For all those who are starting with the second part of the Career Planning Advisory series on Investment Banking, I highly recommend that you read the first part and understand the different types of Investment Banks (if you are not from the Investment Banking industry).
Without understanding the types of banks, it becomes a challenge to develop a strategy for your career transition into Investment Banking.
Investment Banking – Understanding Preferences
I remember asking a school representative about the chance for an international candidate to find opportunity in Operations in Switzerland and she replied in a lawyer-like precise manner without hinting any biases that the person’s chances are limited if he is not from the region.
The preference is from learned experience that an international candidate can’t excel in a role that requires hands-on experience dealing with clients in the region, language proficiency, and exposure to the region’s nuanced culture.
That is an unsaid preference that helped me guide the applicant to another school in a different region where such preferences don’t exist.
How do you know preference from biases?
There is the truth that is not available in coordinated branding articles of the school’s placement news.
As a career switcher, you are unlikely to be placed in Bulge-bracket banks with an admission from T15 to T20 schools unless you are a current employee, you have a sponsorship from the Bulge Bracket Bank, or you are from Cornell MBA. The school is the only non-M7 school with a 25% plus placement to Investment Banking function. And this is not a one-time fluke as we have observed in our multi-year analysis of Cornell MBA placement trends.
Such research is essential to find schools with strong Investment Banking ‘branding.’
Value of Investment Banking Schools
Last year, I helped an applicant from Investment Banking from a reputed regional bank get into Booth on her 3rd attempt. She persisted without attempting any non-m7 schools for the past 2 years. And the payoff is huge.
Booth from the 7% range has shifted to 9% placements for Investment Banking. Now she can pivot to a bulge bracket bank on the shoulders of Booth as a brand and her experience in smaller regional banks.
Both matters – previous experience and the school’s reputation as a Finance school with strong Investment Banking and PE cohort.
Internship Trends – The One Thing you have to worry about the most
The internship is the primary channel through which you will enter investment banking.
And to facilitate the internship offer – you must:
Start Early
This is a surprising truth for many candidates entering M7 and T20 schools.
The career service team – if they are good at orienting MBA candidates warns them of the consequences of a delayed internship search.
By December 1st week, you must have an offer in hand for your internship.
Beyond that, it is nearly impossible to get an internship from a Bulge Bracket bank.
So in a year or two, when you are in a top school with my support or without my support, remember this one rule.
“Start Early. There are hundreds of competitors across M7 and T20 schools – many of whom are career switchers who want the exact role you are targeting.”
Network Aggressively
I remember having a conversation with an older gentleman who wrote a glowing recommendation letter for my client. The person shared how the client was an ‘average’ applicant and how my branding helped him secure a seat at NYU Stern.
I smiled at the praise showered at me.
On reflection, the client had one secret weapon – “emotional intelligence.”
First – his experience lacked the uniqueness to stand out for an IB profile – not just about the technical deal experience but in global exposure.
After the feedback, he did exactly what I suggested, and in three months, the gap in his profile was gone.
I have given such advice to many who reach out to me, but 98% don’t follow through. They try to find a quick hack to navigate the weakness.
Such high emotional intelligence to recognize weakness in oneself and take corrective action are the qualities that an MD is looking for in an IB candidate.
Advice for Converting Internship
- Position yourself as a pro-active candidate.
- Network aggressively.
- Whatever it takes to keep your name in active memory – do it.
- Most importantly – understand the school’s reputation as an Investment Banking school.
The best way to find this trend is by analyzing at least 3 year’s data on the school’s reputation as an IB school.
More than 10% of placements in IB as a post-MBA function or a post-MBA industry should be your benchmark.
You should be aware of these 3 regions before even selecting your MBA programs.
The Location of the Business School matters.
