On a side note, it’s definitely been a busy several weeks for a variety of reasons ultimately leaving me without much free time to compose articles or properly field questions. Although my schedule will definitely be fairly packed over the next several weeks, it has lightened a bit and I will definitely be returning to a more consistent level of posting and answering questions. And I know I’ve been saying it for a while now, but my new product is absolutely coming very soon and will make the technical side of your upcoming interviews much easier! That said – let’s jump right in!

Although the immediate move from IB to PE/HF/buyside in general results in better compensation initially, is it worth it in the long run? In other words, should one transition to buyside, or stay the course with banking, if possible, and attempt to move into an MD role at a BB, for example? Also, does moving to an MD role at a BB require an MBA degree? In my mind, this seems to be a much safer path than moving to a Hedge Fund, for example, which can go bust, and since differences at the MD level for pay between BB Investment Banks and Buy Side PE firms are little, is the move really worth it?

Ok – that was definitely a mouth/eye/ear full, but I’m going to break out some of the key points and address them accordingly:

1. The move from analyst to MD does NOT require an MBA by any means. However, the path is definitely a one to take and one that often involves layoffs, bank changes, being passed up for opportunities, and so forth. Moving from analyst to associate is one thing; moving from analyst to some sort of VP is another thing, but to go from analyst up to MD is absolutely no small task given the rate of turnover, movement between banks, cyclicality of the business, need for additional resources (meaning MDs aren’t just given – they are doled out based on need of a team or group) and so forth. Don’t get me wrong, it can certainly happen (as needed) and the moves from analyst to VP and D definitely happen, but it often comes with a bumpy and lengthy road. Remember, just because an organization is large or established, it does not automatically follow that your career will be secure and that promotions are natural and easy steps. If there is a big turn in the market, as we’ve all just seen and are continuing to witness these past few years, hedge funds, PE shops, small banks, BB banks and the like were all taking butcher’s knives to their staffs.

2. Even though the progression can happen, it isn’t one of those things where everyone wants to do it and just doesn’t get picked. Most people use IB as not necessarily a stepping stone, but definitely a means of reaching an end, not an end in itself. Post analyst and associate roles are in PE, HF, VC, buyside, boutiques, F500 and so forth and are often far more lucrative for much bigger reasons than dollars. Many people just don’t want to deal with the hours, the stress, the credit committees and internal politics (jumping through hoops to get deals approved and so forth, especially in a still jittery market like this) the NEED for new business, etc – since remember, IB is a sales position at the end of the day, and working for a BB bank means you need to constantly be selling and showing the bank that you are worth the bonus and worth a cube or office on the floor. Even senior bankers work long hours and although they aren’t at their desks for 12, 15+ hours, they are often on the road visiting clients, pitching, negotiating terms and so forth several days per week.

3. At the end of the day, it is really a personal call. If you like the sell-side (IB-side) of the business and many people do, then you will want to stick it out, or possibly pursue an MBA and then get back in to move to a stronger/more prestigious bank, new group, fresh start, etc. If, however, you aren’t passionate or as passionate about IB necessarily and just want to put in the time to gain the contacts and the experience and skill set/transaction knowledge and move on, then becoming a senior banker will definitely not be for you. In that case, you are much better off moving to buyside, in some form, and enjoy.

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

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

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

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

I’m currently in a high school/associates degree program and will be attending a non-target, but solid school this fall. I am wondering if it is possible to break into banking with just my associate degree. If not, how can I position myself to get into IB (BB or possibly MM/boutique) with my U Grad? Finally, if I can’t get into IB out of U Grad, how easy will it be to get into IB from a top B school?

Let me tackle your questions 1 at a time. First, you can forget about breaking into IB without a Bachelors degree – the Associates degree is not going to do it, so move right on to breaking in from U Grad. Moving on to your U grad, while you’ve got a chance at breaking into a BB from the non-target (see Here), you will definitely have much more opportunity with regional boutiques and MM shops. That said, it is possible to get into BB shops, it will just require a lot more work, networking and some luck – you should definitely try though and landing some IB-related internships with smaller shops ahead of your junior SA (or at least FT) recruiting will definitely help.

Finally, regarding your MBA ideas, attending a top MBA will definitely be your best shot at breaking into BB IB – but let’s not make the mistake of assuming you will be able to get in straight out of U Grad, or even after 2 years of any-old work experience. It is very, very difficult to break into these top (not just top 5 or 10, but even top 15) schools and it is by no means a given after 2-3 years of experience. Therefore, while this is definitely your best bet, getting to that stage is anything but a definite at this point and will require some serious work on your part (check out my 2-part series on getting into B school Here and Here).

For now, focus on getting into U grad and doing very well. From there, you can position yourself for IB (whether BB or not) and then you can decide if an MBA is right for you, and, if it is, you can make the big push.

I plan on applying for summer internships in IB and am wondering what steps I should take to prepare myself for landing a good summer internship ahead of senior year. How much knowledge should I have about finance and accounting before going into interviews?

In terms of what you need to know for an interview (check This and This out for help with your upcoming interviews), this all depends on your major – if you are a finance/accounting major (or at least have some solid relevant coursework on your resume), you should definitely be comfortable with valuation, financial statements, etc. If, however, you are a non-business major (without this type of relevant coursework), you should be focused on more of the fit questions, but still have at least a basic understand of the financial statements – just so that you aren’t stumped by the most basic “walk me through the 3 financial statements” type of questions.

Next, in terms of next steps, you want to reach out to your alumni database and start networking as much as you can – of course, the better the school you attend – non vs. semi vs. target – the more alumni connections you will be able to make and utilize. Beyond that, you want to make sure you’ve got a solid resume and cover letter to showcase your skills.

Beyond that, while IB is your ultimate goal, don’t become entirely fixated on BB IB for SA opportunities – don’t forget about MM and boutique shops or even other relevant fields such as S&T, consulting, boutique P/E, etc. Keep your options open and, of course, cast a wide net in terms of applications and networking.

I’ve been networking a lot lately, and a few contacts have asked me for my resume. I just got a job that I started in late may (non-finance) – is it worth it to include this in my resume? Also, at what point should a job description be included in your resume (1 month, 6, etc)?

Once you start a position you can include it on your resume, and as you perform valuable (relevant to IB) tasks, definitely include them on your resume.

More specifically, to your first question, it really depends on the type of internship to which you are referring. Although it is not finance related, it can still be relevant – consulting, ops, accounting, etc can all be tweaked to appear very relevant to the skill sets necessary in IB (analytical, quant, attention to detail, leadership, writing, team work, etc). If, however, you are working in a fast-food shop, or as a bar tender, for example, that is not terribly relevant, and doesn’t need to be included in your resume (instead just use it as a means of earning some extra income as you search for a more relevant internship/position). Essentially you want to showcase as much relevant experience as you can, but relevant is the key word – you don’t want to give a mixed message as to what you want to do. An exception to this rule would be if you are entering your senior year and don’t have any work experience listed at all – in this case, it is better to list something, even if it is not completely relevant, but at least business related, on your resume (I would still leave off the fast-food cashier position though – for the record).

I understand GS TMT/MS M&A are widely regarded as the top of totem pole when it comes to PE recruiting, but how about other groups at GS/MS? Essentially, if given the opportunity to work at a top boutique, which other groups at GS/MS would be comparable or better for recruiting? Should I base it all of group or worry about fit?

First, just because M&A is a top feeder and GS TMT is a top group, it does not mean that the other groups are inferior. When it comes to P/E recruiting you need to figure out 2 things – 1) do you prefer M&A/Leveraged Finance or an Industry and 2) if an industry, then which industry? While M&A and Lev Fin are highly sought after, if you have a particular industry focus and end up in that particular industry at a bank like MS or GS, then you will definitely be in good shape for P/E recruiting since you’ll have industry expertise and will have some M&A exposure in that industry (especially if your group happens to do some of its modeling as many groups do) as well as working for a top bank.

Next, there is nothing stopping you from pursuing numerous employers and picking the best option. Essentially, if you get an offer with Blackstone, for example, and get another offer with MS and find out that MS M&A is only hiring 1 analyst, then Blackstone might be a better fit. If, however, you are networking with some of the MS bankers in M&A, your chances are much better. Additionally, when ranking your groups, you can rank M&A as #1, then lev fin, then Sponsors, then an industry or 2 of choice – you should get one of those options if not one of your top 2 or 3 (even without a bunch of networking, although networking does help).

Remember, while boutiques are great, their reach outside of the IB/PE space are not as strong as top BBs such as GS and MS. A strong BB on your resume in your industry of choice, for example, can open many doors in terms of future IB, P/E, corporate finance/development and so forth down the line, while some of the most prestigious boutiques aren’t known that much outside of the IB or P/E worlds (although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if those are the worlds you are targeting).

At the end of the day, I would push for M&A, Lev Fin, Sponsors and an industry group of choice. Beyond that, I would really focus on fit and culture – you will be spending a lot of time there and the happier bankers or at least the less angry/disgusted bankers get the better projects, reviews and recommendations (usually).

Parameters:

Let’s get right into the basics here. First and foremost, the cover letter should be, in total, 1 page. This means that from the address/heading down to the signature (and mention of attachments, if necessary), you should be no more than 1 page in length. I’ve seen cover letters that span over 2 pages, and let me be the first to tell you, straight up, this is way too long, and no one is going to read it, nor will anyone be excited by the amount of effort and/or information you’ve included in it. Simply put, this looks like you don’t know what to include and have therefore included way too much. So, we’ve got the 1 page down, but how should the 1 page look?

As you can imply from the name, the cover LETTER, is exactly that, a letter, and, as such, whether it is a separate attachment or the body of an email, it should resemble that of a letter. Start by including the basic information – essentially, your contact information and name at the top, then to whom you are addressing the letter – you don’t need a full address here, although if you’ve got the room, you are welcome to include it (this opening information can be left out if you are writing the letter in the body of the email, instead, just start with the next point, your greeting). Next, insert your greeting/opening – Dear Mr. XXX, or Good afternoon Ms. XXX (for non-email cover letters, you can also include the date just above this line if you want to and/or have room).

Moving past the opening and greeting, we get to the body of the letter. The body should be 3-4 paragraphs, although the last paragraph is a short paragraph, but we’ll get to that in a second. Paragraph 1 is the introductory paragraph, essentially, an introduction to you (school and major/current employer and role, etc – high level details only) and why you are interested in the specific opportunity with company X (the company and role to which you are applying).

Once you’ve got paragraph 1 done, you have paved the way for paragraph 2, which is essentially a continuation of the “introduction to you” in paragraph 1, but now with all details you want to highlight. Paragraph 2 should highlight your experiences with school and/or with your current/past internships/FT positions. Additionally, while you are discussing your experiences, you should briefly highlight their relevance to the position to which you are applying, especially if the relevant isn’t perfectly clear. For example, running the financial modeling of a closed deal as an IB analyst is obviously relevant to another IB position; however, being an engineering major, or even Finance major, or perhaps working in a corp fin role might not be and might warrant a quick few words on how the experiences are useful to IB.

Next, we come to our optional paragraph, paragraph 3, the extra stuff. Paragraph 3, just as the name implies, highlights other aspects of your candidacy that you feel are relevant and/or important to your candidacy, albeit not related to your professional or academic (major/coursework) experience. Paragraph 3 is where you will want to highlight your leadership, club involvement and non-profit experience. Paragraph 3 is a great opportunity to set yourself apart from other candidates and possibly even find some common ground with your prospective employer. Paragraph 3 can definitely be useful for those candidates applying to consulting positions, P/E and even smaller boutique IB shops in that these positions often look for what you’ve done besides grades and work, assuming, of course, grades and work are up to par. Additionally, paragraph 3 is often useful for those candidates that lack work experience, but have strong leadership experience, especially within relevant student organizations. Finally, while paragraph 3 can be helpful, it definitely isn’t necessary since: 1) you might not have enough room for it on your single page and you definitely don’t want to cut out important academic and/or professional experience to highlight something that is probably on your resume already anyway under a leadership or extracurricular section, 2) you might not have much leadership experience and you definitely don’t need a bunch of fluff in your resume and 3) many positions won’t really care that much about your EC experience and can find out what they need to know from your resume or from you in your interview – therefore, you can let your cover letter be a bit shorter and leave paragraph 3 out.

Finally, after all is said and done, we come to our last paragraph, paragraph 4. Paragraph 4 is a very quick paragraph in that paragraph 4 merely thanks the reviewer, mentions your attachments and contact information (phone and/or email) and closes out the letter.

With paragraph 4 done, you have your final lines starting with your closing remark (Sincerely, Best regards, etc) and then your name. If you want to, you can include an italicized line, 1 or 2 lines below your name (again, you want to keep it to 1 page) and call it “Attachments” or the like, and mention your resume – Ex. “Enclosure: Résumé”

Include it:

Now that we’ve covered the parameters and highlighted the major fields of your cover letter, let’s quickly run through what you should include in your cover as far as content is concerned. If you are a student, first and foremost you want to include some basics from your academia including your school, your grade, your major and any relevant coursework you have taken. When referring to relevant coursework (see Here for more), I am referring to the same coursework you would include in your resume – any finance and accounting coursework is at the top of the list, followed by math/statistics coursework, economics coursework, and, finally, any interesting strategy/leadership coursework. Moving beyond your undergrad basics, you want to include your club involvement, with a focus on those clubs that you have taken more of a leadership role in (especially those clubs relevant to IB – such as a Wall St. club, a Finance club, an IB or P/E club, etc). Finally, we come to your internship and non-profit experience. You definitely want to highlight any relevant work experience that you have as well as the interesting projects that you have worked on while there. If you have more than 1 quality internship on your resume, you can definitely highlight more than, but for each position/internship you list, you should include a little less experience/project responsibilities from each to keep the cover letter balance. For non-profit experience, I am referring to anything that is important to you or that you have taken a leadership in (for paragraph 3) and anything that is relevant to IB from a quant/analytical perspective (in paragraph 2 or 3 depending on how much additional work experience you have).

Now before anyone gets crazy, the previous paragraph is referring to undergraduate students or students in Master’s programs who don’t yet have FT work experience. Once you are a graduate, and have some FT experience under your belt, you want to change things up a bit. As a grad, you don’t need to include all of the information from your undergrad that you included as a current student unless you are applying for a position outside of your current FT role and your undergrad studies are relevant (meaning you work in IB and want to go into something completely different or the opposite). Assuming this exception isn’t the case, you don’t need to highlight all of your relevant coursework (although you can still keep it in your resume) and you only really need to mention your school, when you graduated, how you graduated (if it was with any honors) and what you majored in (although this last point isn’t necessary if it isn’t relevant to the position). From there, you want to delve fully into your current work experience first, and depending on how long you’ve been there and how many projects you’ve worked on, take the necessary space to highlight the position properly. After your current experience, you can briefly highlight one or 2 of your internships, again, if they are relevant, as well as a bit on what you worked on while there. The balance between FT and internships will, of course, vary, based on how long you’ve been at your FT role. Before I close out this article, let’s cover 1 last point – essentially, what not include in your cover letter.

Save it for the interview:

This section covers those points that, whether interesting or not, should not be included in your cover letter as they will be seen as more fluff, filler, or, at the very least, not relevant and when something is not relevant, it should not be included – remember, shorter is usually better (unless we were talking about a 3 sentence cover letter, in which case I would make an exception to the rule). First on the list is non-relevant coursework – essentially, if I haven’t listed it above, it is non-relevant. Yes, your history courses might be interesting, but they are probably not relevant. Therefore, if you want to discuss them, save it for the interview (see Here for help preparing for your next interview) and only if you are asked – don’t randomly go off on a 10-minute history course tangent. Next on the list would be non-relevant work experience. Included in this list is work experience that doesn’t involve leadership, analytical/quant skills or strong written skills. Essentially, you want to always be highlighting those experience that showcase the relevant skill sets sought after by bankers/potential employers. Finally, we come to the big no-no of cover letters and that is the dreaded overstatement (essentially, beefing yourself up too much). While you definitely want to be selling your candidacy, you also don’t want to pretend like you’ve done WAY more than you have, or taken on WAY more responsibility than you have (the same is ABSOLUTELY true for your resume). As a quick example, one of my friends from college was interning with a boutique IB shop the summer of his junior year and into his first semester. While he had an interesting experience and enjoyed his time with the firm, he really didn’t have much exposure to modeling – he spread some comps and such, but never really built any models. He had, however, seen some models and had taken some coursework in M&A and learned a bit about financial modeling and such. Well on his resume and in his cover letter, he figured that he knew enough to beef it up and decided to say that he built several DCF models and worked on several LBO models during his internship. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, he landed an interview with a BB and his first round interview was a technical interview and he got absolutely hammered on this experience and his financial modeling including his supposed DCF and LBO work. Suffice it to say that he did not do very well and did not get called for a second round.

That about does it for this article – as always, comment go below and emails can be sent Here!

If you get credit for it, you should probably submit it to the B school when applying. That said, if you don’t need it, and just want to take the class for fun, just drop it before receiving the final grade. Now, if you finish the course and earn an “A,” then there is no harm done and you can send the transcript over. If, however, you get a C, while it won’t kill you by any means since you said you did well during undergrad, it definitely won’t help you since it will be the most recent class you’ve taken. In short, you don’t want the most recent aspect of any part of your candidacy to be a glaring negative – even if it is a small part.

Essentially, if you are not going to get a great grade in the course and don’t need it, then either don’t report it, or, ideally, just drop it before the grade is official. That said, depending on the subject, you might just be able to learn it on your own and save the money and hassle of the online course.

I’ve been out of finance for a few years now doing a variety of things including running my own business. How do I break back in; do I really need an MBA?

I would agree that the MBA would be your best option. Is there any reason why you can’t go for the MBA next year – in other words, you said “until I can get an MBA” which sounds like you aren’t planning to apply yet?

Regardless of reason, if you aren’t planning to pursue an MBA yet, you will definitely have some difficulty and will definitely want to brush up on the technical concepts – finance and accounting and become much more comfortable with them. At this point, I wouldn’t be gunning towards 1 bank or another or 1 training program or another – instead, I would really focus on breaking back in, then if you want to advance or move around, either try internally or pursue an MBA at that point. You aren’t in the best position to be picky, so you should reach out to your network, headhunters, and go through the general application processes trying to get your foot back into the door. Learn or refresh the technicals on your own and try to be prepared to hit the ground running – this will also show your commitment to getting back in.

I want to do IB on the west coast, but live in NY – is this possible or not?

First, it depends on which groups you are targeting within IB – if technology or general M&A is strongly on your radar, then the west coast is definitely possible. Particularly Palo, San Fran and Menlo will definitely have heavy tech and solid M&A opps – especially for satellite hubs for BBs and many boutiques. Moving past that, you will need to go through the general recruiting channels – school recruiting, etc and push for west coast opps. For BBs, you’d make this selection during your sell day (for groups) and possibly just after your superdays (for location preferences, for some banks). For boutiques, you will need to search the pages – Craigslist, efinancialcareers, etc and look for west coast opps. Particularly if you are planning to move there anyway, you will probably have a decent shot and will show your commitment to the area and not just grasping at any IB job.

What “soft” qualities are bankers looking for when interviewing candidates?

They are looking for exactly what you’d expect them to look for: leadership (although you won’t be leading much), ability to work well with others/teamwork, ability to run with a project (drive), a positive attitude (since you will often be crapped on) and confidence (without arrogance – you want to be confident in yourself, but you don’t want to come off as thinking you are better than everyone else and everyone else is garbage).

A lot of it is common sense – IB wants smart people who they can tolerate at 3am…halfway through their gauntlet day (for example).

I’m currently a freshman at a strong west coast semi target with a 3.8 GPA. Should I transfer to something better (such as H/P/W/Chi/Col/Stern/Stan) if I want to break into IB or stay put?

A 3.8 is absolutely competitive, but whether you need to or should transfer is really subjective. If, for example, you are set on working NYC and getting into the best BB or elite boutiques, then transferring to H/W/P will definitely help you on your path. If, however, you are interested in staying in CA or just want to be in a good IBank or like the Tech space of IB, a strong semi on the west coast (such as Berkley) is definitely a great place to be.

Finally, if you are considering making a move, just apply – if you get in, then great, you’ve got a very nice decision on your hands – if not, no harm done at all. If you are going to apply, I would recommend H/W/P and if you want to work in NYC, Columbia. I would probably leave off the rest.

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.

If this were during school, I would say leave it off – since, however, you have already graduated, I would include this in your resume and showcase your leadership skills and responsibilities that you developed as a result of this position, rather than have an unexplained big post-graduation employment gap. Furthermore, I would use the cover letter to draft a quick sentence explaining (briefly) why you had to take that position rather than hold out and pursue IB at that time.

State college to the US Army to a top-tier MBA – can I get into IB taking this path and if so, what is the best way to go about making it happen?

From the IB point of view, this is definitely an acceptable path to get into an associate-level IB position. While you lack industry experience, your MBA (from a target school, I am assuming) will provide you with a strong network as well as the hard skills in accounting and finance necessary to succeed on an analytical level. Furthermore, while you lack that industry experience, you have what many other candidates don’t – a proven leadership skill set through leadership experience. Associates are the junior bankers groomed for senior banker roles and leadership presence and the ability to communicate are definitely important to the position. If you utilize your network and take the proper coursework, you should be able to leverage your background into an IB opportunity for sure.

After networking with alumni connections and friends, etc when looking for employment opportunities I managed to get a finance job. It’s been several months now since I last reached out to most of them and I am just wondering whether I should reach back out and, if so, how to go about doing it. Some of these contacts I never even met and only found them through friends of friends and other disconnected avenues. I’m not looking for a job, but maybe a year or two down the line, so I probably should stay in touch with them. Is there a way to rebuild these one-time connections into something more? How have people maintained connections they’ve made? How often should you send update emails, and such?

You should definitely reach out to these contacts and touch base with them. While it’s been several months, you’ve got some genuine news to share and should reach back out to extend your appreciation. Essentially I would craft the email to include: 1) a thank you again for all of their help and insight, 2) let them know of your news and that you got an analyst/associate position with bank X or boutique Y, 3) provide them with updated contact information and finally, 4) ask them a question about group culture or something relevant to your situation as a new analyst – maybe something on fitting in with the team or some such thing. Point 4 provides the channel for more than a simple “congratulations and good luck” email, while at the same time catching up with an alum/former contact and keeping the connection going.

Remember, this business is built on networking and maintaining contacts – just as you are an analyst now and in a few years you might want to call on them – they might be an analyst or associate now (for example), but in a few years they might be calling on their contacts for potential opportunities, one contact of which could be you. It’s all a two-way street and just as you might want to leverage your network, so too might your contacts down the line. There is definitely incentive for them to send a quick email to you just as you did for them now that you’ve landed a comparable position – make the first move, send out the email, and keep it going. From this point on, try not to let the connection completely fall apart and send occasional emails every few months just to touch base.

I’m graduating in May and I know that FT analyst recruiting has already pretty much finished. I have some strong connections to a few senior bankers and I’m wondering whether there are any opportunities left, or is everything set in stone and completed already?

FT recruiting has ended for BB banks, but there are still a number, or at least a few slots available to be filled in random groups from incoming analysts who backed out of offers at the last minute, or because those groups were just allotted an additional analyst seat or 2. While these positions are far fewer than the traditional FT recruiting opportunities, they are also not nearly as widely publicized. The banks will first try to fill these slots either through applicants on file or through current banker recommendations. The latter is where you come in. You need to really work your network here (don’t expect any miracles) and just have your contacts keep their ears open. Opportunities could present themselves and you need to be on people’s minds when they do.

Beyond that, boutiques often do not follow the same structured hiring procedures as BBs, especially smaller boutiques. These firms can be a great opportunity for you to develop a skill set, acquire some valuable experience and then, if interested, move on. Don’t overlook these opportunities if you are really interested in banking and not just working for the top BB because you heard it is good and an easy way to make big $$.

Finally, keep your options open – not in terms of careers, but in terms of perhaps delaying graduation by a semester to give you a fresh round of FT to go for, as well as a shot as SA positions. Additionally, a Master’s could work as well if this were an avenue you were interested in.

Keep your eyes open and call on your contacts – it won’t be easy, but you’ve got some opportunity – I know of a few analysts that came in after FT recruiting for their respective incoming years – it happens, just be patient and stick with it.

I interviewed for with a bank nearly 2 weeks ago in their global markets program for a FT position. Shortly after the interview, I was put me on hold since they wanted to interview more people in the days ahead. Unfortunately, I still haven’t heard back from them. What should I do?

You should definitely reach back out. Assuming they interviewed other people over a week ago as they said, reaching back out in the next several days would be more than acceptable. If I were you, I would send an email sometime towards the start of the week and in the email don’t do anything stupid like demand a decision, but just check in to see if there is any further news regarding the opportunity. Thank them again for their time and reaffirm your interest in the position. This will show your interest in the position without annoying them since the email is courteous as well as well-timed in that you waited about a week since they interviewed other applicants as well as just over a week since they interviewed and last spoke to you – about the time frame it should take to get all of their pieces together and come to decisions.

What’s better for IB, a JD or a Masters, and what position would I be applying for?

If you are interested in investment banking, then you don’t need a JD or a typical Masters degree. The only finishing degree that would be of value to you in terms of IB is an MBA. A JD is great to have if you want to be a lawyer, but if you have no interest in law, there is no reason to get a JD. The exception to this is if you have a genuine interest in law, but want to pursue IB. In this case I would still not recommend a JD, I would recommend a JD/MBA combo.

As an MBA graduate, you would start off in IB as an associate, and then have the opportunity to grow into the VP+ roles. As an undergrad, you will come into IB as an analyst, and then after 3 years, you would either receive an offer for promotion or have to move – at which time B school, boutique IB, or buyside opportunities would be of the most interest. To go for your MBA, you will need a few years of solid work experience (not necessarily in IB, by any means, but work experience nevertheless).

There are lawyers who have JDs who break into banking without an MBA, but they typically have a healthy dose of contacts as well as a career (even if just for a year or so) in law and in a law discipline that deals with banking-related issues – such as M&A, restructuring, etc.

Beyond IB, in terms of degree vs. degree, a Masters (assuming you are talking about the degree right after undergrad, such as a Masters in Finance), is really just an extension of an undergrad and often not viewed as a true finishing degree – unlike an MBA or a JD. In fact, graduating with a Masters, you will still go for analyst-level IB positions, not associate.

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Sell Yourself

Sell yourself, not who you think the admissions committee is interested in buying. While pretending to be someone or pretending to have an interest in a particular field has worked for many applicants in the past, you have a far better shot at earning a spot in the upcoming B school class if you are genuine; if you describe yourself honestly and express your goals and interests from the heart. Don’t fabricate an elaborate scenario where you make up goals and feign an interest in what you think is a popular field – come interview time, if you even receive one, this will most likely hurt you, or at the very least, not allow you to show your full potential.

If you are genuinely torn between a few different paths, then obviously go with the more realistic and focused plan – you can always change your mind once you’re in. Remember one thing regarding the business school admission committees; no one knows exactly what or who they are looking for, or even what exactly they prefer year to year, applicant to applicant. Therefore, try as you may to tell them what they want to hear, you may end up standing in your own way and sabotaging your own candidacy.

Know the School, Know Your Goals

It doesn’t matter if the application you are putting together is for your dream school, a safety school, or anything in between, before drafting those essays, you should absolutely knows the ins and outs of the school, how your goals align to what the school offers, and what you can offer back to the school. A safety school should not be a school that is out of your reach by any means, but every year waves of students are rejected from the schools that they consider “safeties,” and often accepted to more prestigious schools (but sometimes not). While it can easily be argued that perhaps the applicant just thought too highly of him/herself, it is also highly possible, that, like dating, no one likes to be a second, third, or ninth choice. This is why it is your job as the applicant to make sure every school to which you apply feels like it is your dream school (don’t say it though, unless it’s true – it is far worse to be a liar, than to have someone think you consider them second best).

Sure you may dream of attending MIT, and Fuqua is a complete safety school, but it is important to remember three things:

(1) Rankings change (sure MIT is phenomenal, but you never know, Fuqua, could run up in the rankings);

(2) Perhaps after visiting Fuqua you fall in love with the campus, students and general school atmosphere and now like it as much as MIT, or more; and

(3) Perhaps Fuqua gives you a full scholarship and MIT gives you nothing, so you call MIT, speak with admissions and end up being offered 15% or 25% tuition to MIT (stranger things have happened, although MIT is known to be a bit on the stingy side).

While these scenarios are not incredibly likely, nor is gaining admission to MIT – the acceptance rate is only around 15%, remember, for each school, don’t just talk about your interests and goals, and really tell a story. Discuss your background and reasons for these goals and interests, and why/how they are significant to you – this will set you apart from many other potential applicants. The last thing that you want to do is burn bridges and shut doors on opportunities, especially when you are spending $200+ (application fee) and countless hours (application time) to have these opportunities.

Give Back

Start volunteering – even if you are just a few months from applying, it is alright. While there is a chance that some of the schools may think you are only volunteering to impress them, many will not (again, support this through your essays) – and worse case scenario is if you have to reapply next year, you will have stronger volunteer experience to support your candidacy.

By support your volunteer efforts through your essays I mean that you need to show both how you’ve impacted the organization, as well as, if not more importantly, how the organization has impacted you on a personal level. Showing a connection to the cause, even if you’ve only pursued the cause for a relatively short time is incredibly important and will speak volumes both to your commitment and to your experiences with the organization. Yes, your experiences might be discounted due to the lesser amount of time spent volunteering, but an articulate and heartfelt expression of those experiences will definitely help to offset that lack of time. Additionally, you can absolutely talk to past experiences that are related to this new effort, even if a bit dated, as a means of further showing your passion for and commitment to the cause, so that it further appears less like you’ve only taken up this activity “wow” business school.

For the specific types of volunteer opportunities to pursue, again, passion and commitment is far more valuable than name or activity. If you are interested in working with underprivileged students trying to succeed in school, or adults dreaming to create a better life for them and their families, tutoring could be a great way to give back. If you are interested in working with hands and changing your community one family at a time, Habitat for Humanity might be another avenue. If, perhaps, you’ve recently been to another country where you saw a need to heal the community and found an organization looking to make the necessary changes, feel free to look into that as well. At the end of the day, B school will be far more impressed with what you’ve done for the organization/community AND how the organization has impacted your life; your way of thinking; your beliefs.

Do Not Rush – GMAT First, B School Next

Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for and take the GMAT – while some hopeful applicants have used this strategy and have succeeded, a majority crash and burn. The decision to go to business school should be a conscious, thought-out decision that takes time, preparation and patience – rushing to take the GMAT, or rushing to finalize your essays will more often than not result in sub par work (or at least not your best work), which will often lead to rejection and a lot of heartache and questions. Taking the time to plan ahead for the GMAT and business school applications in general will both result in a higher test score, and far more focused, genuine, and impressive applications.

As a general rule of thumb, if you are interested in applying to business school, I would recommend taking the GMAT at least 1.5 months ahead of your application due date, if not much, much sooner. I choose 1.5 months because in the event that you do not achieve your goal score, or don’t even approach the scores you’ve been seeing in practice exams, you now have enough time to prep a bit more and retake the exam (since you need to wait around a month or so before retaking it). Remember, continuing the message of this segment, taking the exam 1.5 months before your application due date means you should start studying 3.5 to 6 months before your application due date. While the material on the GMAT as a standalone collection of information is not terribly difficult, do not be fooled into thinking that you can master the material in 2 to 4 weeks and nail the GMAT. Studying the material takes time, familiarizing yourself with the test takes time, and building up the confidence and practice scores takes time – don’t short change yourself and have to settle for a 610, when you’ve been testing at the 680 level – put in the time, do the work, and get the score. This goes for both the GMAT and the application itself – half-assing the essays is the best way to ensure your rejection come decision time.

Too Good for Help, Too Good for Acceptance

Along the same lines as the previous point on preparation and patience, the business school application is a lengthy and fairly difficult process as a whole (not filling in your name and address, but describing accomplishments and awards, drafting the essays, and so forth). As a result, do not think that you are capable of writing a perfect application on your first draft and with no help from anyone else. Now I’m not telling you to go out and hire an essay or application service – far from it. I am, however, telling you to take your time with the application, don’t try to rush through your essays, carefully read the questions to ensure you are answering each aspect, and don’t be afraid to seek some help from a friend or a few friends that you trust and know can handle reading and critiquing essays of that caliber.

While asking for advice is often incredibly difficult, especially when you are sharing very personal experiences, sentiment, etc, it will absolutely help your chances of writing a very strong set of expressive essays. At the very least I would recommend that you ask someone to read the essays for grammar, spelling and punctuation as it is often those little mistakes that end up causing the most harm. Having a pair of eyes other than yours read the essays for grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors will greatly decrease the likelihood of seeing them in the final versions. Additionally, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone read at least one or two of your essays for content – not to critique what you’ve written, but rather to express whether they understand the point you are trying to make and whether it is clear and expressive, rather than muddled and flat. This is often the most challenging aspect of the process, but having a trusted friend, if no one else, take a look at least one of your essays for this purpose will open your eyes to whether you are failing to capture that which you are really trying to capture – in terms of emotion, and experience.

On the opposite side of the coin, I would not recommend that you have dozens of people critiquing your essays. I have spoken with several applicants that wonder whether it is wise to have several people critique each essay, and the answer is no. The phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” is the best way I can think of to describe what happens when too many friends, colleagues, services, etc critique your essays. Essentially, you will inevitably lose the originality and unique qualities that your essays would and should bring to the table in order to appease everyone’s criticisms and recommendations. Furthermore, you will often find that one or two people will think one thing, another two or three will think another, and then others will be spread across slightly different if not entirely different ways to go about expressing a point or describing an experience resulting in more of an incoherent jumble than an eloquent and articulate essay. In short, a few people is good, but too many people and you will run into one hell of a bottleneck, or, perhaps worse, a bland and unoriginal creation.

That wraps up Part 2 of Applying to Business School. Stay tuned for upcoming articles including Interview 202, Delaying Graduation, What a Banker Really Does, and much more!

As always, 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.