Recruiters Not Getting Back to You? Here’s Probably Why
Although an investment banking recruiter may reach out with a connection request on Linkedin or send an a email regarding a position, it does not always mean that you’re a perfect fit for their open roles.
Recruiting On-Campus Will Super Suck This Year and Here’s Why
On-Campus recruiting for investment banking has always been somewhat brutal. You arrive back to school in late August, early September bright eyed and bushy tailed, happy to see your friends, new laptop charged, #2 pencils sharpened, ready to tackle Economics and then WHAMMO!X$% you spot a flyer out of the corner of your eye – Goldman Sachs IBD is coming to campus next Monday. MONDAY – WTAF. You were literally on the beach last week and you’re still wearing flip- flops. Guess what, your summer is officially over and recruiting season has begun.
Everyone Gets an Offer After Their Summer Internship?… Right?!?
No offer after your summer internship? It does happen. Some years it happens a lot. For instance the 2020 Covid summer, the 2011 World Financial Crisis Summer, or further back the 1998 currency meltdown / Russian debt crisis. Some years it is a...
How to Be a Stand-Out Candidate During Interview Process
In addition to technical aptitude, investment banks are also looking for very specific qualitative characteristics in the candidates that they interview. Although some of these qualities may be listed in the job description, unfortunately most are not. The good news is that these soft-skills are pretty standard across most banks. You can prep the technical all you want, but your real key to getting an offer is to utilize your resume, cover letter and interview to highlight as many of these qualitative traits as possible.
How to Recover from a Bad Job Interview
Uh Oh, I’m Pretty Sure I Just Bombed My Interview. Sometimes, no matter how much you prepare for an investment banking interview, something goes wrong. Maybe you didn’t sleep well or woke up with an awful headache. Maybe you got stuck in an elevator (yes this really happened to one of my clients). Maybe the MD you are interviewing with just lost a mandate or she missed her train. Maybe there was a long line at Starbucks or they were out of chocolate croissants. Who knows? If the interview feels weird, it probably was weird.
Ghosted by HR, Now What?
In recruiting, as IRL, ghosting is NEVER a good sign. If you have not heard from HR, a hiring manager or the recruiter within a week of your last interaction, you probably won’t be getting an offer. If you do eventually hear from the firm, you probably were NOT their first choice. As you start to negotiate an offer, their lukewarm vibes will be apparent. I understand this is NOT what you want to hear. In investment banking recruiting, no news is most likely bad news.
5 Epic Investment Banking Job Interview Fails
Congratulations, you’ve made it through the resume screening process and now you have a couple of investment banking interviews lined-up. As a recruiter, I often hear candidates bragging about where they are interviewing. Wake up. Just because you snag an interview slot does not mean that you are a shoe-in for the job. Now is not the time to kick-back and relax.
Networking Your Way Into a Buy-side Job
Unless you are starting your own fund or have a family member doing so, some sort of networking will be a crucial component of landing a great job on the buy-side. As we’ve discussed previously, recruiters frequently get...
Top Asian Investment Banks in the United States
Unfortunately Asian investment banks do not really take cold calls. Either you have guanxi (your dad is someone important in the Han elite) or you get in through the front door with a prestigious school, excellent grades in a quantitative discipline and fluent Mandarin Chinese.
How To Land An Off Cycle Internship in Investment Banking?
Off cycle internships are a great way for career switchers and recent grads to break into investment banking.