Nontarget-> BB IBD
Hey Monkeys, another success story from a nontarget breaking into a BB, just to give people more insight in how to go about it. I come from a school with under 5 alums in banking. so networking was by far the toughest thing for me. I realized that I wanted to pursue banking during the winter of my sophomore year and spent every Sunday emailing at least 50 people per firm. Not sure if this is the best way to go about this but I always aimed for 10 analysts, 10 associates, 15 VP/Directors, and 15 MDs.
I always tried to find something that was relatable, ex) same sport played, grew up near me, also a nontarget banker etc.. Sent those emails Tuesday 10-11 am found that I got the most replies around that time. On top of that, as a nontarget student have your technicals down, I never got anything harder than the guides, so keep reading those until the answers come second nature, but make sure to understand and not memorize. Through networking, I met one associate and we really clicked, sent my resume to HR and I got a first-round at the BB. Because of this pandemic, my first round was a 30-minute phone interview.
I think the main thing to keep in mind here is they're meant to be conversational, have 7-8 stories which can be applied to all the different behavioral questions. I used my contact to find the deals the people had worked on and looked them up to think of well thought out questions which is something I believe really differentiated me vs the target school kids. During the superday, one of the components was a zoom call with an MD, and I believe this 30-minute phone call got me the SA offer. I did everything I could to show my enthusiasm for the job, looked up his Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram found common interests and brought them up, little creepy sure... gotta do what u gotta do.
Lastly, when the MD asked how I got here as he had been interviewing H/Y/P kids all day, I told him all the networking I had to do to get here and I would bring that same work ethic to the firm. Sorry if this was poorly constructed just wanted to get all my thoughts down. One thing you'll notice is there are hundreds of other stories of nontarget kids making it on this forum never ever give up, you never know how one phone call with a banker can change your life.
Congrats on the offer! Would you mind pming? I'd greatly appreciate it!
PMd
Congrats! I’m at a non target as well. The school’s alumni network in banking is weak. Would love to chat. Can you PM?
I thought you were a partner in RE?
yea wtf
I want to break into IB. I do real estate on the side with a business partner. I’m not a partner at some firm.
I removed the title just to be clear. :)
congrats! I also have some questions. Could you pm me?
Congrats man! Would love to chat. Can you pm me?
I’m confused you sent networking emails out on a sunday? Or did you schedule send them for monday?
sorry, ya so I wrote them Sunday because I had the time and sent them around Tuesday at 10-11 am
Ahh makes sense, but I love your story and your hustle. Congrats on the offer!!!
congrats on the SA offer! I think work ethics, the chip on the shoulder, is key for non targets. Any chance you could pm me?
Congrats on the offer-great story! Can you please PM me? Thanks.
Great to hear! Congrats!
For everyone messaging him for help, the process is super easy 1. network 2. practice for technical/behavioral questions 3. apply to as many places as you can, but make sure to have an extensive network in at least 5 banks (depending on your gpa, school, and internships.)
Yes, I'm really sorry I would PM all of you but my PM limit has been met, but this^ exactly, never stop networking because getting your foot in the door is the hardest thing as a nontarget and when you do get your foot in the door make sure you know your stuff so all that networking doesn't go wasted.
It's a hit or miss game w/ networking. you might find an alum from your school who isn't helpful, or you might connect with a VP/MD at a bank that you have nothing in common with and he may be super impressed and connect you directly with HR. You have to have some thick skin.
Super curious - is it DB? Heard they tend to take more non-targets
nope not dB it’s one of the mid tier ones think (bofa, cs, Citi, Barclays)
Anybody wanna hear my target -> IBD story
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