I'd appreciate it if those of you who know the IB recruiting process could offer some advice. When first applying to school, I thought for sure I wanted to stay in consulting. However, after teaching myself a lot about the markets and how they function, IB has become very intriguing. I also do a lot of financial work in my current consulting job and enjoy that part the most. The issue I'm having is that I have a bad profile for IB recruiting... I'm 24, 690 GMAT (Q42, V42 - not evenly split at all percentage wise...), and had a good gpa but not from a big-name school. What I have going for me is I was in the top 2% of my engineering class (IT degree wasn't very math intensive though) and I'll be attending NYU so I can schmooze like crazy at the local banks. Is it somewhat true about the 730+ GMAT minimum and stuff like that? I don't expect a shot at Goldman or anything, and do realize the competition especially in these market conditions, but I feel there has to be some chance at the other firms. Is working for one of the boutique firms and then moving up to bulge bracket a possibility? Is there anything you recommend that I could do now to improve my odds (I've sold all the GMAT books and really, really, really, really would not like to take it again)?

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Investment Banking and out of my league?

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westsider

Joined: 23 Jan 2008

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09 Apr 2008, 15:58

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togafoot

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Also, recruiting standards vary greatly among regions. I know that this past year, firms were having a tough time filling jobs in Asia, and I imagine that these jobs were easier to land. Of course, you need to be the right person for the job - for example many firms were looking to fill positions in china, but were only considering people fluent in both English and Chinese. That really thins the field. Another consideration is that firms don't all have uniform reputations worldwide - and therefor their hiring standards could vary. Our perceptions of how difficult an IB job is to land is pretty much based their relative standings in NY.

sounds about right... Here are 3 'case' studies ( my friends in IB)

Guy 1) the aforementioned PT MBA guy - he has a doctorate in Mechanical engineering and CFA I. Japanese isn't hot (as bad as mine).. around 36 years old

Guy 2) Took GMAT scored in 500's, decided not to do an MBA. Was already working in an IB (Merrill) in the IT department, switched to an analyst position, then applied to Goldman for an Associate position and got it. Speaks 5 languages (Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese, French and English).. around 31 years old

Guy 3) Japanese guy, was already working in IB (UBS) in the IT department. around 29 years old. Took the Japanese equivalent of the CMA, and got a job in a boutique IB. (Speaks English with an American accent).

I actually play football with a bunch of Finance recruiters and some everyweek, so chat to them every so often about what their clients are after. Oone thing they said to me was that they tend to reject anyone who has had no exposure to Japan... language is not an issue in IB within Japan, but cultural experience is.

Toga - I worked in IT at UBS Tokyo.. there weren't that many of us.. I wonder who guy #3 was! :-D

agold

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Location: Southern California

Concentration: Investment Banking

Schools:Chicago (dinged), Tuck (November), Columbia (RD)

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09 Apr 2008, 18:53

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Not sure if rhyme is going to see this, but what is all included in IB?

Is M&A part of IB?

Also, your list seems very....unattractive. I hope you are being somewhat sarcastic. I really am driven to apply myself, but if that is the sort of criteria (besides #6) I will be judged upon, I am a little disappointed.

I mean it is important to mingle to see if your a good fit with the company, but I just don't want to be a dog with a leash, running around kissing butt and putting on a fake mask just to get an interview to be legitimate.

Any advice?

IB is a client service based industry and it is all about relationships and sales. You will have to go along and play the "game" not only with your superiors at the bank, but also with clients. They are honestly just screening to see if you have the right personality for the job. Individualism and egos both don't go well in the industry - it's a very conservative and heirarchial industry. If you are interested in more of a meritocracy and more of an individualistic culture, I would look into Sales & Trading rather than IBD.