Although along the same line as many of the GPA questions, I encounter a large amount of questions related to, most commonly, these 3 standardized tests: the SAT, GMAT and LSAT. For those of you that don’t know, the GMAT is the test individuals take when preparing for business school, the LSAT for law school and the SAT, of course, is for undergrads (nothing terribly earth-shattering here, I know). Definitions aside, the most common questions regarding these exams involve their impact on bankers, which scores are high enough and not, and when you should list one, the other, both, all 3, etc.

Let me start off with the LSAT and let me be the first to shout that achieving a 170+ on the LSAT is impressive and well-done without question. Now, let me also be the first to tell you that bankers don’t give a damn. Yes a 170+ is great, but the LSAT, for those of you that forgot what you read a few sentences ago, is for law school, not business school and certainly not undergrad (the 2 places where IB recruits). While the score clearly shows that at the very least you are a good test taker, it also shows that you have an interest in law school, or at least are not certain if you want to go to law school (which also probably would lead them to believe that you don’t know if IB is for you). As a general rule of thumb, I would not include the LSAT in your resume, since it will open up way too many questions without any benefit.

Now let’s move on to the GMAT. With the GMAT, there are two sides to the coin or two situations to consider before we even consider schools. The first situation involves a current business school student (or alum). In this case, the GMAT is perfectly acceptable to put on your resume (provided you’ve got a score good enough to include) and I would definitely advise you to do so.

The second situation is a little stickier in that you have not yet attended business school. In this scenario, you might have taken the GMAT as a backup, with the intention of going next year, or with the intention of going in 3 years. In any case, if that GMAT is on your resume, you will often be asked “well are you planning to go to business school soon” during your interview. Remember, if you are applying for jobs after (or during) your initial post-U grad position, many employers will be looking to bring you on for longer than a year or 2 – therefore, you probably don’t want to outright say that you are gunning for business school, even if you are. You will need to develop an answer that puts their fears to rest (even if valid) if you want to have a good shot at landing the position (check this and this out for more help with nailing the interview. That said, if your SAT score is not that great, and/or if your GMAT score is really pretty strong (and you’ve crafted a good answer to the aforementioned question), then you should really consider including your GMAT on your resume in the education section as it will definitely help you to check off that ever-looming standardized test question (SAT or GMAT), especially if you are a few years out of U grad and with a less than top notch SAT score.

Now that you should be able to figure out when to include your GMAT, you need to know whether you should include it. Although you can get into business school with a wide range of scores, and a 650 is a very respectable score, generally speaking, I would recommend that you only include your score if it is a 700 or better (for investment banking – for other fields, I think a 660-670+ would definitely suffice). Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen strong resumes with a 680 GMAT listed, but as a general rule of thumb, the 700 is that magic check-the-box number, where, if a recruiter sees that, they won’t question it – it’s a really good score, check, and move on. As a side note, if you’ve got a 690 GMAT and a weaker SAT, it might not be a bad idea to include the GMAT score since the 690 is more current and still a very good score.

Next, when listing your GMAT score, don’t break out any additional details outside of your AWA IF, and only if, it is a 5.5 or better (personally I don’t think anything lower than a 6 should be listed, but I’ve seen enough 5.5s to know that it isn’t a terribly big deal). By breaking out details I am referring to your individual verbal and math scores. Listing a 720 is good enough – you do not have to go into your 49 in math, since you will be only calling attention to your verbal score that is a bit weaker – instead, just give me the great combined score and if the interviewer has additional questions, let him/her ask them.

Finally, we come to the ever-popular SAT. Where including the GMAT can result in questions, NOT including the SAT can also bring up questions. For students in business school, outside of U grad for several years, or who have taken the GMAT (outside of U grad, that is) and have a strong GMAT score, not including the SAT is not a big deal – occasionally a recruiter will want to know, but it is so long ago that it isn’t going to be a big deal breaker either way, even if you don’t remember. For undergrads, however, the SAT is often a recruiter’s easiest way to weed out several candidates in one push. While many recruiters won’t care about your SAT, many will and not including will raise a flag of “well how bad did he/she do” even if you did not do badly at all and just forgot to include it. That said, including a score that isn’t great for a recruiter that isn’t really looking might provide him/her an easy way to drop a quick ding. Therefore, knowing whether to include your resume is important.

As a general of thumb, scores less than a combined 2100 (1400 or so for those that took the old exam) do not need to be highlighted/included in your resume. In general, these scores are considered the “start” of the highly competitive scores and at this point and above, it would be silly to not include your score, since it will be seen as a positive or at worst a neutral (rather than no score, which could, on occasion, be seen as an implication of a negative). Scores below this threshold do not need to be included in your resume, although borderline scores (mid 2000s or high 1300s) can be included provided that the weaker aspect is not in your math section. Once you dip into the low 2000s (1300s) and below, you are no longer really helping your candidacy much by including your score and could be hurting it. What I mean by hurting it is not that your score is necessarily bad, but it isn’t great either and by giving it up outside of the interview or when they specifically request it, you are giving away non-beneficial information without providing them with as much beneficial information (interview skills, etc) first. In short, a 2100+ can and should be kept on, and anything lower than the low 2000s can be cut from your resume to keep the focus on your, hopefully, strong GPA.

Stay tuned for my next post on what exactly constitutes relevant coursework and titling your summer analyst and FT banking positions, a fresh product on the way and much more! Comments go below and emails can be sent Here!

Business school application time is a stressful time for everyone, whether you are the 800 GMAT star, 4.0 quant genius, the founder of a new and robust internet company, or an investment banking analyst/PE associate with a few years of experience under his or her belt. To say that creating a beautifully written set of essays is challenging is more than just a slight understatement. In fact, applications for the top schools are extremely taxing from start to finish, and if you are not careful to avoid some of the more common mistakes associated with the process, you will make the admission committee’s decision a much easier one – Ding! While there are many missteps that applicants make throughout the process, the five below are among the more common and most detrimental.

Narrow Essays

One of the main problems that I have seen (and yes, this trap got the better of me in one of my applications as well) is when applicants, especially bankers and PE guys, answer most, if not all, of their essays through an explanation of a work-related situation. At this point, the question inevitably arises resembling something like, “but don’t business schools want to see how I have grown throughout my career and learned valuable life-changing lessons?” Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, but the purpose of the essays is to ensure that the applicant, especially the bankers and PE guys (read: quant guys coming from an overcrowded, fearful profession – at least in this chaotic market), is a well-rounded and multi-dimensional individual, who is not solely defined as a banker, driven by money, and only looking to earn an MBA for the sake of stamping one more accreditation on his or her resume.

The most important thing to show the ad com is that you are a banker by profession, but your life is so much more. As an analyst, I may be a banker, but that is just one part of me (that happens to take up as much as 90-110 hours per week). As a volunteer I am leader and team player; as an athlete I am a weekend football player and powerlifter, etc. It is important to address some of these aspects of your character/life in at least 1 essay, if required to complete 3, and at least 2 essays, if required to complete 4 – remember, a majority of your work experiences can be conveyed through your resume and through your “career goals” essay.

Regarding the “career goals” essay, if you are in investment banking or private equity, especially if you attended a well-known university or have an outstanding GPA, it is crucial to express an interest in the field – some sort of reason why you wanted to enter investment banking, and what is drawing you back to the field post MBA, or why you have decided to change career paths at this time. Without an articulate, expressive explanation, the admissions team will probably assume that you had many other opportunities and chose banking to make the big $, and now that the big $ are shrinking, it is time to run back to school and try something else. While you may very well have gotten into the field for that exact reason, you need to figure out why you enjoyed the field or what happened to cause you to lose interest in the field going forward (read: NOT money-driven). Once you figure that out, you need to deliver that message to the admissions committee in a clear, well-written manner. This will help to ensure that you are not seen as the typical banker who wanted big $, and now that they’re gone you need B school to find another money pit for you – this type of applicant is seen as someone who will never give back to the school, and not offer any benefit to the other students – don’t be that applicant.

Thin Essays

Continuing where the Narrow Essays pitfall ends, thin essays are those which introduce a concept well, but don’t provide enough body in some manner, whether failing to demonstrate personal growth, leadership, or a valuable lesson learned. As such, these essays often fail to, or at best, marginally answer the original question posed by the ad com. As important as it is to show the breadth of your character through your essays, it is as important to use each essay to maximize your impact on the ad com and fully answer the question posed, whether why banking, why school X, or name a lesson learned.

Not addressing any red flags in your candidacy

For early career applicants (read: less than 3 years experience), there should generally be just two instances where the red flag essay (optional essay) will be used: a poor GMAT or a poor GPA (any other topics should be placed strategically throughout the other essays). Regardless of whether you have a 3.9 GPA, or earned a mechanical engineering degree from MIT, a poor GMAT, is a poor GMAT, and the reasons for the low score should be explained in the optional essay (note: this is especially true if your lower overall score is the result of a poor quant score). In fact, someone with a really high GPA or a good GPA from an elite school in a very challenging major may need to explain the low GMAT score more than other candidates as a high GMAT score is practically expected of those types of candidates.

On the opposite side of the same coin, do not assume a high GMAT offsets a weak GPA (read: 3.2ish is marginal, below that is weak for top schools). While a high GMAT tells admissions that you can handle the quant load, a weak GPA without an explanation says that either you cannot handle a structured academic environment, or that you were too immature during undergrad and slacked off. Whether it is either of those reasons or something entirely different, you should share the explanation with the admissions team and explain how you have grown either because of, or since the experience to alleviate any trepidation.

The only other general red flag to ad com is far more likely to be found in seasoned applicants (read: applicants with, chronologically speaking, greater levels of experience) – the employment gap(s). If you happen to have a long period of pure unemployment on your resume (read: post undergrad and a period of more than 3 months – for the record, changing careers and working for a non-profit counts as employed and should be spun quite favorably for the application) you should absolutely write a few paragraphs explaining the situation, what came to pass, and how the experience changed your life and improved your candidacy (a great way to mention a volunteering opportunity pursued).

Misusing the Optional Essay

Just as not addressing a red flag to the ad com negatively impacts your candidacy, so too does inventing red flags to address in order to share more aspects of your candidacy with the admissions team. While I know the optional essay seems like a great way to mention another volunteering activity, a hobby, or a situation illustrating how you were able to overcome some sort of professional adversity, please refrain from doing so (in general), as the ad com will usually frown on such submissions unless they provide an extremely high level of introspective sensitivity and some sort of profound insight into the trials and tribulations leading up to your candidacy. In other words, unless you believe this tidbit of information will monumentally increase your chances of gaining entry to the school, and without it, the admissions team will truly be missing out on a major aspect of your character and candidacy, please omit the essay.

I know that you want to share your life experiences (I did too), but the majority of these essays can be truncated, and blended into other places in your application, or even the interview (if you are invited for one), where you can express just how great of an impact the event had on you. The last thing that you want the admissions team to do when they get to your application, in a towering pile of applications, is wonder why you’re running off at the keyboard for this optional essay – you should have sold them on your candidacy already and ended it. Writing an optional essay on something outside of the general red flag items just gives the admissions team a questionable experience to think about, and why would we want to do that.

Overreaching

Last but not least, be honest with yourself: if you have a 630 GMAT, a 3.2 GPA and not the most impressive list of extracurricular activities (POST undergrad), then you need to acknowledge that you are a stretch and on the lower end, if not outside of the lower end, of the spectrum for the top 10 MBA programs right off the bat. Sure, you could have a great life story and bang out incredible essays, but you need to go into the situation with your perceptions aligned to reality and understand the odds are against you – a bit more so than for others. There is, however, absolutely nothing wrong with applying to a few top schools, but try to get the applications in for Round 1, and really work to nail the essays and show how you can handle the work (from a quant perspective). Also, size up some schools ranked 11-25 and work on their applications throughout round 1, ready to apply early in the 2nd round if you need to. There is nothing more potentially disconcerting than being rejected by every school you apply to, especially if you haven’t looked honestly at your candidacy – this can make you feel far worse about your candidacy as it pertains to other schools than a of ding from Harvard or Stanford.

While these are 5 of the more common application pitfalls, there are definitely many others. If anyone can speak to additional looming pitfalls, feel free to drop a comment, or drop me an email and I’ll be sure to tally them up and put out a follow-up article. Also, keep on the lookout for parts 2 and 3 of this 3-part set, dealing with the top application strategies and how to choose the school for you. Remember, when it comes to B school applications, it’s not how much you write, but how you write it – make less, more.

If we think of getting a job, the job you want, as scoring a 100% on an essay exam, your resume is the question that always annoys students because while most questions are worth 10 points or so, this question was the one that was worth 50-60 points – in other words, get this question wrong, and you can kiss that 100%, or even passing the exam, for that matter, goodbye. Metaphors aside, I think everyone understands the importance of a resume, so I’ve decided to pull together an assortment of tips and notes designed to help each of you draft an impressive resume that can effectively highlight all of your strengths.

For many people, this article may just be reinforcing what they already know/believed to be true. For others, it will seem a bit out of left field and different from what they are used to building. Either way, I hope that these tips and explanations will get all of you on your way to creating phenomenal resumes that only a complete fool would pass on.

Quick note: The bulk of this short primer is designed with analysts and associates (junior positions for those outside of banking) in mind, and, as such, some aspects, such as many of the numerical limitations described below, will not apply to seasoned or senior employees. If you have any questions regarding your resume specifically, feel free to drop me an email. Without further delay, here we go.

Scream it loud, scream it proud – what your resume should convey

Leadership

This should not be surprising to anyone, right? Employers love to see leadership traits and qualities on an applicant’s resume. Whether through work experience, academics, extra curricular activities, or some combination of the three, pointing to concrete examples where you had to, or chose to, step up and lead the pack is always welcome, always appreciated, and always respected.

Team player

If lacking any sort of leadership experience is a red flag, thing of lacking any experience with being a strong team player as 100 red flags, 10 trumpets, and Paul Revere on his horse – in short, you need to show that you are a team player. Let me clarify, however, that being a team player does not mean that you had to have played on a sports team in college, or that you need to include your high school wrestling team days on your resume (please don’t, for the record). What I mean by being a team player is just that you have experience working in teams, and functioning very well in teams – whether through community service events, participating in a sport, large college projects, or working with a team at a previous employer or internship (i.e. sales team, or, for banking, working with your associate and VP on a few projects). At the end of the day, the employer just wants to know that you work well in teams, and that you can handle the give and take associated with being a team player – things are not necessarily done the way you want them to be done, and, at the same time, you need to be able to speak up when you are confused by something or think there may be a more effective way of taking on a task. Remember, you will be spending MANY hours per day, let alone per week, with these people, and if you can’t play nice, then there is no way that they will want to bring you onto their team.

Employee plus, plus

A strong employee and strong academic performer are absolutely beneficial to your candidacy when applying for an investment banking position (yes, I know I am stating the obvious). That said, too many people get carried away with employment and academics thereby forgetting to include a few lines near the bottom of their resumes for hobbies and community involvement. Whether applying to business school, or for a job, the resume reviewers like to see a well-rounded applicant. By showing off some of your extracurricular activities, you achieve two benefits: first, you show the reviewer that there is more to you than a job and a GPA, and second, you are giving the reviewer an opportunity to find common interests and hobbies with you – and having a common hobby definitely makes your candidacy, at the least, slightly more appealing, and, if invited to interview, makes for a much smoother and relaxed interview.

It’s in the details

Hopefully this is something everyone knows already, but whether it’s obvious is irrelevant; it is definitely worth repeating: Pay STRICT attention to detail, every detail. In other words, watch the typos, grammar missteps and poor styling (e.g. font consistency, line spacing, etc.), because if you don’t, you are essentially saying two things: 1) I don’t really care enough about whether I land this job to check my work, and, therefore, 2) move on to the next candidate.

Break it down one time – general section overviews

Extra Curricular Activities

ECs include community involvement and hobbies and should always find a small place in the resume towards the bottom of the page. I usually stick with a few general rules of thumb: 1-2 lines for hobbies, and 1-2 positions for volunteer/community work containing up to 2 bullet points per position. This gives the reader a chance to see that there is more to you than an education and a job, while at the same time not overpowering the true merit of your candidacy, that of your work experience and/or your education.

Education counts, but not that much

General rules of thumb: if you are in undergrad, it kicks off the resume; if you are out of school for a year with strong experience (and have an internship or two), then your education section falls just below work experience – essentially whichever area is stronger leads off the resume. Do not, however, allow your education section to encompass more than 2-4 bullet points (by points I mean lines, which includes GPA, major(s), awards and special projects – such as study abroad programs), as I have seen resumes with education sections spanning 10+ bullet points. Once you get into 5 or more bullet points, it becomes too much and starts to look more like filler and resume fluff, than relevant and candidacy-supporting information – odds are, your resume will be quickly overlooked.

Quick note: regarding B school job seekers (meaning those students who are about to graduate or who have just graduated and are looking for full time employment), I usually recommend that education only comes ahead of work experience if you are a career switcher without a strong internship in your desired field to support your candidacy, or if you feel the value of your school outweighs the value of your internship (attending Harvard, Stanford, etc). Furthermore, by career switcher, I mean someone who is drastically changing their career, not going from banking to consulting (which, although the two are very different career paths, experience in one will still hold up well against experience to the other). Once you start working at a full-time position, however, work experience should overtake education for the resume leadoff spot. While it is impressive that you attended Harvard and earned your MBA, your strong work experience is what will carry you to your next position – leading off with your education is a sign of poor employment growth, or lackluster previous positions – you need to take pride in your past employment, otherwise no one will.

Employment

Regarding your employment history, I recommend a 3 position cap (including internships and full time employment). Each position should include up to 2-3 bullet points, EXCLUDING your current or most recent position as this should be your flagship (or anchor, if you will) position, and pull the entire resume. The current position can have up to 10 bullet points (if you are including transaction experience bullets – for the bankers) or 5-6 bullet points without transaction experience. In my experience, resumes with 15-20 bullet points for a single position begin to appear redundant and often lack any real pop, therefore failing to make a strong or lasting impression – stick with fewer bullet points that have a far greater impact on the reader.

Little things that go pop – some general rules of thumb

Action verbs

Powerful action verbs – manage, design, implement, oversee – to mention just a few examples, all have a far greater impact on the reader than worked on, helped with, contributed to, etc. Own your projects and responsibilities – just because someone checked your work doesn’t mean that it wasn’t your work.

Bullet format

Ensure the bullets are justified, properly spaced, and of the same style (yes, I have seen resumes with different style main bullets before – primary vs. secondary bullet points do not necessarily have to be the same, but secondary bullet points should be indented further).

Consistent line spacing

The spaces between your lines should all be the same font size. While the difference between 30pts and 8pts is quite visible, the difference between 10 and 11, or 8 and 10 is not quite as easy to pick out. Go through your resume line by line and make sure your spacing is exactly how you want it to be and how it should be – if you don’t, someone else just may, and applicants have been passed on for far less than that in the past.

Font styles

Please, Do NOT overuse the bold, underline and/or italic font styles. I know that they are fun to play with, and help to call attention to different aspects of your resume, but they are also very distracting. Absolutely use the styles, but use them sparingly and consistently from section to section – the last thing a reviewer wants to see is a resume with every other word bolded, italicized and/or underlined. – less is more, and, as usual, moderation is key

Your name

Your name should be at the top of the page and typed in the largest font of the page – that is all.

Resume length

Here comes the argument, but I have to go here anyway. Keep it to ONE page, please. I know that a lot of people don’t necessarily agree with this, but unless you are a seasoned professional, there is rarely any strong reason for your resume to run over 1 page – I have seen people (analysts and associates) not even look at a resume STRICTLY because it was 2 pages and the student was just coming out of school (both Ugrad and B school). I know that there is a lot that you want to convey, but save some of it for the interview – remember, a resume reviewer spends an average of 3-4 minutes looking at a resume (although many of the people I know spent more like 1-2 minutes), so you want to keep it brief.

Keep in the know, sign up for RSS and Email updates now. Coming soon: B school application tips, tricks and pitfalls and Networking like a Banker (just to mention a few of the upcoming articles).

Let’s be honest with ourselves; there are many reasons why students do not end up going to a top-tier or, for sake of this site, Target school. Many students slacked off in high school only to realize in college that there are more opportunities readily available to students of Target schools. For others, one bad day on the SAT, not enough extra curricular activities, or coming from a key demographic where huge numbers of students apply each year, all could have meant either denial of admission or not enough financial aid to make the option viable. There are other reasons, but let’s not harp on the negative. Here’s the $20,000 question: you’re not in the Target school, so what now – How do I break into Investment Banking?

Unless you have the usual “ins” that make it all possible, i.e. knowing a CEO, CFO, group head, or even several MDs, in a large IB, prestigious boutique, or the like, I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not easy, but absolutely possible. The first step is to do some research, put in the time learning the game as far what you’ll be doing in your immediate position, why you want to do it, and how you know that you can handle it, because coming from a non-Target, you will be grilled on the ins and outs of the business more than others. Start, or continue reading the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and investment banking insider web pages such as This Site, Dealbreaker and Clusterstock (see sidebar on the right for the full list) for current market and deal-related events, and insider perspectives into the business. Additionally, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with some general Excel and PowerPoint tips, tricks and skills – this can only help you both on the job and during the interview as I have been asked on more than one occasion (especially at the boutique shops) where on the scale I would rank my Excel skills.

As part of familiarizing yourself with the profession, lay out a plan of achieving your goals. You will probably not find yourself being offered a bulge bracket, investment banking internship your first summer interviewing, especially in this market, so don’t expect it. By all means apply to them, but at the least it is important to get into a good bank, even if it is not directly related to your field. Working for a summer in a high intensity group on the control, wealth management or trading sides at a top-tier bank will open doors for the next summer, and allow you to transition into that front office investment banking position. It doesn’t matter wheich group you worked in for a summer at Goldman Sachs (yes if it in banking it will obviously help more than the other groups to get you into banking), the employer was Goldman Sachs, so clearly you’ve got something to offer, and your interests may just be in investment banking instead of wealth management; no feelings hurt, no harm done, but a good name on your resume. Along the same lines, if banking is what you want to do, don’t underestimate the power of working for a summer, or a summer plus a winter semester at a small investment banking or M&A (mergers and acquisitions) boutique. There is a strong skill set to be gained through working for a small boutique, and remember, deal exposure is deal exposure and banking experience is banking experience – absolutely take it if you can get it.

Next and I can’t stress this enough (especially in light of current employment conditions and opportunities, or lack there of), network, network, and, of course, network some more. Not just at job fairs, but attend school-run career information sessions hosted by banks (even if they’re not for banking), contact alumni, current students who have already interned, and check the family/friend tree; you never know who will work in, or happen to know someone who works in the field and is eager to pass along your resume or a good word (don’t lead off with that request though, please). And remember, when it comes to networking, it’s an investment into your future, not an opportunity to beg for a job (you get the idea – it’s a marathon not a 100 yard dash). As an aside, I would recommend starting some sort of spreadsheet, which includes the name, phone number, email address, company and position, and other notes such as last date of communication for each new person (read: contact) you meet.

This is a more general point for students still in undergraduate school; if you have a good GPA, and have taken some challenging accounting, finance or math courses, showcase them! Show off that 3.8 or 3.9 GPA; show off your advanced corporate finance, intermediate financial accounting, linear algebra, or ordinary differential equations courses, you never know what will stand out as an impressive mark or credit to your intellect to someone looking at your resume. If you don’t have an outstanding GPA, work on getting your major GPA up so that you can include that in your resume so as to not arouse the red flag associated with a GPA-less resume.

Regarding the resume, the heart of every job application, make sure to use a professional “banker” style format, and I would also recommend using a resume proofing and editing service to ensure that you are properly showcasing your hobbies, work experience and scholastic accolades. Recently, one of my colleagues received a phone call regarding his resume. On this call he was told that his resume would not be forwarded because it didn’t look like the resume of an investment banker. He works in banking, but the format was juvenile, without structure, and lacked the “pop” that a banker’s resume demonstrates. Needless to say, he asked me to revamp his entire resume later that day. As embarrassing as the situation was for my colleague, he was luckier than most people who face the same problem, because these people are rarely, if ever told how their resume stacks up against others and where it needs the most dramatic improvement/alteration. I would recommend the same type of service, or a trusted colleague’s perspective, as it pertains to cover letters, which should always be included with your resume. Remember, in a market like this, everyone, top-tier or not, needs to find any way that he/she can to stand out and above the rest.

To summarize:

1. Make sure banking is right for you, and if it is, make the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and investment banking web sites your close friends – they’re among the best ways to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the field.

2. Plot your course and be sensible – remember, a strong brand name goes a long way, but at the same time, don’t doubt the skills you can attain by working at a small investment banking boutique – deal exposure is deal exposure.

3. Network, network, and more networking – enough said.

4. A high GPA and challenging course load goes a long way, so show it off.

5. Have a friend or good service review your resume and at least one cover letter to make sure you are pointed in the right direction and don’t fall into any of the common pitfalls.

Have your own theories, want to share your opinions or concerns, need some help or just want to say hello….leave some comments…most will be posted for all to read…so make them good. Don’t forget to stay in the loop for my upcoming posts including more tips on breaking in from a non-Target school and a Target school, dressing the part, when to stand out as an analyst, and much more – RSS and Email updates…get them now.

Before you decide to open a model to a cash flow tab, resting one hand on the mouse and one hand under your head, to appear busy while actually catching a quick nap in your cube, or to set your screensaver to come on only after 6 hours and for your monitor to switch to standby after 4 hours so that you can sneak off to the bathroom or a quiet room for a relaxing snooze, consider these time-killing, more beneficial (I mean, unless you’re REALLY tired) strategies instead:

Get ahead (if you were catching up, you’d still be working)

There are usually at least a handful of projects that need to be done at some point in the future, or even better, a few projects that you think would be helpful to the team, but haven’t been formally mentioned or you haven’t been asked to complete. Examples include building some template models, a standard capabilities or project-specific pitch, a database to track some sort of pricing or transaction histories, or something as simple as cleaning up some group folders. All of these tasks are time consuming to help pass the day (in a good way), work on core skills or increase your group’s market awareness, and when mentioned to your superiors, tactfully of course, will quietly impress and show as a mark in your favor – taking the initiative if you will, which is always appreciated (if not always stated) when being generally worked like a dog.

Catch up on some market intel outside of your industry

Use this downtime as an opportunity to catch up on some news in other fields that interest you – I am a huge fan of the NYT Science section, for example. Read up on the market through the WSJ, Financial Times, Clusterstock and the Economist (to mention a few). It’s always to your benefit, both in general and as it relates to efficient and effective networking. Networking is a constant process and being well versed in fields outside of the one your group specializes in can only act to benefit your efforts – you never know who you’ll end up running into on the street, in the subway, at a meeting or even while waiting in line to grab a bite to eat.

Research some volunteer opportunities

If you’re considering business school or just simply interested in bettering yourself on a personal level, and you find yourself with a good bit of personal time lately, then volunteering is definitely a step in the right direction. There are many great volunteer opportunities in New York, California…everywhere, it’s just a matter of figuring out how best you can serve, and what activities interest you the most. Do you like tutoring – look to one of many schools seeking after-school volunteer tutors or to an association helping adults to earn a GED. Do you prefer office-related, organizational events, look to the United Way, building homes and community outreach, look to Habitat for Humanity. These are just barely a handful of options in a near endless sea of opportunities. If none of these ideas strike your fancy, then try visiting one of my favorite sites for non-profit/volunteer opportunities – idealist.org, or drop me an email for more ideas and web sites. Feel free to look just to your right as well, in the side bar, under “Giving Back” for the links to a few of my favorite volunteering sites.

Work on some grad school essays/studying for the GMAT or LSAT

If you’re considering business school and are already applying, or if you plan on going to business school but still need to take the GMAT, then I would recommend this activity as a great way to pass the time.

Few house cleaning tips for these activities: make sure there are no job-related deadlines looming, and that you’re feeling mentally sharp and ready to go (otherwise studying or writing will prove to be a waste of time).

Another point of interest to keep in mind, is that being caught studying or drafting a preliminary grad school application essay is a good way to introduce the grad school idea to your superiors, if done tactfully, since you will probably want at least a few references from them (keep an eye out for a future post on tactfully approaching issues…). Studying at work, only after making sure there is nothing else to be done that is pressing, will allow your superiors to see that you are serious about going back to school, without taking time away from your job-related responsibilities and projects.

Feel free to take the conversation up a notch, and talk about a school or two that you have taken a particular interest in (if you’ve visited or spoke with people from the school, mention that too). Let the conversation progress for a few minutes so that your superior can express their insights and opinions, and take in your interest and enthusiasm. Tackling the issue in this way will help alleviate some of the concern over how to approach your boss when it comes time to get a few letters of recommendation.

You may want to nap, but these alternatives are both better for your mind, and your career – especially considering napping is generally not a boss-approved downtime activity. As I’ve been told several times, “there’s always something that can be done,” so if you’re caught just sitting around spacing out, shopping, or sleeping at your desk, you will almost certainly be given some sort of busy work that is neither fun nor terribly important, but will, however, fill your mind-numbing activity quota for the day.

So, what’s a banker to do? Well, the answer is…. I wish it were that straightforward. Unfortunately, it’s never an easy “you should quit,” or, conversely, “you should stay,” but rather a series of questions and judgment calls to make in order to rationally decide which path is the better path. Below, are 4 of the most important questions (with more to come in a future post) to ask yourself when trying to determine whether to stay or go. Remember, anyone can ask themselves these questions and sell themselves the answer that is easier to run with, but being honest with yourself will pay off far more than simply tossing a coin and crossing your fingers.

Question 1 – Does my team like me more than the other analysts, the same as the other analysts, or less than the other analysts?

This is one of those questions that no one wants to answer truthfully, but doing just that can really help steer you in the right direction. When I use the term “like,” I’m referring to how well you get along with them, and, perhaps more importantly, how much in common, i.e. hobbies and interests, with the bulk of your team in general and in comparison to the other analysts in your group. The reality of this business is that personal interests often play a bigger role than quality of work produced (unless DRASTICALLY different) in who stays with the team and who is let go.

Question 2 – Is this the last round of layoffs, or, is this round somewhere in the middle (or even worse, beginning) of a probable series of rounds to come?

Sure, you may feel pretty good now, maybe you even felt pretty good last round, but for many people, the ever-looming right-sizing is enough to dampen spirits, slow work enthusiasm, and sometimes even cause ill will and depression. Depending on whether you are an optimist, and, more importantly, willing to stay the course and remain committed to the platform when many others sour, will help to determine whether your place of employment is really the right place for you at this time. Can you handle multiple rounds of layoffs, doom and gloom floor sentiment and possible pay/bonus cuts without becoming depressed and miserable – if you can’t honestly say yes, it’s time to consider other alternatives.

Question 3 – Is the potential job change in the field of banking, or, if not, does the job offer a clear path back to banking (or Business School if that’s your plan)?

Moving to a competitor, a boutique investment bank, a P/E shop, an advisory shop, a consulting firm or even a hedge fund, will offer a path back into investment banking in the future, as well show as a logical and challenging next step to graduate schools. Moving into research, operations, or commercial banking will both lack in perceived analytical challenge, as well as the clear path back into banking or into private equity when the market returns. Furthermore, if business school is your “next step,” make sure that you are passionate about, and eloquent in describing your interest in these fields as you will be questioned as to why you decided to leave banking to pursue operations, or leave private equity for the perceived less challenging field of commercial banking. Making this sort of a move without calculated justification can easily be viewed as a sign of lacking confidence, or, perhaps worse, not having a clear vision of your goals.

Question 4 – Can you survive with a cut in pay and how will it be perceived by those who will look to hire you in the future?

The first part is simple: you know how much you need to service your debt, and monthly expenses, plus a fraction more. Be realistic, and cut out the models and bottles, then determine how much you really need to survive and have a bit of fun. Everyone in this business loves money, but as an analyst, there is plenty of time to make it – so don’t become fixated on a few dollars and pass up a great opportunity.

Regarding the second part of the question, remember; every time you start a new position, not only does that job go on your resume, but your responsibilities in that position, as well as your new annual salary are all viewed as benchmarks by hiring firms/future employers. If, for example, you were making $80,000 per year, without bonus, and have now accepted a position earning $65,000 per year, that $65,000 per year has now become your target salary according to future employers. However, if you preface that $65,000 salary with an explanation detailing how they usually start people in your position with $45,000 per year and you have a guaranteed bonus that far exceeds the norm for people in your position with the firm, then you can possibly play that to your advantage. The $65,000 per year is no longer a haircut on your previous salary, but rather a credit to your capabilities, one which would need to be matched by a future employer if they are to poach you from your current firm.

Remember, it’s not always about the money, but at the end of the day, money makes the world go round – make your decisions wisely and keep your future career moves in mind to ensure that you are making the best decision. Keep an eye out for future posts on surviving the tough times to rock the good ones, tips and tricks for your interview, the phone interview and how to nail it, and much more!

The expected:

Harvard and Stanford have a solid grasp and the top 2 positions, with Harvard beating Stanford by 1 point – although I think they should be tied. The number 3 position is a comfortable 6 points back – well done H/S, be proud.

The bulk of the top 10, although jumbled slightly, looks pretty much the same as last year – MIT, Kellogg, Wharton, and Booth round out the top 6.

The surprises (they do, after all, have to sell papers, people!):

Wharton, although still in 3rd, no longer has a comfortable hold on the spot – Kellogg has officially matched Wharton point for point and is now tied for 3rd. I suppose this makes sense, considering finance has severely tanked and with Wharton considered a finance school, it is plausible that Kellogg (a management school) would hold its score while Wharton dips. I still believe that Wharton has the broader alumni network and carries more prestige – though Kellogg arguably has the friendlier and more cohesive student body (feel free to rebut via commentary below).

Next surprise – Tuck has fallen below Haas, though this one I can’t really figure out. I mean California is an awful place (economically) right now, and while the school is sound, I’m not sure I understand the move here.

BIG surprise – Yale, yes YALE, has broken into the top 10, coming in just 1 point behind Columbia (9), running 5 spots up the chain! This is pretty big, and honestly, I completely don’t get it. Sure, Yale Law and Yale Undergrad are phenomenal, but what has Yale B School really done lately. Before anyone attacks me in the comments, I am not bashing Yale by any means; I am just questioning what they’ve done to warrant the bump above Fuqua and Stern. I have to say, however, that US News does have to sell papers, and this is one way to do it – to get the buzz going.

With the 2010 rankings hot off the presses, please do not completely reevaluate your school decision, the school you attend, or the schools to which you will be applying. These rankings change every year, and companies don’t care if your school is ranked 6 or 7; if they recruit there, they want you. Do your research, visit the school and think it through – B School is a big decision, and you should go to the school which will yield a strong financial ROI (Return on Investment) AND an enjoyable atmosphere – it is two years of your life. Also, keep an eye out for my 3 part series on business school applications and selection.

The Full List