How To Get Into Investment Banking Episode 10: County College to Investment Banking Pt. 1 (Fr. & Soph. Edition)
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Are you a college student who goes to a Non-Target (e.g., a county college or another college with little to no on-campus recruiting) and wants to get into #InvestmentBanking? Listen to today's podcast because the episode is for you.
It might seem daunting and overwhelming at first, but the secret sauce is consistency over time. So, how does one go from a county college to their dream job in Investment Banking? I think the journey depends on the starting point.
Today, I focus on what freshmen and sophomore students should do today to get started on their journey. Here are a few steps that you need to follow:
One, go through historical placements (e.g., where have students placed in the past 5 years, are there specific groups, firms, or regions where your school does well?), understand the landscape for whatever OCR exists (however sparse it might be),
how much time do you have until you graduate, are you willing to stay an extra year and what is your appetite + ability to transfer to another school
Second, start pulling back on your course load and take the easiest classes possible. Students forget why they are in college – to get a job. There is no need to take advanced courses in your first two years or double major if there is no need.
You don't have time to be spending on problem sets as a computer science major if you know you want to work in Investment Banking. If you are at a Non-Target (e.g., county college or another random state school), you need to maintain a high G.P.A., prep for technical interviews,
be involved on campus, and spend time building your network. That is all you should be doing.
Third, get started on your Reaching Out Initiative (R.O.I.) by building out a list of professionals you want to reach out to, firms you are interested in, and make sure your narrative & story is perfected.
Fourth, this is the step that never stops. Ongoing preparation for technical and behavioral questions, conducting 1:1's / informational interviews, and successfully navigating through actual interviews.
Fifth, keep evaluating your performance and be objective with your shortcomings, e.g., where are you failing and why, what are the technicals tripping you up, or are there specific behavioral questions where you ramble on for too long?
This exercise aims to further remove the noise from your day-to-day and remain focused on what matters – getting a job in Investment Banking. Please leave all questions below in the comment or email me directly at info@saajandoshi.com or text me at 310.526.2906!
Also, feel free to leave any feedback or thoughts on what else you'd like to see. Thank you all!
How To Get Into Investment Banking Episode 9: Why Did I Decide to Get Into Investment Banking
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College students looking to get into #InvestmentBanking, read below to see why I picked IB as a career out of college and why you should too. Investment Banking amplifies your career and gives you a leg up on what you want to do after your time in Investment Banking.
1. I wanted deal experience. What does this mean? I wanted to work on M&A transactions, capital market activities (e.g., debt offerings & equity raises), understand how deals came together from the point of a seller, buyer, and creditors (I worked in restructuring).
Great investor letter by Jeremy, although I don't agree with how he arrived at the conclusion of a "Super Bubble", this is still a great read for all investors.
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Finance Musings Ep. 5: Jeremy Grantham "Let The Wild Rumpus Begin*" via @YouTube
Quick Excerpt by Jeremy:
“All 2-sigma equity bubbles in developed equity markets have burst – all the way back to trend. The U.S. reached the 2-sigma level in the summer of 2020. But some of them went to 3-sigma or more before they burst – producing longer and deeper pain. [..]
"...The U.S. reached 3-sigma in late 2021. Timing is uncertain and when you get to 3-sigma superbubbles, such as we have now, there are few examples. Yet they have all shown certain characteristics before they broke”
How To Get Into Investment Banking Ep. 7: Analyze Your Situation
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Hey everyone and welcome to episode 7 (“Analyze your situation”)! In today’s episode, we will be going over an exercise that will help you understand the following: 1. What type of school do you go to and how will that impact your recruiting efforts e.g., historical placements?
2. What have you done so far, what is your body of work, and what is your G.P.A.? 3. How does on-campus recruiting look like at your school? 4. What is your financial situation e.g., can you stay an extra year in school? 5. When will you graduate and how old are you?