ALL OF THIS IS USEFUL IN DEVELOPING YOUR STORY
ALL OF THIS IS USEFUL IN DEVELOPING YOUR STORY
The entire purpose of understanding yourself and what the banks are looking for is to weave both strands into a coherent story
about why banking is right for you and you are right for banking. Specifically, why you are right for the banks you talk to and
why those banks are right for you. Specifically:
You are marketing yourself, and you need to explain clearly why you want to be a banker by pointing to examples in
your past that show that you will be successful at that firm.
A banking interview (to be discussed below) is a very demanding type of interview. You must have a clear story, one
that an interviewer can clearly pick up on, or you will get killed.
Your story should demonstrate "judgment" - your interviewer will be picking apart your story in order to test your
personal judgment about the choices you have made in your life, specifically, what is the reasoning behind the choices
that you made.
Your story should connect your past to your present to your future. In the interview, you will be held accountable for everything
you have done since high school and, therefore, you should be prepared to talk about every choice you have made and why your
experiences to date coupled with you Business School experience are all leading you to pursue a career in investment banking.
GETTING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE
It is absolutely crucial as part of the interview process that you get in front of people. The people you talk to at the banks will
have influence over the decisions whether or not you get interviewed and/or whether you ultimately get hired. Think of this as
"building a team" at the firm who will pull you in. The more people who like you and think you can do the job (and will tell the
decision-makers this), the better.
To make contacts, you want to exploit all the resources at your disposal, including:
Family friends. This is a great way to learn about bank from people that you already know, and who are also likely to
already know you. The bottom line: see if people you are close to know someone and ask them if they can put you in
touch.
College and/or High School friends or friends of friends. Where are your alumni? Where are the kids that you grew
up with?
Contacts from prior employment. Former employers or clients might be clients of one of the banks. Former bosses
might be clients or friends of someone at one of the banks.
Second-year SOM students. These can an invaluable source of information about banking and the specific firms
(especially ones they have worked for). Second-years have gone through this process and know who the key contacts
are at banks they worked at. They can also give invaluable advice about what areas a particular bank is looking to
strengthen and when is the best time to contact individuals. Finally, the recruiting teams from the banks rely upon the
second-years they have hired to provide feedback about the current first-year class. It can't hurt to make a favorable
impression in front of the second-years.
Corporate Presentations. You must try to get yourself in front of people at the presentations. Be sure to ask
intelligent questions. If you don't have an intelligent question, don't ask it. Don't be too pushy either. The bankers at
the presentations will have input into who makes the closed list. Do try to make contacts and get business cards. Don't
let them remember you for being pushy and/or annoying.
The point of this is to get on the closed lists for interviewing with the banks in questions. You can contact the bankers directly,
but with one huge caveat: DON'T BOTHER OR ANNOY THEM! If you have questions, ask them, but make sure they are
good questions. Don't try to simply brown-nose.
Don't be afraid to call bankers, tell them that you are interested in the business, and ask them if they have any time to
talk.
Do remember that bankers are incredibly busy, and even though interviewing new hires is a part of their jobs, they
often just don't have time.
Remember that every contact you have with a banker is like an interview - you are being evaluated. As much as
possible, prepare your story ahead of time so that you are prepared.
You may want to plan (a) trip(s) to New York in the Fall or over the Winter Break. Bankers are usually willing to set up
appointments to show you the bank and talk to you. These appointments are usually informal, but are part of the interview
process nonetheless and you will need to have good questions.
BACK TO YOUR STORY
So, knowing all this, you must take what you know about banking and what you know about yourself and blend this into a
coherent story which tells the bank why you are right for them and they are right for you. Your story should basically account for
all of your time since High School and should tell the bank why the choices you have made have lead you to B-school and
ultimately why your past experiences, desires, and B-school experience are taking you to I-banking and their firm in particular.
