Why Not Even a Boutique Investment Bank Will Hire You – And What to Do About It

“It’s soooo easy to work at a boutique bank, all you do is cold call them and submit your resume and you’re set.”

“If I have a 2.0 GPA and no work experience, boutiques will still hire me, right?”

“I’m applying to bulge brackets, middle market banks, and boutiques. Can you rank my chances at all of them? Also, can you rank the banks, schools, Excel macros, and the models in AJ’s video?”

No, no, and no.

I’ve got some bad news for you: you’re not good enough to get hired, even at a boutique bank.

I know this because I recently went through a hiring experiment of my own: searching for associate editors and finance wizards.

While this site may not be a boutique bank exactly, the similarities are striking: scarce resources, revenue in a similar range, a relentless focus on ROI, and 150+ applicants for only 1-2 open positions.

I learned enough through doing this to tell you exactly what you need to get hired by a bank – and what you need to get hired by me in the future, if we’re on the lookout for more help.

Want to Write for M&I – or Become a Finance Wizard?

Yup, we’re hiring.

Or maybe not “hiring,” but “looking for more contributors” since you’ll be working with me, not for me.

There 2 positions available – Associate Editor and Finance Wizard (you may want to change that second one when you list it on your resume).

Here’s what each one involves, and how you can apply:

Mergers & Inquisitions 3.0

Almost 2 years ago today, we launched a new design for Mergers & Inquisitions that took the site from “hobby” land into “this might actually be a real business” territory.

And then a few weeks later the financial crisis struck and several large banks disappeared.

Hopefully that won’t happen this time around – because we’re launching version 3.0 today.

Here’s what’s new and how you can get tons of exclusive content for free: