About

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 hire entry-level analysts and associates. 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 breaking 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 insiders who have worked in the industry.
• 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 layoffs - and how to find work again if you get the axe.
• 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 all about numbers, Excel, and advanced math.

There’s some truth to that, but ultimately it is a social industry where your success depends on convincing people that you can do the work… and that you’re likable at the same time.

In other words, breaking into investment banking is about persuading people to know, 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.

Sign up for free updates right here.

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 incredibly selective.

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 increasingly difficult 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 bankers, traders, and consultants.

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 spoken about 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 (back before they became toxic).

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.

After spending a year studying at Yonsei University in Seoul, Jerry is now attending The Lauder Institute at Wharton. You can read an interview with him here.

You can also listen to podcasts Jerry recorded on Sales & Trading Recruiting and Sales & Trading: On The Job right 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, went to Harvard Business School, and is now a venture capitalist.

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. Currently he is working at Shopkick, a Kleiner Perkins-backed mobile startup.

He has spoken about management consulting and recruiting at leading universities and business schools, including:

• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School
• Yale University

Eric Hu grew up on basketball and online video games. That made for a great childhood, but a not-so-great college application – so he ended up attending the University of California, San Diego, a “non-target” school that doesn’t exist in the eyes of Wall Street.

Despite his handicap, he outwitted Ivy Leaguers in the recruiting process and broke into investment banking – where he worked with a range of eccentric Internet CEOs while indulging in $30 daily dinner gluttony.

Once he got tired of the food and wanted to go to sleep before 4 AM on a regular basis, he moved into the corporate development department of a large Internet company, where he has focused on M&A, business development, and expansion into China.

Mergers & Inquisitions has over 6,000 subscribers and over 100,000 monthly visitors, and is regularly featured in sites and publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Private Equity Hub, eFinancialCareers, and Dealbreaker.

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