Looking For… Contributions (Free Prize Inside)
I spend most of my time here on Mergers & Inquisitions giving advice – how to deal with market meltdown, how to interview successfully, how to write a resume, and yes, even why you should avoid sounding like Samuel L. Jackson when you recite why investment banking is your dream career.
Today, however, I’m going to reverse that and ask for something instead.
But don’t worry: you still get the chance to win something – namely, free access to my upcoming training courses.
As I’ve been creating the content over the past few months, I’ve realized that I want to do additional research on a few topics to ensure a quality presentation.
I’m most interested in speaking with those who have successfully accomplished one of the following 5 feats:
1. Used Informational Meetings to get into the field, without going through on-campus recruiting.
I’m interested in hearing about your experiences doing this, what types of questions you received, and how you went from meetings to offer. You should not have used on-campus recruiting – only networking with alumni, friends, acquaintances, and and anyone else you know.
2. Used Cold-Calling not only to get interviews, but also get offers.
I’ve seen friends do this successfully, especially at small boutiques, but I’m interested in getting a broader perspective and hearing about your experiences using cold-calling to break in.
I’m most interested in points like how many rejections it took before getting an interview, what types of firms you targeted, and how the interview process went for you.
3. Gotten into banking from a “non-target” school (both MBAs and undergraduates).
This is a bit of a “catch-all” for points 1 and 2, but I’m interested in anyone at the MBA or undergraduate level who has successfully gotten into banking from a “non-target” school where most firms don’t recruit.
Possible questions: how you planned your recruiting strategy, how long it took to go from initial outreach to offer(s) and how long the interview process took.
4. Successfully interviewed for banking while working full-time in a related field (such as law/consulting/accounting).
I know quite a few lawyers and consultants who made the jump (at least, back when the economy was in better shape…) – but I don’t want to limit this upcoming product to my own experiences.
I’m interested in any unusual recruiting strategies you used as well as what your interviewers focused on, beyond the obvious “Why do you want to be a banker now?” type questions.
5. Successfully interviewed while working full-time in an unrelated field (e.g. non-profits, engineering, research).
I don’t expect there to be too many people in this category, but you never know. I’m most interested in your recruiting strategy and what your interviewers focused on.
What You Have to Do to Win the Prize
I’m looking to pick 5-10 readers to speak with for 30 minutes about their experiences accomplishing one (or several) of the above feats.
If you’re interested and have some time to speak over the next few weeks, please contact me here.
I’ll review submissions next week and select a few readers to speak with. I know everyone’s busy, so as a reward I’ll be giving you free access to my upcoming courses if we can set up a time to discuss your experiences briefly.
I haven’t finalized pricing yet, but this will save you a substantial sum of money, especially for 30 minutes of “work.” And you’ll get videos showing how to create models, revise and edit resumes, and answer interview questions.
So if you’ve accomplished one of these feats, please contact me and tell me about what you’ve done and how you did it.
Thanks!
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Tags: informational interviews, investment banking, investment banking interviews, Mergers & Inquisitions, Networking, understanding investment banking
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