Light-Speed Q&A: Sick Days, Marriage and Yerba Mate, Interviews, Military, Resumes, Financial Meltdown, Prestige and Public Speaking
In this week’s edition of Q&A (we’ve had Rapid-Fire, Lightning, 100-Meter Dash and now Light Speed… suggestions for new names are welcome), I once again compress as much information as possible into as few words as possible.
Surprisingly, this week we cover some questions that aren’t related to economic collapse / the end of investment banking as we know it / other end-is-nigh scenarios.
And we start with a question relevant to everyone from kindergartners to seasoned pros: the sick day. Oh, and marriage, which I suppose is less relevant to kindergartners.
Sick Days, Marriage & Yerba Mate
1. I recently had a cold and took a day off from work. Can you take sick days as an investment banker? Or do you have to come to the office even if you’re dying?
Depends on how sick you are and how busy you are. Once I ended up in the ER and I didn’t have to come into the office. However, if you have a cold and are working on an extremely important project you should probably not sit in bed watching reruns.
2. Did you know that if you’re married you can structure your money so that you get up to $400,000 insured by the FDIC? I noticed you had mentioned $100,000 in an earlier article.
Good to know, but it’s still not enough to convince me to get married anytime soon. I’ll keep my money under my mattress if I have to.
3. I need help pulling all-nighters. Is Yerba Mate better than Red Bull, and if so, where can I buy it?
For those who don’t know, Yerba Mate is a really strong - and legal - stimulant consumed in South America. I’ve found the tea form (loose-leaf preferred) far more effective than coffee / Red Bull, and it has helped me pull countless all-nighters.
You can buy imported Yerba Mate from Argentina at Amigo Foods.
Investment Banking Interviews
4. I noticed in your article on “Why NOT Investment Banking” you didn’t give much information on how to answer the “Why banking?” question in interviews - you mostly just made fun of AJ. Can you answer this one?
The short answer: You need to focus on a specific anecdote or person who got you interested in finance in the first place, and then show how your interest developed from there rather than giving a generic answer like saying, “I like fast-paced environments where you learn a lot!”
For the longer answer, stay tuned, young grasshopper.
5. At a recent Investment Banking Interview, I had 2 good interviews with senior bankers and 1 extremely poor one. Am I screwed?
Depends on the bank and group - the most likely outcome is that you’ll be put on the waiting list. I would make sure you follow-up aggressively, because you never know what will happen.
Military Experience
6. I read your article on gap years. Am I crazy if I want to take some time off to serve in the military? Can I still get into banking?
There are actually quite a few former Army / Navy officers in finance. The skills required - attention to detail, leadership and slicing your enemies in half with a sword - are quite similar. If you’ve been in the military for a few years, however, you’ll probably have to go back to business school to get in.
7. I’ve been in the Navy for 5 years but have really good contacts in the industry - can I get into banking through networking?
See above. With that much experience it’s hard to get in as an Analyst, so an MBA is your best bet.
Resume Formats
8. Does your preferred resume format apply to consulting as well?
Yes, I recommend focusing in on specific projects and clients for anything finance/consulting/business related. It’s less relevant for technical fields.
9. I changed my resume according to your tips, but it seems too wordy now. Is this a problem?
No, it’s worse to be vague. Don’t write a 10-line bullet, but 3-4 line bullets are fine.
Financial Meltdown
10. I am interviewing at a Big 4 firm, but they are taking awhile to get back to me - could it be because of the financial crisis?
Almost certainly not. Along with death and taxes, accountants are another of life’s certainties. Even if companies are failing left and right, they still need accountants to determine how big their failures are.
11. What is your opinion of the bailouts and the global financial crisis?
In general I am in favor of free markets and less government regulation, just like 99% of those who work in in finance. The bailouts don’t seem to be helping things much - all they’re doing is transferring taxpayer money to the corrupt banks that screwed up in the first place.
(This is the most political I will ever get on this site.)
Prestige: My Least Favorite Topic
12. If I’m working at a middle-market bank, can I get into PE? Or is it impossible unless I have the Goldman or Morgan name?
It’s very possible - I have many friends at smaller firms who got into PE. You probably won’t be able to work at KKR, but would you want to go back to working 100 hour weeks?
13. Would an Analyst at Morgan Stanley have a better chance of getting into Harvard Business School than one at Piper Jaffray?
As I’ve written about before, business school admissions committees group applicants into “Blue Chips, “Average Joes” and “Vagabonds.”
By doing banking anywhere, you automatically beome a “Blue Chip.” Schools get so many applications from bankers and consultants that you gain almost no advantage from working somewhere more “prestigious.”
Being an interesting person who writes a convincing application matters far more than where you’ve banked.
Facebook Friends & Public Speaking
14. Will you become my Facebook friend?
Not unless I know you in real life, sorry.
15. Will you speak at my school / organization about resumes/interviewing/the economy?
I’ve received a few of these requests lately. If I’m in your area, yes, I’d be happy to, and my speaking fees are very reasonable. However, I am sometimes traveling internationally so scheduling can be an issue.
If you’re interested, contact me with an idea of what you’re looking for.
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Tags: all-nighters, business school, economic recession, investment banking, investment banking interviews, investment banking resume, MBA, middle-market, military, networking, prestige, speaking engagements
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Contacts
If you re-read the mbaapply post which discussed blue chips, vagabonds, and average joes, I think the mbaapply post was trying to say exactly the opposite of what you say in 13.
As a practical matter, there’s far more of a difference between doing banking anywhere vs. doing something else entirely. Based on discussions with friends at some of the top business schools and others on admissions committees, I also don’t agree with him. I know plenty of former boutique bankers at Harvard/Wharton etc.
Hi, I have to graduate in 3 years because of my financial problems, and now I’m a sophomore with junior standing. When looking of summer interns in finance, I found that i-banks hiring in my school always consider juniors first, and few sophomores got the chances in history. So how should I tell them my situation? Thanks!
I would make sure you clearly indicate junior standing / grad date on your resume and also see if you can apply through your school as a junior (sometimes they are strict about this kind of stuff).