What’s Stopping You From Breaking Into Finance?
Sure, the market is terrible. Hiring is way down. Hey, some banks no longer exist!
But no matter how bad it gets, firms always need to make a certain number of entry-level hires. And at the mid and top levels, there’s always turnover.
So what’s stopping you from breaking in?
Context.
Context – knowing what it’s really like getting into the industry and working there – separates those who get in and advance from those who struggle and never get anywhere.
Existing resources miss the mark because they’re not written by industry insiders, and because they don’t give candid advice on what to do and what not to do.
Mergers & Inquisitions is all about helping you:
- Learn what people in finance actually do – from people who have worked in the field.
- Network your way in without embarrassing yourself or wasting time on ineffective strategies.
- Craft a winning resume and land interviews wherever you want.
- Develop your “story,” ace your interviews and land offers.
- Maintain your sanity once you get into the industry.
- Avoid getting laid off – or find work again if you are.
- Land exit opportunities – whether in private equity, hedge funds, or something else altogether.
All you need to do is take action based on what you learn here.
What Finance is Really About… and How You Can Break In
You might think that finance is about numbers, Excel, and advanced math. There’s some truth to that, but ultimately it is a social industry where your success lies in convincing people that you can do the work… and that you’re likable at the same time.
In other words, breaking into a career in business is all about persuading people to like and trust you – whether that’s in your conversations with them, in your applications, in your interviews, or on the job itself.
Mergers & Inquisitions teaches you how to do that – through detailed how-to articles, case studies, interviews, and questions & answers from readers.
Life in a Post-Bailout Economy
Anyone who wants to break in these days faces a landscape that has changed radically from the boom years of 2004-2007: hiring is down, some firms no longer exist, and even the ones that are hiring are more selective than ever before.
So if you’re serious about breaking into the industry, you need the advice on Mergers & Inquisitions more than ever these days.
You can’t just be “good enough” and hope you get something – you need to be exceptional and actively pursue whatever it is you’re after.
The industry itself will continue as long as companies need to raise capital and buy and sell assets – but it will be harder than ever to break in.
So make sure you sign up for free updates.
About The Team
Mergers & Inquisitions was created in 2007 by a team of financiers, consultants, and entrepreneurs from Stanford University.
Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions. In the late 90’s, he had the brilliant idea to start his own Internet company in the midst of the dot-com bust. When that didn’t go so well, he decided that retreating to Stanford would be his best option.
Realizing that he didn’t want to be an engineer after having already finished half the major, he hopped between nonprofits, tech consulting, and other business roles before fleeing the country and moving to Japan for half a year.
The next logical move seemed to be investment banking, where he managed to stay put for a few years before leaving to start this site and other ventures. Currently, he travels around the world while running a series of online businesses from internet cafes.
He has been a guest speaker on business, finance, and recruiting at leading universities and business schools around the world, including:
- Harvard University
- Peking University
- Stanford University
- University of Maryland
- University of Virginia
- University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School
- Yale University
You can follow him on Twitter right here.
Jerry Chi originally had aspirations of becoming an NBA star. When he was passed over in the draft, he decided that going to college strictly for educational purposes would be a better idea. He later enrolled at Stanford University, where he studied business and finance and fell in love with Japan after studying abroad there twice.
Following graduation, he returned to Japan and worked on the equities and fixed income trading desks of major US and European investment banks in Tokyo, specializing in credit derivatives trading.
When the credit crunch hit, he fled to China and founded his own prop trading firm in Beijing, successfully growing the company and selling it in early 2009.
Jerry currently lives in Seoul and is completing further education at Yonsei University. He will be attending The Lauder Institute at Wharton starting in spring 2010. You can read an interview with him here.
Ed Fu grew up in Taiwan, where he discovered the Internet and built his first website on GeoCities using Microsoft Notepad.
Lured by the riches of the dot-com IPOs, he moved to the US to study computer science at Cornell University, only to realize that tech companies were going bust left and right. After a few painful years in musty computer labs, he decided he really didn’t want to be an engineer.
Thinking quickly, he re-positioned himself and headed to Stanford University to complete a Master’s degree there and enter the world of business.
He worked as an Associate in technology investment banking before moving into venture capital.
Ed is currently attending Harvard Business School, where he is focused on his own educational and career-related business ventures.
Kevin Gao is the Founder of Management Consulted, the web’s leading resource on management consulting. Before graduating from Stanford, he had dreams of becoming the next Hong Kong action movie star.
But when he lost the lead role in Rush Hour 2 to Jackie Chan, he went back to school and used the experience to work in technology, sales & trading, and management consulting across North America, Asia, and South America.
Since leaving McKinsey, he has been focused on several startup and online ventures, including Yap’d and Management Consulted.
He has been a guest speaker at leading universities and business schools, including:
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School
- Yale University
Mergers & Inquisitions has over 4,000 subscribers and over 100,000 monthly visitors, and is regularly featured in sites and publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Private Equity Hub, and Dealbreaker.
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