Some Travel Plans, A Chance to Meet Me, a FAQ and an Upcoming Surprise
This is a bit of a “random announcement” post, but I couldn’t think of a coherent way to tie all these points together.
Travel Plans
I’ll be in China from mid to late December, and in Singapore the first week of January. I might have a few free moments and some time on nights/weekends so let me know if you’re in the area and want to meet up.
Note: I often receive many emails from readers wondering why their networking emails get ignored. The reason: it’s very easy to ignore emails, especially when you get a lot of them – meeting someone in-person is the best way to network.
So here’s your chance to do just that (assuming you live in Asia). And yes, I realize the irony of having to contact me first via email, but don’t worry, I’ll pay attention.
Anyway, if you’re in either of these countries let me know and I can give you details on locations/times and see if we can meet.
Note: Interviews / resume editing will continue as scheduled since I’ll have Internet /phone access the whole time.
Frequently Asked Questions… Answered
I’ve been seeing a lot of the same questions over and over via email, in the comments, on message boards and elsewhere. In an effort to answer these, I’ve put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions with answers to some of the most common ones.
It includes such gems as:
What are my chances of getting into investment banking?
(I must get variants of this at least 5-10 times per week)
How much can I round my GPA?
(A 3.7 vs. 3.8 really doesn’t matter…)
Are those expensive training courses worth it?
(I try to answer this in a non-biased way)
And then all sorts of random personal questions I get:
I know! You worked at UBS LA! Right? Right?
(What makes you think that?)
What are you doing now?
(Haven’t I answered this multiple times before?)
There are some common questions and categories not listed there right now, but this will improve with time as I add more and more to it.
Upcoming Surprise
Next week I’ll be releasing something I’ve been working on for awhile now. I’ve been getting requests for this nearly half a year now, and it will be very useful for anyone in the midst of summer internship / other recruiting.
Stay tuned…
Like this article? Subscribe via RSS and start understanding investment banking.Get Into Investment Banking via Email:
Follow M&I on Twitter
Tags: investment banking, Networking, understanding investment banking
Other readers who liked this article also liked these:
Hey,
I have to say that your web site provides lots of valuable information on investment banking industry and your resume service is outstanding. And I hope that your upcoming training program will meet and exceed our expectations
Couple of observations on some existing IB training programs.
1) In-class training sessions tend to be more productive (IBI vs Deal Maven). My instructor was a former analyst at HLHZ and he made sure to answer and explain all questions.
2) On the other hand, an in-class session is fast paced and most of my class was lost by the third week. (That includes finance majors and MBA’s)
3) Bby, Rsh and CC examples are beaten to death. It seems that everyone uses them for comp spreads and M&A examples.
4) None of the programs showed an example of a good pitch book and/or offering memorandum.
Interesting, thanks for the insights. Everything we’re doing will be online for logistical reasons, but you will have questions answered as well.
It’s hard to show actual examples of pitch books / OMs because most are protected by NDAs and such, so I’m not too surprised on that one.
What?! I have to go to China to meet you?!
No, you could also go to Singapore…
I think he said, If…if you happened to be in China. Nevertheless, are you on the East or West coast? If you happened to be in NY I would like to talk to you about a training program options.
I travel back and forth between east and west coasts pretty frequently
Will you be in Beijing between Dec. 20 and Dec. 31? I’d be willing to meet you at your convenience. Thank you.
Got your email – will reply with details.
I’ll be in Beijing after the 15th on (will be out of town 17-19), I’d appreciate an opportunity to chat. Thanks!
Laura: Sure, just send me a note via the contact form and I’ll give you the details.
In Taiwan recently – pity =(
Gotta swim across the strait…
Don’t you mean, “Hop across electric fences and run away from dogs chasing after you” to get there?
I’ll be in Shenzhen and Hong Kong after the 19th. If you happen to be in either place at that time, I’d really want to meet with you. Thanks.
Hmm don’t think I will be in either of those places unless something really unexpected happens but will let you know if anything changes.
Hi,
I will be in Singapore in January. Will be great to catch up if you can make it!
Let me know your timing preference.
Looking forward to meeting up…
To clarify, it’s only okay to round GPA when they don’t ask for unofficial transcript, right?
And what % of the applications even ask for transcripts?
Think about it this way: you’re -always- rounding whenever you list your GPA, because you could list an infinite set of digits if you wanted to… I would always list with one number.
I don’t know what % ask for transcripts but I was rarely if ever asked for one… maybe in background checks they look?
How does overall compensation for 1st year analysts differ between …
-West Coast and East Coast?
-Boutique and BB?
-Product/Coverage groups?
I heard that they’re all about the same. Is that true?
Usually boutiques pay a lower bonus than larger banks, but otherwise it’s about the same assuming all else equal in each case.
Is big 4 audit experience preferable to finance/accounting roles at big banks?
What are the chances of admission into a top MBA program after one of these stints?
It’s probably better, though not by a huge difference.
Admissions chances really depend on what else you have going for you – you really need to stand out outside work/classroom to have a good shot. You need a unique angle to win attention from the admissions committees.
Hi,
I’ll be back in Singapore from Jan 3 – I’ve read your website for almost a year now and it has been always entertaining and even occasionally helpful =)
Let me know if you have time meet up. I’m originally from Singapore if that matters
Sure thing just email me I will be there from 1/2 through 1/9 – schedule is busy but I should have time to meet on one of those days!
hi, are u still in sg? wld like to meet you in person!
Unfortunately leaving on a flight early tmw morning…
Hi, I’m an MBA with a low GPA. How can I present this on my CV and not have it ruin my chances of landing a position at a BB or a boutique? I thought of not mentioning the scale on which the GPA is computed, simply mentioning the GPA as an absolute number- do u think thats a good idea? or is brutal honesty the only way to go?
At the MBA level I would not list any kind of GPA – undergrad or (if your school computes it) business school.