{"id":27823,"date":"2015-03-10T14:36:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T21:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=27823"},"modified":"2015-03-10T14:39:53","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T21:39:53","slug":"what-are-my-chances-young-veteran-looking-for-investment-banking-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-are-my-chances-young-veteran-looking-for-investment-banking-in\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are My Chances? Young Veteran Looking for Investment Banking \u201cIn\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post is part of a series of MBA\u00a0<\/em>profile evaluations called \u201cWhat are My Chances?<\/a>\u201d \u00a0by Michelle Stockman. Michelle, who started consulting for Accepted in 2007 and worked previously in the Columbia Business School admissions office, will provide selected applicants with school recommendation as well as an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like Michelle to evaluate your profile at no charge and as part of this series, please provide the information requested at https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/what_are_my_chances<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFILE #9: Eli, Army\u00a0veteran and U.S. college student\u00a0looking for investment banking \u201cin\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Watch<\/a>
Where is the\u00a0evidence that you take charge?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

-BACKGROUND<\/strong>: American\u00a0male who will graduate in 2016 from Baruch College. Completed eight month finance internship at VR, Inc. \u201ca corporation engaged in the innovation, development and monetization of intellectual property.\u201d Served two years in the Israeli Defence Force. Worked for a summer at a home for developmentally disabled adults.<\/p>\n

Going through your profile, I feel like I\u2019m looking at a tidy construction site with a newly laid foundation. The structure looks like it will be solid. But gaping holes have yet to be filled, raw materials yet to arrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

So let\u2019s talk about that foundation. It looks good. You\u2019ve accrued a strong mix of technical and business skills at university. An internship at VR\u00a0shows off your IT skills. The philosophy minor and military experience sets you up, potentially, as an insightful leader.<\/span><\/p>\n

But where is the evidence that shows you taking charge, making an idea into a reality, or convincing a reluctant group to take on a challenge? As you have relatively little work experience, I\u2019d have to base that judgment off your military service. By what you\u2019ve provided on your resume, I have little to go on.<\/span><\/p>\n

-GOALS<\/strong>: Sales & Trading at a bulge bracket or high end boutique firm.<\/p>\n

This goal makes sense with your past, although an internship at a bank would be stronger than at the intellectual property firm. That\u2019s likely why you want an MBA--to get that \u201cin\u201d at an investment bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what do investment banks want in their new recruits?\u00a0 In his how-to-book<\/a>, Andrew Gutman says IB recruiters ask themselves two questions. First, would I want this person working for me? She\u2019ll want someone who has the intellectual capacity to handle complex, fast-moving transactions, plus the physical stamina and good attitude required to put in long hours. Your grades and internship demonstrate a keen intellect. To show you\u2019ve got the guts, bring out stories from your military experience about making tough decisions under pressure, and keeping up morale during long stretches on duty. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second question is: would I mind being stuck at the airport with this guy? Can you handle hours of chatting about interesting subjects, or are you a bore? Your extracurriculars on campus show that you\u2019re social. You put down snowboarding, classical music, fitness, and paintball as interests on your resume. Make these activities come to life in your essays. Show how you\u2019re a leader, how you challenge yourself in perfecting your skills, and how you\u2019ve developed your interior life.<\/span><\/p>\n

-GMAT<\/strong>: ??<\/p>\n

A unique choice. You\u2019ve decided to take the GRE<\/a>, but you have yet to take the test. That\u2019s the big gaping hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ad comms decided to accept the GRE to attract non-traditional candidates from liberal arts or hard science backgrounds. You, sir, fall into the traditional pool. It\u2019s not against the rules for you to take the GRE, but you would raise fewer eyebrows if you took the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seek to score 720 or above.<\/span><\/p>\n

-GPA<\/strong>: 3.8 with a major in finance and two minors, CIS and Philosophy.<\/p>\n

This is a great GPA. It puts you right near the top of the competition at elite business schools. No worries here.<\/span><\/p>\n

-EXTRACURRICULAR<\/strong>: Served on the executive board of the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society. Active Member at Baruch Hillel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to decipher, from your brief descriptions, how you impacted<\/a> these organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will you go down in history for the epic activities you organized, the vast network you created for yourself, or the new avenues you forged to have a real social impact on the surrounding community? In your resume you need to be much more descriptive of what you actually did. Titles are not enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

-SCHOOLS<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

I really can\u2019t recommend any schools for you without your GMAT score. All the programs on your target list are reach choices with your profile, even if you score a 720 or above on the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n

My question for you is: what will you do if you don\u2019t get into business school right away? You\u2019re a unique case because you\u2019ve had military experience and you\u2019re a fresh grad. But you\u2019ve done little actual work in finance. You could apply right now, but you\u2019ve got to convince me of why now is the time for you to get an MBA, instead of a couple more years out on the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion, the big missing piece for me is: your military experience<\/a>. From my understanding, the Israeli military is much less hierarchical than the U.S. military. So you have a chance to show not only leadership, but also how you asserted your ideas, perhaps when you weren\u2019t in the top spot and had an impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pieces of your profile make sense with your ultimate goal, but start filling in those gaps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/a> Michelle Stockman<\/a> is a professional journalist, former Columbia Business School admissions insider, and experienced MBA admissions consultant. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Your 3-Part Plan to Dominate the GMAT<\/a>,\u00a0a free webinar
\n\u2022\u00a0An NYU Stern Grad and Strat Consultant Helping Vets Get Into School<\/a>
\n\u2022 Two Ways to Reveal Leadership in Your Applications<\/a><\/p>\n

Accepted.com<\/a>'s\u00a0<\/i>experienced admissions consultants<\/a>\u00a0can help you create the most impressive application possible with\u00a0<\/i>comprehensive packages<\/a>,<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from\u00a0<\/i>picking perfect programs<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/i>designing a dazzling resume<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or\u00a0<\/i>preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more!\u00a0<\/i>Accepted.com<\/a>\u00a0has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so\u00a0<\/i>contact us<\/a>\u00a0to get started now!<\/i><\/div>\n
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\u200bAccepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best<\/i><\/i>\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n
\u200b\u200b<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
This article originally appeared on the\u00a0Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a><\/i>,<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
\u200bofficial blog of\u00a0Accepted.com.<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blog post is part of a series of MBA\u00a0profile evaluations called \u201cWhat are My Chances?\u201d \u00a0by Michelle Stockman. Michelle, who started consulting for Accepted in 2007 and worked previously…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[73,39,370,879,12],"class_list":["post-27823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-business-school","tag-mba-admissions","tag-mba-advice","tag-military-veterans","tag-the-mba-application-process","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27823"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27825,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27823\/revisions\/27825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}