First, let’s get into the “What” of your bullet points, as in what types of information, projects, etc you should include in your resume. Contrary to popular belief, when it comes to information in a resume, more is certainly not always better. A clean resume with a decent amount of white space doesn’t necessarily mean that you lack experience, but rather, that you have created a reader-friendly resume recruiters will want to scan. Whether you lack experience will be determined from the information in your bullet points, not how much space you can take up on the page. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s focus on what should be included.

In short, you first want to do a bit of homework, if not on the company, then at least on the field/position in question. If, for example, you are pursuing an IB analyst position, check out some job descriptions and see what they’re customary responsibilities and projects will entail and the skill sets required. Next, take an honest look at each of your experiences and ask yourself what you’ve done there that would be relevant, applicable, helpful and/or useful to the position. From there, you will have the basis for what you should include in your bullet points, listing the most relevant and/or impressive first, since many recruiters will only look at a bullet point or two per experience, so you want to lead off with your best foot to inspire the person to read on.

So this highlights what should be included in your resume in general, but let’s take a few minutes to cover what should be included in your resume specifically for targeting IB (and similarly for consulting, S&T and buyside, though there may be some tweaking). First and foremost, any types of projects that involved valuation, financial modeling, or analyzing company financials should be included in your resume. While it is very easy to say that without IB-type of experience you won’t have any of this sort of experience, that isn’t the case. In fact, operations and control, middle office, all of the above positions and even things like PWM can involve projects that are comparable to these types of projects. For example, while in F500 operations you might not be valuing companies for acquisition opportunities, you can very well be using excel to forecast budgets, check internal financials, etc, which can all be included on your resume as relevant experience.

Next on your list you can look towards projects that involve research, particularly on specific industries and companies so that you can point to detailed evaluation and a strong knowledge base for the field – this will be particularly useful if, for example, you are researching technology and applying for a position in the technology space or technology IB or just interested in working in some capacity within the field going forward. Although not as important on the surface as the first and second points, this next point is still relevant and worthwhile to include: documentation work. Having a strong written proficiency is both a welcome and essential quality of a successful analyst, associate, and up the chain. Therefore, work that you have done involving drafting information books, presentations, distribution materials, primers, etc, are all welcome additions to your resume – provided of course, it doesn’t consume the entire resume at the expense of the other points listed here. Finally, and although listed last is definitely not least important, are projects for which you took on more of a leadership/managerial role or even a proactive role going beyond what was asked of you. This is a vague category and for good reason as it can be combined with any of the above points or, depending on the experience, can involve something else entirely demonstrating leadership.

So now that we’ve ran through what should be included in your bullet points, let’s go through the construction (or components) of a bullet point regardless of category. I like to break each bullet point into up to three components (I say up to three since you might not always have been responsible for or need to include all three): 1) what you did (which is explained above), 2) how and for what purpose you did what you did, and 3) the result or impact on the group as a result of the work you performed or project you worked on.

We’ve already covered the “what,” so now let’s jump into the “how” and “purpose.” It’s very easy to form a bullet point as follows:”Built a DCF model and performed comparable transaction analysis.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t do anything more than tell me at the very least you worked on a DCF model and spread some comps for fun or as part of a test assignment – maybe, if you’re lucky, it was for a deal that didn’t go anywhere. Now if that is the case, then it is fine to leave the bullet as is. However, if you performed this task for multiple projects (mandated or closed, for example) in a specific industry, that adds another level of importance to the bullet point and gives me a much better understanding of what you did, learned and can contribute to your next team. A new bullet point, yet still simple, can look more like this: “Built DCF and comparable company models for several pending transactions in the oil and gas space.” As another example, if you performed some research for an information memo you put together for a deal, instead of simple stating that you research the oil and gas industry for deal X, you can also include your utilization of Bloomberg, Cap IQ, etc to highlight how you fulfilled your project, while at the same time showcasing your proficiencies.

Finally, we come to what is possibly the most frequently forgotten aspect when constructing a bullet point – the result and/or impact. Now there is a good reason why this aspect is often not included: simply put, it is not available, meaning there is either no readily quantifiable result or the result doesn’t enhance the experience (for example, the result was just another data point used in a sample). Going back to the DCF bullet point of the previous paragraph – “Built DCF and comparable company models for several pending transactions in the oil and gas space” – we see a bullet point that is strong and perhaps strong enough (but this depends on the actual result). If, for example, the tasks you performed for one or more of these deals led to the decision to increase the purchase price range by 15%, that definitely adds a significant amount of credit to the point and, if included, to the bullet point. The new bullet point can look like this (on a simplistic level): “Built DCF and comparable company models for several pending transactions in the oil and gas space, which resulted in a 10-15% increase in purchase price range for two late-stage deals.” While this is a simple exam, it is merely meant to show the importance of including each of these three attributes (when applicable) in your bullet points. Before closing this article, I just want to touch on a few quick points that are often overlooked by people when constructing their resumes.

A few final points to keep in mind when constructing your bullets are: 1)contrary to popular believe, bullets do not need to be full sentences – as in they are quick points, not complete sentences and although they need to of course make sense, they do not need to start with a proper noun, include all necessary articles, etc, 2) along the same lines, each bullet points should lead off with a past tense verb, and 3) along the same lines again, bullet points do not end with a period, since that would imply a full sentence.

That’s it for now; keep an eye out for some fresh articles and a new product on its way that will certainly help you with your upcoming interview!

I don’t have a great answer for my “greatest accomplishment” as a college student. How should I answer this question in interviews?

Essentially, go with something, whether incredibly impressive or not, that challenged you and allowed you to learn a valuable lesson, grow as a person and/or build useful skills. At the end of the day interviewees get hung up on words like “Greatest, worst, biggest” and so forth, and they don’t need to. These are words used to make you sweat, to scare you and so forth. In reality, go with what you know, what you are comfortable with and what you can show growth from – the accomplishment needs to be important and impressive to you, it needs to matter to you, the interviewer will be impressed with what you got out of it and how hard it was for you to achieve, not the weight of the accomplishment itself.

Here’s some more help with your upcoming interviews:

Prepare for your interview with some coaching now

Crack the interview code with my Survival Guides

I have some questions on the interview process and what employers are looking for when asking certain questions: 1) how do I prepare for the “pitch me a stock” question, 2) what are they really looking for out of the behavioral interviews – do I need certain answers to impress them, and 3) how should I answer the greatest accomplishment or biggest challenge overcome question?

1. Do your research – find 2-3 stocks across 2-3 industries that you like and have an interest in. From there, do some general research on competition, the market, news, etc. From there, dig into the financials of the company a bit to pull out some ratios and stats relative to competitors. From there, form your opinions – you don’t need to go crazy, but I always recommend stocks in different industries so that you are prepared to pitch a stock outside of your interviewer’s industry.

2. It means you aren’t an asshole, you’re not a tool/obvious suck-up, and that you are decent to talk to. In short, the interviewer (and his/her team) can and wouldn’t mind dealing with you (working with you) at 11pm, when you’ve still got a few hours of work ahead of you.

My main interest is hedge funds and private equity, but from what I understand I have no shot at this straight from undergrad unless I go to wharton. Will other schools help me break into PE or HF and, if not, how do I go from IB to PE? Do I need to get an MBA and then get into PE or HF?

That’s not entirely true – any of the top schools give you a shot – WHYPS and a few others, but it is VERY tough. The best ways to break into PE and HF are either going to IB from u grad, then b school, then PE or HF, OR going from u grad to a solid BB IB position directly to PE or HF. You don’t have to go to B school to get into PE (PE especially) from IB, you can make the direct move – especially if you are targeting PE in general and not elite/top megafund PE. From any solid semi-target you will have access to many of the big banks and from an analyst position there you can break into PE.

A very common question asked about the MSF is its relation to the MBA. The MSF is much more quantitative than an MBA and its focus is narrower. Therefore, you see a much more focused career track whereas with an MBA you can do almost anything you want. Also, MSF programs are typically comprised of 22-24 year olds with little to no work experience which is the primary reason why they place into analyst positions instead of coming in as an associate.

The CFA is regularly compared to an MSF and while there are elements of the CFA in most MSF programs, comparing them is a disservice on both sides. The CFA is a very well-respected designation. It also takes a long time to pass the tests and accumulate the required work experience. As mentioned earlier, the MSF takes only one year to complete. CFA’s are very useful in asset management, but it does not cover many topics useful in trading or banking. The MSF tries to prepare students for a more broad range of careers. Ultimately, both are great letters to have after your name and many people choose to earn both.

Although the degree is still relatively new here in the USA (most programs have been around for 5 years or less), it is starting to catch on. Princeton & MIT both offer MSF degrees and provide the best brand recognition out of the group. A few of the other more well known schools are Vanderbilt, Villanova, Boston College, WUSTL, Florida and Claremont McKenna. More and more schools are starting to offer an MSF (Ohio State being one of the newest) and in the future you will see the degree become much more common and well known.

For more information on an MSF, check out http://www.MSFHQ.com. The site is run by Anthony DeAngelis, a 2010 Villanova MSF graduate.

First, in terms of “other details” that really depends on the details – if you are referring to number of employees, for example, you don’t need that on your resume – use your best judgment here.

Moving past that, in terms of industry and AUM, you can include those if you’d like to, but the only place you should list them in is in the brief description you give for the company below your position title, but above your bullet points for said position. If you don’t include a brief summary of the company (don’t want to, don’t have room, etc), then don’t bother including them since it really won’t make much of a difference one way or the other – your personal experiences matter much more than a few details on a small shop. Additionally, if the prospective employer cares, he/she will either look it up or simply ask you during the interview.

Should I apply to BB SA internships as a sophomore or is it a waste of time? Also, will it hurt me if I reapply next year as a junior?

While your time might be better of spent elsewhere – depending on how long it takes you to put together and submit an application, it definitely won’t hurt you to apply to BB SA internships as a sophomore, although you will obviously be a long shot. Additionally, as can be implied from not hurting you, it will not have an influence at all on your applications for SA positions during your junior year. In short, if you’ve got the time, go for it. I wouldn’t exhaust my contact list until junior and then senior years, but it definitely won’t hurt to apply – and if you get an offer, awesome. If not, no harm done.

I’m currently in the process of updating my resume to include this past summer’s experience. I interned at a BB and got a return offer, so should I put that I “received a return offer in the Investment Banking Division” as one of my bullet points?

This question has been asked quite often, but essentially there is nothing wrong with putting it in your resume, but there is also nothing great about it. It is perfectly understandable that you want to showcase your success and that you received an offer – as well as not wanting to leave it to chance that an interviewer just assumes that you didn’t get the return offer and draws his/her own conclusions.

However, if you are coming from a good shop, it doesn’t matter if you got the return offer or not, as long as the new group likes you – additionally, if the new group cares, they WILL just ask you and ask you about your experiences with the old group.

If you are coming from an unknown shop, then it won’t matter either way, as your experience – modeling, transaction and such will be the only things that matter – and again, if they care what happened with the old shop, they WILL ask.

Remember, by putting it on your resume you are inviting the interview follow-up questions of: what was your response (did you accept or reject), why are you interviewing elsewhere, what didn’t you like about the shop, and so forth.

Although it looks good to show that you are in demand, you don’t want to end up backing yourself into a corner – where you’ve accepted an offer and are now looking to renege or that you’ve got poor things to say about your past bosses.

If you’ve got the room on your resume and don’t mind fielding the questions, then go ahead and put it on there. If not, then leave it off and if your new employer wants to know, they will just ask. Additionally, once something is in writing it is there, to be proved or disproved, to help you or hurt you.

Either way, you landed a return offer – it’s a job well done and congrats – now focus on landing that FT offer.

As a SA, I worked in a group where offers were made on a group-specific basis, not for an incoming class. I didn’t end up getting the FT offer – am I screwed come FT recruiting or is there a way to explain it?

While it definitely helps to get the return offer, it doesn’t necessarily hurt you to not, especially since your group was only giving offers to certain groups and for that specific group (in other words, no mobility). In this case, you will want to focus on your experiences and essentially let interviewers know that when speaking with your group, it was understood that you weren’t interested in coming back FT and since the offer was group-specific, it made sense to not extend an offer to you and instead give an offer to someone interested in coming back to the group. Then be ready to explain why you didn’t want to work in the group FT and what you’re looking for out of a FT employer (and a FT industry – ideally the new employer will be in a different industry as well).

This should help you to alleviate your lack of an offer, while still highlighting your candidacy. Additionally, this point of an offer or no offer should only come up during an interview – in other words, there should be no mention of this in your cover letter or resume – why give non-positive news without being in person where you’d have the opportunity to defend and explain it.

I’ve taken definitely a bit of a break over the past month or so to catch up on things outside of my site. That said, I am back, beginning to ramp up again and will certainly be firing out everything that all of you have come to expect of me. Leave your comments below and send me some emails – let me know what you want to see, what you need to see and what’s missing!

It’s Only A Summer, Right?

Starting with the second, better scenario first, if you get stuck in a bad group (whether for the future placement, deal flow, hours/balance, team, etc) as a SA you are definitely not screwed here. The big objective in this case is to do your job, do it well and essentially tough it out with a smile on your face for those 2-3 months. Remember the SA position is exactly that, a position for the summer and as long as you stay in everyone’s good graces, you should have a decent enough experience and be able to leverage that into an opportunity with a better group – whether with your SA employer or a different IB.

As a SA, especially if you want to stay at the firm you are currently at, you will need to work hard and land that FT offer. Landing the offer, however, does not usually mean that you HAVE TO stay with your current group – as with most BBs, landing the offer means that you have a FT offer with the bank, not definitely and specifically within your SA group. Yes, if your group likes you and you wanted to stay in your group, you’d definitely have a great shot at that, but for the sake of this article, we will assume that you prefer another group. In order to make this group switch into not just any group, but your group of choice, you should definitely use your time as a SA to not only build experience, but also to build a network or at least network with a few bankers in your top groups of choice. This will definitely help you to land in the group you prefer come the following summer, when you begin your FT analyst career.

It’s Not A Lifetime, But It Can Certainly Feel Like One

Moving past the SA scenario, the other case involves getting place in your less than ideal group as a FT analyst. While in this case you do not have the ability to work a summer and then move on as part of a structured SA program, you are definitely not screwed and doomed to this particular group or industry for all eternity (yes, the exaggeration is completely necessary). In this case you’ve got a few options as to re-branding yourself in a new group/industry, but before I go into those, we need to quickly discuss how to prepare yourself for those options.

Regardless of the group you are placed in, in order to highlight yourself in a proper fashion when preparing to make your move, you need to be a star in that group while you are there. Essentially, treat the group as if it were your top choice by pushing for the big projects, getting more work on your current projects, offering to help out on other assignments, doing additional research and generally showcasing yourself as a team player and strong analyst. Yes, it is often hard to motivate yourself for something your heart isn’t in, but remember, it’s still valuable experience and will you to build your candidacy when making a push, especially if pushing for another group within the bank (good news travels fast, but bad news, as in you’re lazy and useless, will travel faster). Additionally, make sure to meet your whole team – this again follows the being a good team member path – and you definitely want to meet analysts, associates and senior bankers of other groups – use deal team contacts and your analyst class as a means of networking both for immediate opportunities and opportunities going forward.

Once you’ve shown yourself as a strong analyst, you can definitely begin to think about your next move. One way you can always go about re-branding yourself is by pursuing an MBA. While this path will definitely require the most time in your current position (as you probably won’t get into a strong business school until you’ve completed the 2-3 year analyst program), it will also open many doors for you in terms of on-campus recruiting, alumni network, as well as provide you with a fresh start as an associate. Additionally, since you’ve demonstrated your ability as a strong analyst, you should be able to land some strong letters of recommendation and ideally have at least one or two interesting deals to discuss.

Since business school is obviously not everyone, or at least not for everyone at one specific time, you might want an additional option. Along the same lines, 2-3 years in your bottom group choice might very be a nightmare for you, regardless of how well you perform during that time. With that in mind, we move onto the most popular alternative –the opportunity to make the Group Switch. Essentially, making the group switch within your bank will require all of the above preparation and work, with an emphasis on, of course, networking. Remember, moving to a new group within your bank is always easier than getting into a new bank – so use that to your advantage. Once you’ve established some sort of a reputation within your bank, it will be easier and preferable for the new group to satisfy its hiring needs internally, rather than by looking outside to a completely new person. Also, generally speaking your current team won’t have much hard feelings, especially since you can talk to them about it when you know you have an opportunity to move into the new group rather than just springing this on them last minute – you can give them a heads up and put in the time to make a smooth transition for everyone involved, even if it requires a little extra work for a few weeks (it’s better than burning bridges).

Finally, you can make the push to move to a new bank through utilizing your network. Of course the key here will be in maintaining discretion in your networking efforts. You don’t want to shout from the roof tops that you are leaving bank X until you know you’ve got something definite (and even then, a little tact still goes a long way in terms of maintaining good relationships). This avenue is most appealing for someone who likes their group/industry, but doesn’t particularly care for their team’s deal flow, work/life balance or doesn’t really get along with a member(s) of their team. In this case, you would love to stay in your industry, just move elsewhere, where you find a better fit. The reason why I say this option is best is because 1) you want to stay in your industry/group, just move to another employer and 2) other banks will have a much easier time taking on an analyst from another bank if they want to stay in the same group, rather than start completely fresh. For example, I knew an analyst who wanted to make a move to another bank that had a stronger footprint in the M&A space after his first year. That analyst was highly ranked and working in leveraged finance space currently. When this person interviewed with 2 or 3 other potential employers (with a bit of network help), the other employers were interested in bringing him on, but not as an M&A analyst, but rather as a leveraged finance analyst. While it is definitely possible to make a fresh start, it is easier to move within your bank.

While two years can definitely feel like a lifetime in IB, remember that you are only starting your career. As an analyst, you definitely have avenues to make a fresh start in a different group or industry. However, just because you have opportunities to make a switch, it does not mean that you should spit all over your current opportunity and just expect something new to come along. Be smart, be tactful, work hard, and keep your eyes open – you’ll find a new opportunity or, at the end of the day, you might actually decide to stay in what was once your bottom group choice.

Comments go below and emails can, as always, be sent Here!

Generally speaking, IB bonuses will be higher than capital market banker bonuses moving up the chain. However, in most banks, the bonuses will come from the same bonus pool – in other words, at the analyst level your bonuses will be based on ranking regardless of group. As you move into VP and higher, bonuses will be based on your performance and the performance of your group with the group that brings in the most revenue generally getting, understandably, the largest piece of the pool. Personally, unless you are really interested in DCM, I would go with a different product group within IB (such as leveraged finance, M&A, or Project Finance – in those banks where PF is an independent group) or an industry group (energy and power, financial institutions, technology, etc) of interest.

That said, on an analyst and associate level, there really isn’t a difference in bonus figures. Additionally, in DCM, at least high grade DCM, the hours are often a bit better, and there will be more client interaction a bit sooner, but the modeling is nearly non-existent – at least in terms of interesting modeling such as M&A, project or lev fin modeling.

I landed a SA position, but am still considering other options for FT – should I reach out to my contacts now, wait until the internship is over, or not at all? Will my contacts talk with the bankers here and get me shunned?

You’ve got a few questions here, so let me tackle each of them one at a time.

First, while the Street is small, there is nothing wrong with networking and, generally speaking, your other contacts won’t go running to your current bank and be like “hey, check this out – so and so is totally screwing you guys – don’t offer him a FT position.” It’s expected that you will shop around, network and keep your options open if for no other reason than you don’t officially have a return offer yet (and won’t have one until nearly the end of your internship or so – even if it implied beforehand). Also, it’s always good to stay connected to your alumni and contacts not just for immediate use, but for down the line – if you are ever thinking of making a move or helping out a friend, etc. In short, definitely network and definitely put the feelers out there.

Now, to the 2nd question – whether you should start networking now. I definitely think that putting the feelers out now and making a big push is acting too soon. You want to give things some time – let people begin their internships, and start looking towards FT before really reaching out – you don’t want your contacts to think that you are miserable in your current position or that you don’t care about it – you want them to see that you’ve experienced it, like it, are learning a lot from it, but are considering other options for FT. That said, waiting until the end of August, if not later, is definitely delaying a bit too much (considering you have options and contacts already). In other words, waiting until August/September is fine, but in your case, you’ve already got several avenues to pursue – so pursue them. I would recommend that you wait until you are about half-way through your internship and have worked on some projects and learned a few things so that you have some valid talking points and, honestly, selling points. Essentially, I’d start thinking about reaching out towards the end of July – take it slow, but definitely make your move. This will give you enough time to pace yourself and continue to build the connections.

Is using Linkedin is a viable way of networking when contacting alums and such. Would someone think I am a creep if I randomly sent them an ‘inmail’? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I figure it is better to ask and know than have no idea at all.

To your question, it is definitely not stupid, and one that I hear fairly often. The purpose of LinkedIn is to actually connect people with other people – more specifically, professionals with professionals that have common points of interest who otherwise, might not have made that connection. While everyone that you reach out to will not come running with open arms, you will absolutely find several people that are interested in making the connection and helping you out – whether with advice, insight, a recommendation, or a combination of the 3. Just as with an alumni database, the key when reaching out is to be patient and let the contact grow. At the same time, however you want to be persistent and really cast a wide net. Craft an articulate email mentioning the mutual point of interest (your school, for example), and then ask if they’d be available to offer a bit of advice and such. Start slow, and then, if they show an interest, you can talk more about school, their background, how they broke in and more. You’ve got some time, so really use it and make it count.

I am trying to get placed into my BB’a M&A team for the summer and I’ve gotten in touch with the VP staffer for M&A and set up a time to speak. Honestly though, I’m not sure what I’m going to say. I reached out to indicate my interest etc. I’ve spoken with an analyst in the team who was cool, but I honestly have no idea what I’m going to ask the staffer.

Just be yourself and be genuine. You should talk to the staffer about the number of projects that have been coming in, the team dynamic (personalities, interests, etc), what they are looking for when the dole out projects to analysts, etc. Try to show your interest in the group and the field and ask a few questions accordingly. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a big formal interview – keep it casual and enjoy the opportunity.

Stay tuned for more articles, a NEW product and more! As always, comments go below and emails can be sent HERE.

The spring internship in WM will not hurt you unless you are indeed fairly certain that your GPA will suffer. If your GPA is going to take a big hit, I would advise against the internship. Additionally, if you think you are going to be miserable, then again, don’t take it, as it will not help you much in terms of building quality experience, good recommendations and contacts, etc.

When it comes right down to it, an internship in WM is neither going to really provide you with a strong outlet to network with bankers nor create a strong avenue to leverage your position into an IB opportunity. Beyond that, your Big 4 internship can help you, or it can do little for you depending on the group you are in. If you are in audit, it won’t help nearly as much as if you are in more of an advisory role or something similar. At the very least, however, the Big 4 internship will put a strong name on your resume, provide you with some solid experience and give you an internship for the summer (as opposed to nothing – which will definitely NOT help you to break into IB).

The bottom line is if you think you can keep your GPA up (which doesn’t seem to be the case) and think you will enjoy it, take the WM internship as it is a solid opportunity. Otherwise, drop it, as a strong GPA will definitely help you more than a PT WM internship in terms of breaking into IB.

In order to earn a FT IB slot with a BB firm, do I need a SA internship in IB with a BB (I am thinking of enjoying my last summer of peace)?

While it certainly helps to land a FT offer, you can definitely break into FT BB without doing a SA program. Just as you would when going for SA programs, the key is in networking and delivering a strong resume. The difference here is that you will be competing with many applicants who have IB experience as a result of their SA positions (whether with a BB, boutique, etc). The biggest benefit to the SA program is that you can earn a FT spot and then not have anything to worry about during your senior year – no recruiting and interviewing, unless you don’t want the position, as you have already locked up a FT offer. Beyond that, the SA program will offer concrete IB experience that will help you to stand above many other applicants from target and semi-target schools (whether you attend one or not).

The bottom line is if you earn a SA opportunity (again with a BB, boutique, etc), it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take it – if for no other reason than to make sure that IB is actually for you and that you can and want to handle it and make it your profession for the next year, 2, 3, etc. If, however, you don’t land one or really don’t want one, then at the very least I would work the networking channels and try to land an internship either in boutique IB or at least something related to IB – advisory, corp dev, consulting, etc – something calling on a similar skill set and fairly competitive. If you can land a solid position such as something listed in the previous sentence, you should position yourself pretty well to land a FT IB position with a BB – especially if you attend a target or semi-target (if not, this will still certainly help you to level the playing field).

For breaking into BB IB, is it better to accept a summer P/E internship or a boutique IB internship as a freshman/sophomore (before SA IB recruiting)?

As a freshman/sophomore to land either of those opps is incredibly impressive and neither option would hurt you. That said, just as with all opportunities, you want to go where you will build the greatest skill set and have the broadest experience in order to continue to position yourself in the best possible light as you move towards FT recruiting. If the boutique seems to offer you transaction experience and such, then that would definitely be a great path to take in terms of preparing yourself for BB IB and ultimately, FT IB. If, however, the P/E job seems like you would be working on more transactions and concrete projects, while the IB role seems a bit more juvenile in nature, then go with the P/E shop. Bottom line is both opportunities sound solid and both will help you as you move to pursue SA IB and then FT IB – go with whichever seems to offer the greatest experience set and don’t look back.

Why didn’t I get more offers – is this a tough year or am I just making the wrong moves?

I honestly can’t say why exactly you didn’t get too many offers. It is always a very competitive process selecting from pools of the most intelligent and capable people. Just getting interviews is impressive and beyond that it becomes a matter of fit and interview technique. You might want to consider some of my interview prep services that I offer ahead of his FT recruiting as I have helped numerous candidates impressive their interview skills and land offers. Besides interview technique and interview question responses there is also a “luck of the draw” factor to consider. There are many talented and capable students, but only so many slots – sometimes the fit isn’t right, sometimes a few small missteps can add up and sometimes you fall just a bit shy of the stronger applicants at that particular superday (not even overall – just that day). Keep your head up, stay focused and driven, and try to avoid common interview missteps.

I was wondering if you have any idea about the best course of action regarding smaller boutiques because most of the time their websites don’t mention anything about internship opportunities.

Generally speaking, I would recommend that you draft a strong letter of inquiry (check out my cover letter and resume services) and resume to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward. Besides that, you need to search the usual suspects (Craigslist, efinancialcareers, etc) and then perform general Google searches for boutiques closer to you. Don’t be afraid to make some phone calls and send out inquiry emails to ask about internship opportunities. Additionally, make sure to have a solid elevator pitch ready to go highlighting a few key skills and accomplishments as well as your interest in banking for when you get bankers on the phone. It will definitely be a tough road, but it is absolutely possible – reach out to firms looking for FT analysts, interns and even those firms that don’t have any need listed – simply put: cast a wide net. Paid or unpaid, the biggest thing here is to just gain some solid experience.

Is it too late to reach out as a sophomore who has not yet received any opportunities?

It’s definitely not too late to reach out. At the end of the day, even if you don’t earn any position, it is great practice – you want to be comfortable cold calling and you want to be comfortable on the phone, discussing yourself, different companies, technicals, etc.

The key here will be in getting to the point and being prepared to showcase your skill set as well as your interest in the company. Do some research, prepare some questions and get right to it – fire out some inquiry emails, or make some cold calls and be flexible. Explain that you are interested in the learning opportunity and chance to witness the profession firsthand, rather than making money and such. Focus on your talents and how you can help them, even on a PT basis – if that’s what they need. What you want to avoid, however, is sounding desperate. There is a line between driven/hungry and desperate. You don’t want to beg for an opportunity, you don’t want to go on and on about how you’d feel privileged just to sort papers, make copies, get coffee, sweep the floor, etc – part of selling yourself is in having goals and standards. Yes, you might be asked to get coffee and make copies – but you should be vocal in your goals to learn, to grow and to contribute to the team.

Learn about the company, know what you are looking to get out of the opportunity (but be realistic – don’t expect to close a bunch of deals, run models, etc as a soph on a cold call) and be comfortable, yet persistent. There are a lot of boutiques out there and if you can work unpaid, you might actually get some solid experience ahead of junior recruiting. Remember, worst case scenario is you are in the same position as you are in now (no offer). In other words, give it your all – no one is going to hold a grudge, no one is going to reject you next year because you cold called a few places this year.

First, it depends on how long you were at the FoF internship – if you were only there for a few weeks or less, you can probably leave it off. If you left on poor terms and won’t expect a good recommendation – perhaps they feel you left them high an dry since you committed to stay until XXX and left early, then you should leave it off your resume as well (this is assuming you weren’t there for like 3-4+ months). If, however, you were there for at least 2+ months and there were no hard feelings when you left, you could probably put it down on your resume with bullet points encompassing whatever it is that you did while there. You don’t need to mention leaving or leaving early for another gig, etc – your reason for leaving doesn’t need to be on your resume, only your experiences and responsibilities.

Next, regarding your new internship, you will want to put the basics down – in other words, firm name, date you started, position and location. Regarding specific bullet points, you should not put down what you expect to do, you should only put down what you’ve done. Wait as long as possible to submit for the SA at Citi – until deadline, and by then, ideally, you’ve done at least a few things of interest that you can put on your resume – even if embellished a bit. When it comes to a standard resume drop, applying at the deadline as opposed to a week or so early shouldn’t make much of a difference.

Remember, it’s one thing to add a bit of flavor to your resume, it’s another thing to put down tasks that you haven’t performed and may not perform. If I were you, I would hold off until the deadline and then fill in the position with a few bullet points on what you’ve already done and really try to sell it. If you throw too much on there, it will be obvious that something is a bit off since you’ve only been there a week or a few weeks. If you get to the interview, you can absolutely update them on what you’ve done since the drop, which will only make selling your candidacy easier.

So I got a 1st round BB interview, but when I applied, I wrote down on my cover letter that I was competing in an academic competition. Between coursework and a job, however, my preparation took a back seat and I dropped out. Can this really hurt my interview chances or am I overreacting?

This really isn’t a big deal. Granted, it is an oversight and no longer true, but: 1) cover letters are read briefly and often as a “check-the-box”, 2) even if you are asked about it, just be honest and mention that between drop and now, your courses became too demanding, etc and you decided to withdraw rather than deliver something of sub par quality, and 3) while it is an interesting point, even if the reviewer read it and liked it, it isn’t something that is a banker-killer – it’s not something terribly relevant nor entirely necessary – more just a fun talking point, which, as the description implies, might be fun, but if not there, you are still worthy of that same interview and opportunity (assuming all else is true, of course).

What would be the BBs? Would UBS, fixed income be a good BB to have summer internship? Also, is S&T internship less prestigious etc than IBD? Or, are both S&T and IBD together get referred to as IBD or is it only IBD (M&A) that gets called IBD? Of the two which is preferable? Or is this question dumb in some way? Thanks.

As a rule of thumb there are no “dumb questions” – although I’ve seen some contenders. The “BBs” are essentially the bulge bracket banks – the big banks and players in the IB space – including: Goldman, MS, JPM, DB, Citi, CS, UBS, Wells/Wachovia, Barclays, and probably a few others I am forgetting (strictly talking BBs and not elite boutiques and such).

Getting beyond that, although UBS is a weaker name among the BBs right now (due more to internal issues than IB problems), it is still a strong name in the space and carries some weight – especially in terms of SA opportunities to prepare for a FT push. Fixed Income can refer to S&T and/or IB and/or Credit depending on the position within the space. I am assuming it is either S&T or IB – either way, it should be a solid opportunity.

Finally, to your last question, IB and S&T are both true front office roles and carry, more or less, equal prestige – but they are quite different from each other. It is not a matter of which is better or preferable, but more a matter of which you prefer – if you are interested in IB, then S&T won’t help as much – if, however, you are interested in S&T, then an S&T SA with UBS will absolutely be helpful.

IB refers to more than just M&A – although M&A is nowadays synonymous with IB in many circles. IB includes all industry groups (consumer and retail, technology, media, energy and power, etc) and all product groups (M&A, leveraged finance, high grade, etc) within the IB.

The bottom line is that it all depends on what you are most interested in. Additionally, even if you are interested in IB, accepting an SA position in S&T with UBS will still definitely help as they both carry high levels of prestige and often rely on similar skill sets (even though a SA position in IB would be preferable in this case). The biggest thing in that case will just be in defending your interest in IB, when interviewing for IB FT offers.

It’s getting late in the season and I’ve been rejected for a few SA opportunities. Over the years I’ve built an extensive list of contacts through alumni and linkedin. Should I just send out a mass email to all of them this week? It would definitely save time, but is it worth it?

I would definitely reach out to your contacts, but I would not go with a mass email as a mass email is very impersonal and makes your contacts feel like they are nothing more than resume droppers especially since many of them don’t know you very well if at all. Instead, I would send the emails out 1 at a time, and take your time. Don’t wait 3 months to do it, but it’s perfectly fine to tailor a few emails to your best or most engaged 10, 20, 50 contacts, and then see what types of response you get over the next week or so. Then send another batch if you need to dig deeper. You never want to call on everyone all at once if you only need a few at a time to get the ball rolling. Save your pull and keep them in reserve and interested for another day. For now, look to your most interested contacts and start there.

One of my interviewers (SA) was a VP in M&A. I received the offer, but I definitely want to get into his group. The sell day is later, but is there a way I can reach out to him to really indicate my interest and get the ball rolling? How should I go about saying that I am talking to other firms but would come to his firm if I got into his M&A group?

To the last part of your questions first, there really isn’t much of a way to get hired directly into a group during a standard SA (it is for the IB position and then the sell day follows where group selection is made) – only if you are a direct hire into the group will you have a guaranteed spot in the group. That said, there are ways to definitely increase your chances.

First, you should definitely reach out to the VP and ask him a few more questions, express your interest in the team, and ask him if it would be alright one day to even potentially come in and meet a few of the guys, etc – see how the team flows, works, etc – briefly of course, perhaps before an early lunch. All of this will show both your enthusiasm and interest in not just the opportunity, but also the group. Once you begin speaking with him a bit more and develop a bit of a better relationship, you can then talk to him about SA opps in his group, your interest in specifically working with his team, his thoughts and so forth.

From there, you might have an avenue to speak to HR to lock in a spot with the group, or potentially persuade the VP to push hard for you (which will definitely help your cause). The first step, above all else, is to work on developing the relationship with the banker and even some of his team – get the email going, ask some questions, express an interest, and then offer to meet for a drink (coffee) or a quick lunch – really try to learn about the group and fit into the team’s dynamic.

With a decent SAT score, should I take the GMAT and try to ace it as a freshman or sophomore in order to take the focus off of the SAT and if so, will it help me to land internships?

A high GMAT is definitely a positive mark on your resume, but as a freshman, soph, or even junior, the SAT is the standardized test of choice and merit, not the GMAT. Showing the GMAT on your resume and not your SAT score will also raise flags as to how poorly you must have done on your SAT given your choice to highlight the GMAT, a B school exam. Additionally, since the GMAT is only good for 5 years, if you decide to attend B school, it is highly likely that you will have to retake the exam, study all over again, etc. Finally, the GMAT is not going to really help since, as I previously mentioned, at your age, the SAT and GPA are the pivotal academic points of interest – as long as you have a solid SAT, just focus on maintaining or earning a high GPA, start networking, and keep your eyes open for opportunities. Save the GMAT for senior year, or later.

Stay tuned for future posts on what an analyst really does, staying ahead of potential layoffs and more!

Number to Ask

Many people have asked me at what point should I stop asking questions and how many questions crosses the line between interested candidate and blindly annoying rambler. Unfortunately there is no magic number of questions you should automatically ask and no sudden bell that goes off when you’re at the interviewer’s recommended limit. That said, there are some general guidelines to follow when it comes to how many questions to ask. Generally speaking, 2-3 (I try to stick closer to 2 unless one of the interviewer’s answers was really short and left an opening for a follow-up question or such) solid questions are enough to leave a pleasant closing impression and appear genuinely interested without annoying the interviewer.

There are of course exceptions to this rule such as casual conversation. If the dialogue between the interviewer and you has become a bit more casual/comfortable, then you can allow it to play out for a few minutes. In this case, however, it is no longer the number of questions, but rather the time that should guide your moves. As the dialogue appears to wind down and you’ve covered a few topics in the closing questions, if the interviewer asks for if you have any other questions or leaves an opening, use that opportunity to close the interview for yourself to avoid the risk of taking your interviewer’s courtesy and turning it into his/her mistake.

Another exception to the rule runs closer to the extremes in terms of available time. If you are in the middle of a superday interview, for example, and there are other applicants in the middle of the process, you need to be aware of the time constraints on the interviews. In other words, if the interview comes to an end with just a few minutes before the time expires, do not try to squeeze 2 or 3 questions in – instead, ask 1 solid question and then excuse yourself and thank them for their time citing the time and the other interviewees – being aware of your situation and courteous of the interviewer’s time and process will definitely help you more than squeezing in 1 more rushed question. On the other side of the coin, if there is a lot of time left over, rather than speeding out of the interview, you can use this time to ask an extra question – ideally something that can stir up some sort of conversation and create more of a casual atmosphere – perhaps something hobby-related, or group activity related – this is not an opportunity to leave the interview and rest, but rather an opportunity to show your fit with team.

Topics to Cover and Not Cover

Just as you should not as 30 questions of your interviewer, you should also keep in mind that this is still an interview, and, as such, there are certain topics that you can and should cover and certain topics that you generally should try to avoid (unless of course, the interviewer brings them up in conversation).

When asking your interviewer questions, some of the best questions come from topics including his/her background – such as how and why he/she got into banking, how he/she chose that particular industry or product, etc. Besides background, ask questions on his/her team such as team dynamic, group activities, etc and the popular “what-if” questions meaning those questions that put the interviewer in a particular scenario or ask him/her to recount on events of his/her past and if he/she would do anything differently. For example, you can ask the interviewer what the one thing that he/she wishes he/she knew before getting into the business and whether that point would have changed his/her mind on entering the business. Beyond those questions, you can also ask about his/her most enjoyable moments/deals were in banking, what the most important qualities are for analysts, what mistakes he/she has seen analysts make, etc.

Of course for all of the interview topics that are acceptable and recommended, there is also a list of topics/ideas that it is generally better to stay away from. The most popular questions that I have heard from topics that you should try to avoid involve making the closing questions sound like a news reporter from CNBC interviewing him/her by grilling the interviewer on specifics on deals and market analysis (where do you see the market going in the next year or so, for example). Additionally, stay away from topics that can easily be found through a simple google search such as bank specifics, general questions on investment banking, etc (and of course questions on religion and politics – this should be assumed, but I figure it is better to mention it than leave it out and have someone walk down that path). Stay away from league table questions and street reputation questioning as this can both be found online and can be a bit offensive. Finally, stay away from exit opps questions such as “what P/E firms have you sent your analysts to” before actually landing the job and checking out the sellday – some of you might be laughing at this, but trust me, I have heard it before.

Pitfalls

I’ve went through a few things that you should be doing and covered a bit of material on what you should not be doing, but there are also some common pitfalls to avoid that relate to the past points and enter some new territory as well. First and foremost, avoid asking too many questions – yes, I mentioned it in a roundabout way before, but it needs to be mentioned again as it is the most common pitfall that I encounter. Remember, some interviewers will end the interview for you, while others will keep asking if you have any other questions even after time has expired – it is up to you to know the situation and be prepared to bring the interview to a close. Along the same lines as the previous point, try not to ask multiple part questions. In other words, it is one thing to ask a 2-part question, but I have heard candidates ask 3,4, or even 5-part questions that run about a paragraph long. Frankly, by the time you get to the end of the question I can barely remember where you started. Keep the questions interesting, but also simple. Don’t assume that asking two questions means you ask 1 question and then a giant 4-part question requiring a 20-minute response – the closing questions should leave a relaxed and enjoyable impression, not a tense and stressed feeling.

Beyond that, do not ignore the answers the interviewer provides to your questions and avoid spacing out during his/her responses. I have heard candidates ask a good question, then after a few moments the interviewer answers the question only to have the candidate ask a follow-up that the interviewer literally just answered in his/her previous response. I’ve also seen candidates space out, lose eye contact, yawn, fumble around with keys, etc, during an interview – this is just silly and something that you should have no problem avoiding.

The last pitfall that you need to avoid is subtle, but definitely real – cutting the interviewer off mid-response. I have had candidates ask me a question and then halfway through my response they (I assume) think of a follow-up question and just cut me off to ask it. Sometimes they apologize for cutting me off and sometimes they don’t – either way, don’t do it. If you think of a follow-up question just store it in your head for a few seconds and then when the interviewer has finished his/her response, ask it (this does not, however, mean that you should tune out the rest of the interviewer’s response when you’ve thought of the follow-up question – stay in the conversation!). Cutting off an interviewer is rude, creates a bit of that interrogation-room feel and is, simply put, not the impression that you want to leave just before closing the interview.

Knowing When to Close

This is a short point, but an important one – know when to close the interview. Whether it is because you have asked 2-3 questions, the interviewer is clearly becoming ready to end (by gauging his/her body language, he/she is checking the clock, he/she is closing answers quickly), or even just because you’re out of good questions (I know it sounds funny, but some people will try to force questions when they don’t have anything left to say to avoid ending the interview). In any case, you need to be prepared to end the interview. Simply decline to ask any further questions, thank the interviewer for his/her time, ask for a card or email address if he/she hasn’t already given you one, shake ends, and make your way out. Don’t be afraid to end the interview – it will hurt you more to ramble on and on or show a complete disregard for the interviewer’s time than to simply end the interview on a high note – a bit of showmanship (thank you George Costanza for those Seinfeld fans – ending on a high note).

Don’t Forget the Follow-Up Email

The last point that I will leave you with is regarding the follow-up email. I’m not going to give you guidelines or a sample follow-up/thank you email (maybe another time), but rather just remind you that you do indeed have a thank you email to utilize – so utilize it. In other words, use the thank you email to not just thank the interviewer and continue to express your interest in the opportunity, but also to ask another quick question if you have one and happened to run out of time during your interview or just to keep a dialogue between the 2 of you going. Remember, you’ve always got the follow-up thank you email to toss out another question – don’t hesitate to use it if for no other reason than to avoid running on during the interview.

That about covers it – stay tuned for more articles coming soon! As always, comment go below, and emails can be sent HERE.

Make the most out of a resume

Without a strong support network and a lot of closer friends on the inside, without a well-designed and well-articulated resume, you will have a very difficult time getting to the second stage of the process, the interviews, where, yes, the importance of the resume will diminish. As a SA candidate you are not expected to have a wealth of internship experience, nor are you expected to have banking experience – if you do, you will clearly stand above the rest and have an initial advantage over the competition (I say initial since, as I mentioned before, the resume diminishes in importance once you begin the interview process – here your experience will still absolutely help, but you’ll need the interview skills as well to keep your edge).

If you happen to have some highly relevant experience, if not actual banking experience, then the job of putting together your resume becomes more a matter of expressing your internship responsibilities well, highlighting select other aspects of your candidacy (such as involvement in a club or two) and making sure there are no obvious/grammatical errors throughout. This is not a problem that most SA candidates face – most SA candidates face the opposite problem – not having the clearly relevant or actual banking internship experience and need to overcome that issue.

As I mentioned before, you don’t need to have clearly relevant experience to get into a SA program – it helps, but you can do it without it as well. With some work experience, your best bet will be to first and foremost sell your school’s brand, your GPA, relevant coursework – essentially some relevant and impressive factors from your educational background. From there, you will want to craft your limited work experience bullet points to be as relevant to banking as you can – working in operations/accounting can sound relevant if you focus on some analysis and even number crunching, even non-profit work or tutoring can sound relevant. If you have little-to-no work experience (and for those with some work experience after they’ve highlighted said work experience) after highlighting your school, GPA, coursework and so forth, you will absolutely need to sell your undergraduate club/organization involvement as both interesting and relevant to recruiters. Holding officer positions in clubs and having a visible impact on the organization can be a selling point as strong as most work experience, especially when it comes to SA recruiting. The key with selling club involvement on your resume is in selling the relevance of your work as it pertains to banking, while demonstrating how you’ve stepped up as a leader, whether of the club, a sub committee or just of the tasks your office is responsible for. Leadership, coupled with a relevant experience base is definitely going to impress recruiters, especially when lacking directly relevant work experience.

Working the interview

Everything is looking up and after all of the networking, resume editing, applying and hoping (if you’ve done any of this), you’ve made it – you’ve received the first round interview invitation. Walking into that first round interview is a welcome sight for many since the interview is now the focal point of the application (not the resume, background, etc – although they all still matter) and fate, in a matter of speaking, is once again in your hands – for a little while. Once you get past the excitement of getting the interview call/email, it’s time to start your preparation. While the SA and FT interviews are similar, especially for those SA candidates that have past internship experience or are finance/accounting majors, there are still some differences that need to be touched on.

Exceptions aside, the SA interview will often rely heavily on fit given the lack of a technical background in the applicant pool – meaning a lack of strong internship experience (that requires a comparable skill set to IB, if not IB) and/or a lack of technical coursework in Finance and Accounting. For many candidates, this internship would be their first “real” finance/technical internship – they may have had club involvement or other unrelated internships, but nothing of this caliber – not the worst internship to lead off with – that’s for sure.

SA candidates need to be prepared for all of the behavioral questions (check out my interview guide for more on the types of the questions and, of course, explanations) from background to goals, from strengths to failures and everything in between. Although the manner in which you respond to these questions will generally be similar to FT applicants, SA candidates need to be especially prepared for them since interviewers are going to rely heavily on these responses when assessing your candidacy.

One fit question in particular that a SA candidate should pay attention to is the goals question – whether phrased in the form of intermediate (3-5 year) goals, next step (post SA goals), or something else entirely. For FT candidates this question is usually not as dangerous since FT analysts need only to express an interest in IB and can then have various longer/intermediate-term goals – whether move to a boutique, buy side, etc. FT associate candidates on the other hand need to show an interest in growing with the firm (or at least they should since the associate position is essentially used to shape the next VPs). SA candidates need to think of the goals question more as associates do than analysts. Specifically, going for a SA position, you should know that next year you plan to accept a FT position with the bank and in the next few years you will be working towards completing the FT analyst program. Remember, the SA program is a grooming and interview tool used by banks to gauge who they want to become a part of their next incoming FT analyst class and if that’s not what you at least say you want, you’ll definitely be in a bit of trouble – no bank wants to hear that you are going to use them for their SA program to land at a better bank – or that you are only accepting this SA position because the better bank you applied to dinged you.

Getting beyond the fit questions, some applicants will be faced with technical questions. Some candidates will be faced with the highest level questions such as “what are the 3 financial statements,” while others will be asked more complex questions on transaction impact on the statements, discounted cash flow, and so on – depending, of course, on your level of aptitude in these fields. Additionally, due to a common gap in technical knowledge, brain teasers can often become a headline of the SA interview (especially for more quant-inclined candidates such as math, stat, econ, etc majors). Brain teasers come in 2 main types – those questions that have a specific answer (degrees between the two hands on a clock at time X) and those questions that do not have a definitive answer (bowling bowls in a large building). In either case, the more important aspect of your response is in how you arrive at your answer, not the answer itself. In other words, candidates need to be comfortable enough to walk the interview through their thought process even if they arrive at the wrong answer – showing an articulate and lucid thought process will carry much more weight than just sitting quietly, or with your head buried in a piece of paper and delivering an answer (whether correct or incorrect). It’s fine to take a few moments and think, or write down some steps, but just remember to keep the interviewer engaged and aware of your thought process and the way in which you are working out your problem – these questions are to test how you think and solve problems (as well as your confidence and ability to communicate) – use these questions to sell your candidacy, not shoot it in the foot.

Forward-Looking Thoughts

Well thank heavens! You earned the interviews, nailed them and managed to land yourself a SA position – congratulations! Instead of being excited, however, you’re wondering if you should hold out for another opportunity and look for something better (such as a better name brand bank or if you are hired into 1 group but wanted another) – maybe push a few other contacts, keep networking, prep for a few more interviews, etc. The answer is: unless you are really close to landing another position and will find out before this deadline passes, absolutely not!

If you have to “settle” for your second or third choice of bank for IB, that’s not a problem at all. Remember, the SA program is nothing more than an opportunity to build experience/your resume for a few months and then earn a FT offer and/or leverage that experience into an offer with a better bank. Utilize your expanded list of contacts for the FT employment search in a few months with a much stronger resume. Additionally, you might find that you really like the bank you interned with over the summer and want to stay – in this case, if you’ve earned the FT return offer, you can relax during your senior year and not go through all of the stress of recruiting, interviewing, planning and praying all over again. Finally, keep in mind that landing a SA position with this bank, does not mean you will have the same fortune with a better bank, or even a lower-ranked bank – this bank liked you, you might not interview as well, a different reviewer might not like your resume as well, etc – you never know – for a 3-month program, take the experience and then worry about your next move – you do not want to end up accepting an offer with a lesser company, let alone in a lesser or even unrelated group because you held out for a better IB SA internship – IB SA is better than Operations SA (and most things in between) when it comes to FT IB recruiting.

On a similar note, if you have to “settle” for a group outside of your main group(s) of interest, that is alright as well. Again, it is only a summer position, and at the end of the program, if you are offered FT employment, you can then discuss other group opportunities. Throughout your SA internship, you will also want to network with as many bankers as you can in your favorite groups – this will certainly give you an upper hand when it comes time to request the move for FT. Connect with the bankers in your favorite groups, find out about FT opportunities, etc – they will be your best allies when it comes to your pitch to make the move. Remember, it is much easier to change groups once you are in, have a capable reputation and have networked with some of the group, than if you are applying blind, with no connections from another bank, school, etc.

Stay tuned for future posts, products and much more! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, drop them below or send me an email HERE!