I wouldn’t bother going to NY unless you’ve got something lined up. At your age, your best bet will be found by searching for unpaid positions, or positions that are PWM, boutique research or back office. While they are not IB, they will provide you with some resume building experience and make for a nice stepping stone into more attractive internships going into your junior and, ultimately, senior years (rising junior and rising senior summers, respectively).

Regarding cold calling, you should definitely take that step, but given your age, you should probably stay local and push more for an opportunity to build your resume rather than a dream opportunity.

Additionally, it’s always a good idea to call on contacts, but you should only call on those you are very close with. Given the positions you are targeting, your age, experience, etc, you don’t want to reach out to all of your contacts so soon. For now, use friends and your closest contacts, then reach wider once you’ve built a bit of a profile/resume for yourself going into next summer or so.

Finally, while you will certainly find more luck heading down the previous avenues I’ve mentioned, far be it from me to squash someone’s go-getter attitude and drive. Absolutely cold call and send some inquiry emails to IBs as well – ideally smaller/boutique shops, merchant banks, and so forth that as local, but definitely take a shot. With a simple cold call or email the worst that happens is you don’t get the position – they won’t remember you next year if you show an interest again – no harm no foul, but with plenty of upside potential.

If an MD wants me as an spring intern (fall, spring), but HR is claiming they don’t do that, should I follow up and make another push? If so, how? Can MDs overrule HR?

MDs often have some clout, but not always enough to go bringing on interns. If you don’t need pay, one option would be to reach back out and ask if you could intern unpaid – essentially just for the experience. That could absolutely set you up for a nice SA position next summer as well.

Otherwise, perhaps there was some sort of a miscommunication either between you and MD or between the MD and HR or you and HR. I would re-trace my steps and touch base with the MD – briefly thank him again for his time and quickly explain what HR told you – then allow him to clarify or express his confusion and look further into the matter.

Why do you suggest removing “Dean’s List” as an honor from your resume if it is your only honor?

Although Dean’s List is an honor and something you’ve achieved, as a standalone it just takes up space and isn’t necessary since anyone with a 3.7 or so or better GPA is on the dean’s list. In other words, it’s not something you’ve been given or something you are being recognized for, but rather, it’s pretty much your status based on your GPA. The fact that you have the GPA is the accomplishment, not that you’ve made the dean’s list. If you have another honor, then feel free to mention it since you’ve got the line anyway, but otherwise, leave it out. You are better off with more free space and since it is implied based on your GPA, it won’t really do anything to help your candidacy.

As a DCM Investment Grade analyst, I want to move on to P/E, but without much modeling experience, how do I sell myself? I have structure knowledge and have worked on numerous deals, but as is the case in Investment Grade DCM, I haven’t dug that deep into them – the mile wide but inch deep saying comes to mind.

Without seeing your resume, the easiest general advice will be to focus on 2 things: 1) big deals you worked on even though the work will be more of the inch-deep in terms of modeling work, and 2) deals and projects you worked on that did involve modeling, strategy and documentation drafting. Investment Grade DCM is known to not have a ton of modeling work, so you will want to show modeling where you can. Specifically, showcase your limited modeling work, documentation work and so forth around your structuring knowledge to illustrate credibility to you claim and capabilities. Beyond that, you want to highlight some big deals in your resume and even cover letter, simply because this is a prestige business. Even though the work won’t be terribly substantial, doing some sort of quality work will aid your cause and if you can get an interview, you are well on your way – then it’s just a matter of selling yourself from a technical (which you seem to have despite limited modeling) and behavioral (no modeling necessary here) perspectives.

I’ve heard that boutiques are usually shadier than BBs and not as desirable to work for – is this true?

Boutiques are not “shadier,” although they are quite different than standard BBs. While a small boutique will not carry the same brand name as a BB, obviously, the work experience can still be very strong (and the experience can be very strong as well in terms of deal responsibilities: modeling, documentation work and so forth). MM shops are highly reputable, similar to that of BBs, and Elite boutiques (such as Lazard and Blackstone) are considered stronger than most BBs excluding GS and MS (although they are on the same level).

In short, if you are looking for a FT IB opportunity that will set you up to move out of IB and into P/E or other buyside, you are better off with BBs, elite boutiques and some MM shops. If you are looking for FT IB to stay in IB, then all are good and smaller boutiques could easily be preferable to many candidates given their interest in retaining and growing talent, rather than the 2-3 and out of traditional BB IB classes. Finally, for an internship, while name brand definitely helps, any IB is solid, especially before junior year summer, and even for junior year SA opportunities, a small boutique IB internship with relevant experience is better than zero IB experience.

Do I need an MBA to break into P/E from IB? Also, is the idea of pre MBA associate to MBA to post MBA associate reserved only to the Mega PE funds or are MM/boutique PE firms less rigid in their hierarchy?

For P/E, you don’t need an MBA if you come out of a strong IB. Whether a solid MM, or preferably, a strong BB or elite boutique. In this case, you can break into PE after your analyst stint and then it is up to you to grow and advance.

It’s not reserved to anyone, but if you don’t come from a top school and top elite boutique or BB, it will be very hard to break into megafund PE without the MBA. That said, it will be very hard to break in with an MBA as well – especially if your MBA isn’t from H or S.

For smaller and mid-sized P/E shops, it is possible to break in from a wider range of IB positions, but if you can’t find an avenue or want an MBA, it is possible to break into P/E from a top B school program as well. Additionally, those B school students who have previous IB or P/E experience will have, at least to an extent, an upper hand in P/E and V/C recruiting given their relevant backgrounds.

I want to get a letter of recommendation from my current MD from my internship for B school. The problem is I won’t be applying for a few years – should I just get a stock letter now?

Most top business schools don’t just require a generic “letter.” Instead, they have a series of questions that they want answered by the recommender. Although I’m sure your employer really likes you, it is just an internship and in 2-3 years time you should be able to find 2 people to recommend you that can call on more recent experiences.

Additionally, if you want to hedge your bets, simply keep in touch with the guy and if you want to use him, then just ask him and provide him with your accomplishments, and rough answers/information to answer each of the questions. For now, you can write a summary of your accomplishments and projects to keep for a few years down the line – if you decide you want to use him as a recommender, you can call on this summary to refresh his memory as to what you’ve done (assuming you’ve kept in touch). Here’s a bit more on B school to keep in mind as the time gets closer.

Now that we’ve covered what exactly the application-less position is, let’s jump right into the best strategy for not only applying to the companies, but also how to find the shops and how to reach out to, ideally, the right bankers at the shop. This question comes up quite a lot from my readers, so I’m just going to jump in and tackle the issue at hand. No, it’s not just a matter of praying for the right opportunities, but if you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way:

Where Are The Firms?

First, you need to actually find some boutiques/shops in your area, a big city you are close to, or where you are planning to be or can be over, for example, the summer (assuming you are looking for a summer internship). Once you know where you will be spending your summer (or other internship period), you need to perform a broad Google search to find boutiques and shops in the area that you’re interested in applying to and ideally interning with. To be blunt, this will be the vast majority of shops that you find through your search in your area since, at the end of the day, your best bet, as is often the case, is to cast a wide net. Beyond a Google search, you can search popular IB forums and ask friends, your school career center, etc.

Who Do I Reach Out To?

Now that you’ve built up a sizeable list of boutiques to contact, you need to spend some time on each of their websites and find out a few things. First, you need to know what the boutique focuses on – what industry, types of transactions, size and so forth – not necessarily to be used on this step, but during later steps you’ll definitely want to know about the company you are claiming to have an interest in. Beyond the basics, search through each of the websites for any career sections, employment sections, internship postings, etc. If you happen to find any positions, take the opportunity to submit an application that way – if not, it’s time to move on. Keep in mind that even if you find an opportunity this way, you can still pursue the following steps as a means of further getting your name in front of some of the bankers of the company – showing enthusiasm is a good thing as long as you don’t take it too far thus becoming a nuisance.

Since the article is about the application-less application, I’ll assume most of you have sailed right past the closing point from the previous paragraph and are ready to apply despite the lack of an online application or website career section. Assuming the opportunity is not posted online, you should look for the company directory or “team” profiles link on their website, which usually, at the least, shows names and often contact info for VP bankers and up – which is what you need when you are considering submitting a letter of inquiry to the firm.

Now that you’ve found the list of bankers at the firm, and, ideally, some contact info (or at least a contact standard for the firm so you can deduce the email address for a particular banker) for the bankers, you need to go through each of the bankers’ bios provided by the firm to learn of any common ground you might have with them. For example, did you attend or do you attend the same undergrad he/she attended, have you interned in a field they previously explored, have you interned or do you have an interest in the same industry they focus on, if there are any hobbies listed, do you have any common hobbies, are you both from the same hometown or have dwelled in a similar (and unique) place (meaning, if you both lived in NY, who cares, but if you both come from a small town in Tennessee, for example, that is a common point). Essentially, you should be looking for anything that is a mutual talking point to establish some sort of a connection in that initial email with the banker – something to hopefully get him at least marginally intrigued and interested in sending a reply to you.

Now that you’ve searched through the database, there are two scenarios: (1) you found at least 1 person that you have something in common with, or (2) no luck finding the “link” person. If you can find someone who has something in common with you, that person should be your first contact person. If there happens to be more than 1 person, then the most recent common point is the best to touch on – for example, if you both have the same alma mater and you are currently a junior, then that is a better common point than a common employer 2 years ago for you and 10 years ago for him/her. If, on the other hand, you find yourself a victim of scenario (2) and can’t find anyone with anything in common with you based on the bios (which is often the case), then, in a matter of speaking, you will have to pick out the friendliest looking face, haha (which I’ve also done) – essentially aim for someone in a junior-senior role, meaning a VP or early D, and, if possible, someone that has grown in banking (meaning rose from associate up the ranks), as they might be a bit more receptive as they too would have been in the recruiting scenario at that point. In either case, whether you have a person to reach out to with some common points or not, you will want to reach out to the person of your choosing through an inquiry email (a letter of inquiry in the body of an email) and attach your resume. Yes, in this case, you should attach your resume.

I Really Include My Resume? What About The Inquiry Letter?

Here’s the thing; although I don’t usually recommend attaching your resume to the first email for numerous reasons, in this case there is no disguising your intentions. Simply put, you want an internship with his/her firm and need to not only put your best foot forward through a strong letter of inquiry, but also deliver a complete representation of yourself through a neatly pressed resume. Without attaching your resume to the email, you are only sharing a small snippet of your candidacy with your potential employer and hoping he/she is interested enough to ask for more instead of including your resume and giving your potential employer a more thorough, if not complete, picture of your candidacy. In the case of cold-emailing and applying to these types of positions, you have less than a first impression, you have nothing more than a faceless first virtual-impression, which absolutely requires putting your best foot forward.

Moving into the core of the application-less application, the inquiry email, you will want to treat it just as you would a well-crafted cover letter for an advertised opportunity you are interested in, but instead of applying for a specific position, you are targeting the letter to the broader goal of working for the firm. Essentially, just as you would in a cover letter, you will highlight your interest in the firm and why you are interested in it (attributes based on your quick research on the website), your professional and/or academic highlights, any extras you’d like to include and, finally, a reaffirmation of your interest in working with the firm, a thanks and expressing an interest in speaking to discuss potential opportunities (internship, analyst, IB, etc).

What If The Banker Doesn’t Respond?

Now as fantastic as your letter of inquiry highlights your skills and sells your candidacy, you are obviously not always going to receive a response (positive or negative since whether good or bad, a response lets you know which direction to take next). If, or rather, when, you don’t get a response from the first person you reach out to at firm X, you shouldn’t give up just yet. After several days (preferably a week to 2 weeks), you can try reaching out to 1 more person at the firm. If the boutique is a bit larger, you should send the letter to someone in a different group; if it is a tiny shop, then just take a chance and email someone else on the team, but especially in the case of the small shop, you need to be sure to mention to the second person that you had already reached out to person X (the first person you reached out to) without success, but you understand how busy schedules can become.

The application-less application is absolutely the toughest application path to tackle with success, but it can absolutely be done. Send me an email if you have any other questions. If you need assistance on cold calls, networking calls, and so forth, be sure to consider an interview and networking prep session. As always, leave comments below.

First, you do not want to mass email – essentially spam – every employee’s inbox because you found out about a potential opportunity. That is definitely not your best shot, although if you have any connections within the firm, you will definitely want to reach out to them. Contacting HR won’t help much either – they don’t hold the cards and will usually ignore you or send out a generic response.

Regarding cold calling, if the firm is big, then it won’t help. If the firm is a small shop, then it can definitely help…or hurt – depending on your pitch (if you can craft a solid brief introduction for yourself, at the very least you won’t make a bad impression).

Even though you come from a non-target, you best bet is to apply online and really look to find some sort of connection within the firm – someone to reach out to and check for a bit of advice (hoping for a resume push). Search your alumni database, LinkedIn, friends of friends, etc. Considering the opportunity is already open it’s definitely a little late in the game to be making the push, but it isn’t too late (See Here for more insight into the process).

Once you’ve applied, with or without contacts, you will want to follow up and continue to show your interest – don’t badger them, but definitely be persistent and show your enthusiasm.

I completely blew an interview several weeks ago – should I call them up or just forget it? If I call, do I call HR or a banker?

There are 2 sides to this issue. On one hand, you blew it – you know you blew it, they probably already forgot you blew it and don’t care…but if you remind them, they’ll know you blew it as well. On the other hand, you really have nothing to lose by calling since you know you blew it. I know that doesn’t help you much, so let’s move past the obvious.

While you definitely need to move on and seek out other opportunities, you should give a call back to your interviewer…or at least shoot an email (I’d lean more towards the email since the banker can just politely ignore you – you’ll get the hint…hopefully…and move on for good). I wouldn’t reach out to HR, unless you blew it before you even got to a banker. Rather, I would quickly reach out to your interviewer or contact within the bank. I am, however, assuming that while you blew the interview, you didn’t make an awful and poor-attitude impression (in other words, you didn’t really piss off the interviewer/contact).

Assuming you bumbled technicals or the like, you can definitely reach out to touch base (without harping on your past interview missteps). That said, if you did, however, piss off the interviewer and really step into “it,” you just want to leave that stone left unturned and hope they completely forget you. Calling/emailing at that point will most likely hurt you since you will only remind the person that you pissed him/her off – and, any attempts to undo that will come off more as annoying/desperate, than endearing. In that severe case, just let that pot cool off naturally and, if in the future, any opportunities arise, apply for them as they will have probably forgotten about you by then.

I have a summer internship with a well-respected boutique that has a bad reputation – am I screwed or can this be a good thing – what are your thoughts?

I haven’t worked for every bank, so off the cuff I can’t give you specific insight into a particular group, etc. That said, most firms have chatter – some good, some bad. At the end of the day, it is a summer internship – even if it is awful, you can weather the storm for a few months, earn some solid, resume-enhancing experience and then move on to another brand. If, however, it is good and you enjoy the group, you are in a strong boutique with good opportunity looking forward. Remember, negative experience and stories, regardless of how numerous, are specific to those individuals and are not necessarily going to reflect your experience. In short, it’s a summer analyst position with a good firm – make the most of it and evaluate your next options from there.

How do you go about networking with other bankers from another firm while you are a SA? Do you tell them which bank you are at right now?

Absolutely; there is nothing wrong with some networking during the internship since nothing is guaranteed and nothing is official until you’ve got the FT offer in your hand. While some people think that every banker you talk to is going to run back to your employer and tell on you, that is simply not the case. Networking is an essential part of the business and if done tactfully, a very beneficial part of it.

Keeping that in mind, you don’t want to confuse networking with free socializing – in other words, you don’t want to start badmouthing your current employer, the SA opportunity, your group, any specific bankers, etc – that is the garbage that can come back to bite you in the backside if for no other reason than it reflects poorly on your character. Remember, this is networking; you’re not hanging out with your buddies from college having a beer.

To the first part of your question, you want to reach out to your contacts – in other words, alumni, friends, past interviewers, etc from other banks to “catch up.” A quick update on what you’re doing, a quick question or two for them to keep the convo going (in the event of past interviewers and alumni – friends is an easy-enough category; the filler isn’t needed) is really all it takes – when they see that you are in banking it will definitely make you more appealing and provide conversation points going forward as you approach FT recruiting if you need it. At the worst, the banker will ignore you – simply move on and don’t give it a second thought. Not every contact is going to welcome you with open arms and that is ok. Finally, remember that as a SA you will be very busy just like your contacts are probably quite busy so don’t forget to be patient and considerate.

Should I take a boutique P/E internship or a BB PWM summer internship to prepare for SA opportunities next year? If I take the P/E internship, how should I talk about switching from to IB during interviews? Going from IB to P/E is normal, but what points can I bring up for the reverse?

First, go with the P/E internship for sure. In terms of IB internship appeal, the P/E opportunity is definitely a stronger experience – especially if you can find a way to earn some solid experience on any deals, etc during your internship.

Regarding making the switch to IBD from PE – give the usual answers for IBD – the broad skill set, transaction experience, etc. Then, instead of mentioning your interest in P/E going forward, point to your interest (whether true or not) in pursuing IB going forward or simply not knowing exactly what path you want to take after the analyst program. The skill set and opportunities you’ll build and earn as a BB IBD analyst will outweigh those of your boutique P/E shop without boxing you into one specific path several years down the line (this is not necessarily true 100% of the time by any means, but it’s what you can say).

Essentially, you just want to sell your interest in IB without selling a LT goal of P/E – leaving your options open will definitely help you here, especially if the sell side is of a strong interest to you in terms of client interaction and transaction experience (more points to use).

How long should you wait after you start a new job to take a few days off of work? Not for something serious like a death in the family but more for a vacation or a wedding.

It’s not so much how long you wait, but more of a timing issue. You can definitely take a day off after 2 months on the job without a problem or after 10 months on the job with a BIG problem – it really depends on what is going on with your time in terms of active deal flow, time sensitive projects, other junior team member vacation time, etc.

Generally speaking, you should wait until the holiday season to take off several days (assuming you start in July) in a row – this is just the typical path and when most bankers take off. In terms of 1 or 2 days, a long weekend or something like that, I would say that if it is less than a month to 2 months on the job, you should let your team know ahead of time – essentially after earning the position, but before you start (in terms of FT recruiting, not while you are interviewing, but once you know which group you are going into you can let your senior banker in the group know to give ample notice). Once you pass the month to 2-month mark, just play it by ear – if it is a wedding, it is when it is (assuming friend’s wedding, etc), if it is a vacation day, then talk to your supervisor about it and suggest a few possible days then go from there based on the situation and any fire drills – as always in this business flexibility is key.

Haha – ironically, I have heard this question numerous times, so rather than answer each person individually, let me assure all of you that your performance on standardized tests does not correlate to how good or bad of a banker you will be. Just because many BBs ask for these scores does not mean that they mean anything in terms of your performance – they are more a means of weeding people out (than predicting incoming success) since many times, the smarter candidates do better on those standardized tests, which is how they got into the target schools, etc. All of that said, with a great GPA, you are probably smart enough to handle the job, and since you got an offer, the BB agrees that you are indeed smart enough and more than capable enough. Forget the SATs – you’ve got the offer – now it is about making the most of the opportunity.

I’m seeking some advice regarding the summer internship hunt. I recently started looking for opportunities, and so far, I’ve been applying through the usual avenues: predominantly my college career center. In your opinion, is Craigslist a legitimate internship source? Also, is Doostang worth the membership fee? Finally, does it matter if I secure a PE, VC, HF, or boutique ibank internship this summer (I’ll be a rising junior) if my goal is to secure an ibanking summer analyst position next summer? Would they all put me on more or less equal footing?

First, let me say that while there is a lot of junk on Craigslist, there is also some quality. My first internship (for example) in investment banking with a small boutique was posted on Craigslist – I sent my resume and cover letter, got the interview and landed the gig (not quite that easy, but you get the point). During that internship I worked on 2 live deals, performed a lot of modeling, drafted/revised many docs and pitch books, etc – all-in-all it was a great first step and definitely helped me to stand out above many other candidates going into FT recruiting.

That said, I do not know as much about Doostang – I know that some people use it, but I’m not sure if LinkedIn might not be as valuable (if not more so) nor whether Doostang is really worth what you will put into it – especially as a sophomore going for internships.

Regarding internship opps, as a soph going for summer internships, any of the 4 will certainly help you, but as with everything, there is still a hierarchy. Boutique IB and P/E would be top of the list, followed by VC and HF – depending on the type of VC and HF and the type of work you will be doing there (how relevant to IB – any modeling work, financial analysis, etc). All of this, however, assumes that the opportunities in question are on a level playing field – in other words, small boutique IB vs. small boutique VC – NOT small boutique IB vs top HF (yes, it sounds a bit absurd, but it’s an extreme example to make a point). If there is an internship with a solid MM company, or bigger name company, you should generally go with that over a no-name shop. The exception here is if the bigger shop is purely going to be admin work (or is BO) while the smaller shop is concrete IB/FO. As a soph, however, all of the 4 fields you listed will certainly help to enhance your resume and strengthen your candidacy as you go into junior year.

Is it wise to bring up MBA plans in an interview? And if so, how would you do it? I just don’t want the company to think I am planning to stick around for 5, 10, 20 years.

Short and sweet: during the interview leave the MBA go-getter attitude at home. At the end of the day, there is no upside to mentioning your interest in an MBA and a lot of downside. If you tell the firm of your intention, many firms will not even strongly consider you, since they don’t think you have an interest in growing with the firm – more that you are using it to kill some time and build a bit of experience before B school (this is especially true with smaller firms or firms in general that don’t have structured drop-off points such as BB analyst programs – where it’s 2 or 3 and then what’s next).

To address your issue, while some bosses might be upset if you leave after 2 or 3 years when they thought you would be around for more like 5, the fact is, people’s goals and their ambitions/passions all change and while you didn’t think an MBA was for you 2-3 years ago (whether true or not), now you feel it is the right move at this point. The fact is most bosses won’t be upset and as long as you’ve done good work, you should have built a solid relationship and one in which they will support you in your efforts as you’ve supported your team. If you go and break this news before they know you, before you’ve even got an offer, you’re essentially saying “if you want someone committed and in it for the long haul, at least at this point, look elsewhere.”

Don’t knock yourself out before you’re even in. In this case, I like either rejecting the notion of B school or saying that it is a possibility, but definitely more of a back-up plan – your ultimate goal is XXX (and of course align it to what you are interviewing for). If you have the GMAT on your resume, then you will want to go with the 2nd strategy and be definitive in your plans – don’t flip-flop and say that maybe B school, it all depends on how you like it, etc – say you want position X – period.

What are some typical volunteer-type things that people do in order to prepare their resumes for MBA application process?

It really depends on your interests, the amount of time you have, and whether you are willing to invest in an opportunity. For example, any number of mission trips or overseas trips would be great if you had an interest, a bit of capital, and, of course, the time. You can find some with Habitat for Humanity or a ton of opportunities in several fields on Idealist.org.

If you don’t have that level of interest or lack one of the resources necessary, move on to whatever interests you most. If you want to be a mentor, go with Big Bro/Big Sis, or some other avenue in a similar capacity. If you want to help students, then look into tutoring or after school assistance – there are numerous opportunities here. If you want to build something with your hands, you can always go with one of my favorites – Habitat for Humanity through one of its many affiliates across the country (or on a 1-week or 2-week mission trip overseas). There are administrative opportunities with United Way and others and a host of other opportunities across many different fields.

Honestly, find what you like the most and can give yourself to with the most ease and passion – that is where you will find the most support in your business applications and life in general. Remember, think of yourself as a complete person, don’t just think B school – the incidental result will be a much stronger point to sell your B school apps anyway.

The Luck of it

One of the big components of your rank is in what you’ve done for the team – fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on which side of the spectrum you are on), that means the projects you work on and played a role in count. In other words, if you ended up being staffed on a big deal that went live, required a lot of work, a ton of hours, and some concrete thought on your part, the case made for you to earn a higher rank (4 or 5) will be easier to strengthen than the smart analyst who wasn’t staffed on a noteworthy live deal and didn’t end up doing much more than a ton of pitch work over the past several months/year.

Yes, there are certainly analysts who don’t get staffed on the big live deals who earn 4s and 5s, and there are of course analysts who do get on those types of deals who end up getting 2s and low 3s, but apples to apples, it is easier for a strong analyst to shine when he/she lands a few big deals and has the opportunity to “show the goods.” When I 1st started, I knew an analyst (not a 1st year) who was an all-star – ranked a 5, everyone wanted him on their deals, had a great reputation for delivering great low-error, really high quality work in short periods of time, helped other analysts, etc. This analyst was staffed on several deals – unfortunately, after his 1st 2 years, he didn’t have 1 closed deal to show for it – not one closed deal for his personal league table. I bring this up because it is possible to shine without closed deals – making this point, however, does not negate the fact that it is much easier to shine with the big deals under your belt. Great or crappy, nice or nasty, this business is about what you have done for me in general and what have you done for me lately – getting your name out there and on some big deals matters to your reviewers, to headhunters and to your prospective employers (if you’re looking to other avenues after your 1st, 2nd, 3rd year, etc) – but I can spend all day talking about what prospective employers and headhunters want to see (or at least another article).

Back to the point at hand – besides the deal flow you see, the luck of your ranking is also based on exactly that – the luck of the process. When it comes right down to it, there is a bonus pool and for analysts your ranking dictates what slice of the pool you receive. With that in mind, every analyst cannot get a 4 or 5 (and frankly, not every analyst deserves it). Landing a 4 or 5 means that you are (or should mean that you are – politics and such aside) better than average – sometimes much better than average (since many systems have a 3 for average and a 3+ for above average) – and in the case of a 5 definitely much stronger than the average analyst. Since that is the spoken rationale behind the ranking, a benchmark needs to be made and with every cutoff or bucket for placement, there are only so many people that can land in each – especially in flat or down periods. This also ties into why it is harder for those analysts who don’t land the big or at least live deals of any size to receive the best ranking – with only so many 4s and far fewer 5s to be given out, it is easiest for senior bankers to justify high ranks for those analysts that have made the most visible marks on their teams – and those visible marks can readily come from the live and recently closed deals. Remember, by the time the ranking process and bonus talk gets down to the analyst level, the MDs at the top often need to bring in lower senior bankers (Ds and VPs) to help with the decision and inject some real insight into the caliber of the analyst. If the VP can point to specific input, it becomes much easier to support his or her ranking – not to mention the fact that the VP would like to have a reason for picking a ranking himself and not just – well it seems like he’s a hard worker or that he thinks he remembers you working hard on that project 9.5 months ago – again, it’s what you’ve done for me in general and what you’ve done for me lately.

The Work of it

Yes, there’s definitely some luck behind your ranking in some form or another, but just because luck can be a factor or play a role in your ranking, it does not mean that you can or should rely solely on luck to carry you. It also does not mean that you are powerless against the forces of luck or that you cannot absolutely boost your rank without the big deals or a host of live deals. First and foremost, you need to step up and become the Go-To Analyst. You need to create a name for yourself and show that you are smart, capable, detail-oriented, analytically inclined and an overall strong analyst with or without a live deal going on. Tackling your projects with intensity is definitely worth a gold star, and being able to tackle any project – whether for a big deal, or a pitch on a small deal bound to go dead – with a strong level of intensity and commitment will definitely help to highlight you as a talented and above-average-level analyst.

Yes, you need to keep your spirits up and yes you need to keep that strong focus and intensity. All of that, however, either won’t mean much of anything to senior bankers or won’t mean much for very long if you can’t turn projects around quickly and maintain a high level of accuracy (little errors and when errors are made, you correct them quickly). The quick turnaround time is essential in banking, just as in any high-intensity/stressful/demanding job out there. A quick turnaround time is important, but coupling that with an ability to minimize errors and consistently improve upon your work is the “magic formula” when it comes to impressing colleagues and earning better projects and assignments. As a former superior once put it, “I don’t expect everything that you hand to me to be 100% perfect, if for no other reason than we are going to change a lot of it anyway by the second turn. I do, however, expect it to be at least 85% right and immediately corrected.” In other words, mistakes are going to happen, but you want to avoid the repetitive and silly mistakes (spelling, simple formatting, etc) as much as you can and then correct them as quickly as you can when they occur. Additionally, while it is important to minimize errors, it is possible even MORE important to eliminate or minimize repetitive errors – in other words, making the same errors time and time again.

So you’re bringing your “A” game to the table – you’ve got drive and a strong skill set, you make minimal errors (even less repetitive errors) and you are on the ball when it comes to correcting your oversights – what else can you do? Next on the list comes one of the most basic things that an analyst can do, but often fails to do, forget to do, or just doesn’t pay any attention to – knowing the deals, the calendar, and the team’s products. As an analyst it is very easy to become an Excel machine, a PowerPoint zombie, or something just as mechanical. While you are certainly expected to know these programs in your sleep and be ready to reformat a pitch or crunch a model at the drop of a hat, you also need to see the bigger picture. By knowing the team’s calendar, knowing which deals are hot and cool and knowing which products work best on various types of transactions you are showing that you are more than just a typical analyst – you are showing an interest in the team and the profession. You are showing that you are capable of seeing more than just formulas and slides and that you understand the bigger picture, the greater importance in the system. Furthermore, harnessing and using this knowledge will allow you to play a more valuable role in your team – you will be able to anticipate some requests and be able to offer insight during meetings – you will not have to wait to be told do something all of the time – and those tools not only showcase you as a talented analyst, but also allow you to take more initiative. Know what’s going on around you and get out of that analyst assembly-line type of mentality.

Finally, we come to the last, but certainly not least big point – one that belongs in both the luck of it and the work of it – your personality and connecting with your team. I know that I’ve said it before and I hate to run the risk of beating a dead horse, but I need to say it again – personality counts big. Fitting in with your team and being a part of the group is definitely a great way to improve your rank. Yes, rank should be based on work and talent, not how much someone likes you – but let’s be honest and cut the crap – this is banking – yes your work and talent of course count for a lot, but if you think you are going to land a 4 or 5 without being liked by anyone or worse, being a bit of an ass, you are usually quite mistaken. Now I’m not saying that you want to completely follow the herd, but you certainly want to get along with your team and show an interest in what they do (at least when they talk to you about it) – especially senior bankers. It doesn’t require much work to have a conversation of a few minutes and chat about something of interest to another party – so do it. You want to be the analyst who gets along with the majority if not the whole team – you want to be the analyst that people enjoy talking to on walks to get lunch, during dinner, when grabbing a drink occasionally, etc. At the end of the day, banking is a networking business, a social business, and a people business – isolating yourself might be fine in some professions, but banking is definitely not anywhere near the top of that list. In short, be a social butterfly both in terms of networking and carrying yourself (don’t be annoying or tactless) – it might not get you a 5, but it will definitely help you to stay in the good graces of senior bankers and probably land you a deal opportunity or two as well (especially if you work in a smaller group).

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Big Mistakes

The Speed Demon

Don’t be the guy (or girl) who is so interested in getting through every detail on your resume that you rocket through your response without even taking a breath. Sure, you will have gotten through your resume, possibly in record time, but you will have done no good for your candidacy, and will leave the impression of being disorganized and unable to articulate major points. On top of that, the interviewer will probably not even process most of what you’ve said. Bottom line, don’t speed through the answer. I know that I said you should be concise and not spend 45 minutes, but I also said to be articulate – and running off at the mouth at 150mph is anything but that. Your interviewer will get a much better impression of your candidacy if you focus on the highlights and smoothly walk him/her through each of them.

The Bird Watcher

Also known as the floor watcher, or floor talker, this person walks through his resume and looks anywhere and everywhere excluding the interviewer’s eyes. Eye contact goes a long way in an interview, and this question especially lends itself to eye contact and attention to body language as people have a tendency to run on, or go astray. Maintaining eye contact can show your interest in the interview, your confidence in both your candidacy and yourself and can even help you to stay focused and remember that this person is actually listening to this monologue and he/she probably has plans for later that day…or week – so keep it moving.

The Marathon Man

People often treat this question as a marathon. You have to pace yourself, go through each step properly, and end on a high note. The problem is, this marathon isn’t a cross country marathon, it’s a 5 mile road race. In other words, just as you shouldn’t speed through your answer, you shouldn’t take 5, 7, or even 10 minutes to answer this question either. If the interviewer starts interrupting you with continuing questions to move you forward in your response, you know that you’re probably going too long, if you haven’t gone too long already. Watch your rambling, watch the amount of details and experiences that you site from each experience – if you don’t have much experience, you can probably site a few more experiences from school and your work experience, than if you have had 2 internships and a full time position for the past year and are interviewing as a lateral mover. I know that you want to get your point across, but remember, highlights are the key. If the interviewer has follow-up questions, great, more opportunity to expand on those highlights, if not, you’ve still navigated the “walk me through your resume” question without chewing up 10 minutes of the interview and putting your interviewer to bed.

The ADD Victim

This is definitely one of the most common errors that interviewees make when answering this question. Many people have nailed the timing down and can deliver a smooth response, filled with highlights, in a short amount of time. And many people realize the benefit of good posture and eye contact throughout the interview. The problem arises not in the details, or the pace, but the order. While there is no particular “correct” order in which to go through your resume when answering this question, you do not want to jump around from position to position, section of the resume to section of the resume. This looks completely disorganized and is often borderline incoherent – whether or not you have an even, relaxed pace throughout the response. Regardless of whether you start with education, move to work experience, and then to extra curricular activities, or any other combination, the most important thing is to go in order and to finish each position/opportunity before moving on to the next one, and to finish each section before jumping to the next.

While I know that many people will already know this, the fact remains that many of you will still fall victim to it. Practice your response, and practice it often. Remember, you’re not practicing it for the purpose of landing on a word-for-word response, but rather, just to make sure you don’t speed, take too long, or jump from section to section.

General Strategy

As I mentioned before, since everyone is different/has had different experiences and a different number of said experiences, adjustments will need to be made – for example, a candidate with very little work experience but a strong educational background and solid club involvement vs a candidate with a lot of internship/work experience, but not nearly as much extracurricular involvement.

Generally speaking, I like to plan on roughly 30 seconds or so per collective experience/opportunity/position. In other words, assuming you are a college senior, 30 seconds to 1 minute for education and school clubs/etc, 30 seconds for each of your work experiences and l minute or so total for any volunteering efforts/extras – total roughly 3-4 minutes (again, depending on both number and breadth of experiences and candidate – some sound rushed using just 3 minutes, others have the smooth transitions and highlights down pat and can coast through it in 3 minutes).

While this is all helpful, hopefully, I still have one more thing to cover – actually running through the answer. Breaking down the answer, this is how I would usually tackle the question, and in this order: To lead off, I would introduce my school, my major, and mention my involvement (highlights, of course) in any noteworthy clubs or competitions and mention any noteworthy awards that I have received.

Next, I would jump into my first internship on my resume, whether or not it occurred in my sophomore, junior or senior year. I would touch on the highlights, and, if it is NOT in banking, I would discuss how aspects of the job – i.e. some of the skills necessary – were useful to investment banking and how the internship helped to shape my interest in banking/my career goals. If the position was in investment banking, then discuss how the experience has helped to affirm your interest in the field. Repeat the process for your other past internships.

Next I would follow the same procedure for my current or most recent position, in my case it is a FT position, but it can just as easily be a current internship, or your most recent summer internship. For this position, it is ok to spend an extra few seconds to get into just a bit more detail regarding your highlights, or throw in an extra accomplishment, if you have one, as this should be, ideally, your flagship internship/position and should be the anchor of your professional resume. Whether in investment banking specifically or not, whether for a BB or a tiny boutique, this position should be described in such a way as to highlight your skill set and highlight your candidacy as a capable, valuable, aspiring analyst.

Note: As the internships progress, try to articulate a sense of increased responsibility and more interesting projects/assignments in your highlights, as with each internship you should be growing and earning better, or at least equally-footed positions/opportunities.

Finally, if there is time, I would touch on any of my volunteering efforts, the impact that I made, and again, any of my highlights or accomplishments in the position as well as why that particular non-profit is of importance to me. This would also be the place where you throw in any other little extra that are on the bottom of your resume that you feel are interesting or nice talking points – for example, I may bring up my powerlifting competitions, again, if there is time, and if the interviewer is “attentive, and nodding and smiling along” (you know what I mean).

Note: Regarding the phrase, “if there is time,” I am referring to your ability/your sense of how long you have taken, how interested the interviewer seems to be, whether or not you have run on a little bit at one particular spot, etc – essentially, all of the clues/implications that you need to learn to pick up on that signal the need to “wrap it up,” and move on with the rest of the interview. Remember, if you interviewer has any other/further questions specifically about your resume he/she can and will ask, so don’t feel the need to toss the kitchen sink at the person.

That should pretty much cover it. As always, any other suggestions, helpful tips, or comments in general, just leave them below. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on Landing the FT Offer, The Business School Application Part 2, Part 2 of my series covering “What an Analyst Really Does,” and much more! Sign up for RSS and/or Email updates so that you can stay informed and Stay Tuned!