Lazard, but for some reason, Lazard doesn't come to campus. Where do I begin? Do I just start looking for analysts in the NYC office and email them? How do I even know if they are involved in the recruitment process?
Also, at some networking events, there are a lot of people who are incoming summer analysts who haven't worked at the firm yet, or current seniors going into full time. Should I be talking to them too?
My approach, which worked for me:
Agreed.
Using the Lazard example, should I only contact Lazard analysts that graduated from my school because I assume they would be involved in the recruiting process at my school? Or would it be also fine to reach out to say a kid from Georgetown or Harvard, even though I go to dartmouth or something like that.
Like JuicyJuice said, look for mutual connections. Surely you've networked before?
Go look up the emailing format for the firm that you want to network with - plenty of posts on this on this site. Then I would just go about searching for alumni from your school that work at the said firm on linkedin. Hit them up with the email format based on their name and ask for an informational interview. Some might turn into an instant phone interview (Moelis did this to me etc..) so be ready. Since you are going for a summer internship I would suggest you reach out to current analyst and associates at the firm.
Networking - Who to contact? (Originally Posted: 01/16/2010)
Is it true that networking with people in investment banks, BBs tend to be more successful than networking with MBB/top consulting firms. from what I've gathered MBB is very focused credentials, GPA, etc over what the employees say, and banking the opposite. Is this true? Trying to figure out where to focus calls/emails
Confirmed. I did this for top tier firms, emailed directly the partners and had live interviews in Houston, NYC and Chicago, and landed a job. Cut HR a/k/a Praetorian Guard out of the equation same as you would real estate agents and used car salesmen.
I've worked at a boutique and have seen some ridiculous resume forwarding by Managing Directors. Im talking sub 3.0 GPA and have seen these students actually intern and get positions.
I know 1 student with sub 3.0 GPA from non-target school that got an internship at Mck.
It can happen at consulting firms too.
Out of curiosity, how did these less than stellar candidates perform in their role?
I heard the kid did well
i would not call them less then stellar cause of their grades. My grades slipped my last two years but also because I started a business while playing a D1 sport. So when someone asked me about that it opened up a conversion of starting my biz and what I have learned. I got good feedback from most.
There are fewer positions in consulting to begin with, so it may be harder to land a position there with or without networking.
That said, networking helps in both industries. Know of several people who received jobs/internship interviews through contacts.
I think both are good for networking. I personally know quite a few kids who have broken into BB's like CS, Citi, WF, and JPM for IBD and also MBB through having their resumes forwarded by alums. The only difference it seems is that MBB has many different offices and positions and it may be easier to get into a non-central regional office, whereas the BB's all seem to have general platform offers so its equally hard to get into IBD there.
In any case, networking is good for both, so you shouldn't question whether or not to reach out to people.
IMO, its harder for MBB. This is because unless you get a senior partner or whatever to automatically accept you, networking will only get you interviews. But you have to perform well in the case. In IB, since its just interviews, they can still take you if they like you.
First - look through your internal network, ask family and friends for an introduction. A good introduction can go a long way in any industry.
Second - look through alumni from your college, and send them a short email seeking advice on a specific industry. Let's say an alumni you know works at Lazzard, you should say you're interested in learning more about investment banking.
Third - cold call and cold email. Look through linkedin or the web for contact information, and send them a very short message. Answer two things: Who am I? Why I'm contacting you?
Everyone has their own piece of information to share, so network with everyone you can. However, be mindful of your time. A summer analyst may have good internal knowledge, but he won't be able to offer you a job.
My three top rules to networking: 1.) Always be polite and inquisitive 2.) Do not ask for an internship / job when initiating the conversation 3.) All online contact should lead to a phone call, or in person conversation.
When networking, who do you choose to contact? (Originally Posted: 03/25/2013)
Recently I've started focusing much of spare time on networking. I've done pretty well so far, connecting with alumni and setting up a few informational interviews and such, but most have been analysts/associates.
My question to you is who have you targeted to try and connect with? Should I stick with the analyst/associates, or have fellow monkeys been successful with more senior positioned people? I'm not really familiar with whether or not it is "acceptable" to cold-email an MD or VP, and I just don't want to piss off the wrong person. What say you?
My question is, I assume there are many analysts in the IB division, how do I know which one even has pull? Or do they all have pull? I guess I am just kind of confused as to how to the recruiting process works.
Who has pull is different firm to firm, could be a roundtable with Associates/VP's/Directors/MD's. Or it could be a 360 which encompasses everyone.
My advice would be to cast a wide net, reach out to everyone and anyone. Why limit yourself to only e-mailing some analysts, when you can e-mail them all? Chances are, most of them won't even be free / won't want to chat. Cast a wide net, and talk to anyone willing to give you the time of day.
Some analysts do, and some don't. Every firms recruiting process is different. It's you're job is to figure it out by asking the right questions.
"Who is the best person to contact for an internship at your firm?" "How do I get in contact?" "Do you know that person well?"
"Would you mind introducing me?" "What's the best way to position myself before contacting them?"
higher up gives you more leverage in recruiting (i.e. them pushing for you means more than an analyst pushing for you). always try to start top down in my experience.
Hah isn't that how Will Smith gets ahead in "Pursuit of Happiness"? He gets ticked and just calls the guy at the top of his list and gets lucky
I shoot for the top and then work my way down. You'll find that once you get an MD to speak, he can very easily make an analyst or associate talk to you. Plus, the MD has more pull. Hell, I even tricked a few global heads to speak with me. Shoot for the stars.
cold e-mailing MD's is certainly acceptable. In my experience, the people the highest up were the most friendly and helpful. I've spoken with 2 global heads at BB's, the chief of staff of a major bank and the CFO of one of the worlds top asset managers. All 4 of those people answered my emails as soon as they got them and had me set up meetings through their secretaries. Thats coming from a non-target background with limited resources at these top banks
Thanks for the responses. Time to shoot for the stars
In my personal experience, if you speak with someone you cold emailed and ask for a referral to someone else in the office at the end of the conversation, the person will usually refer you to the analyst who's in charged of the recruitment. I once cold emailed a VP and he directly forwarded my email to the analyst who's in charged. Got a phone screen right afterward.
Whom should I contact in a company to network? (Originally Posted: 01/08/2014)
Hello,
I am in the process of building my alumni network to try to break into ib. My questions are: 1) Whom do I generally contact to find about if they are hiring or to recommend me. Should I go to the ones with the highest ranked position within the company (VPs, MDs) etc? 2) In a company with alumni that are analysts or associates, should I go for them or go for higher position people even if they are not alumni?
Thanks!
makes sense, thanks
Bump.
I'm starting to really dislike your posts because it looks like you can't think for yourself and expect everyone to answer your asinine and commonplace questions for you.
This industry already has too many people who can only follow directions.
Amazing.
@"kidflash" I am not going to reply with an insult or anything. Put yourself in my shoes, I have no investment bankng industry exposure on how things work in the banking industry. I am an actuary that spends hours (4 a day) studying for actuarial exams while working 50 hours a week. I have never needed to network because my stats were good enough. I came here because I want help in taking the first baby steps to get me going and start my investment banking position search and I am pretty sure someone taught you what I am asking right now. So yeah, thanks.
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