Q) I am switching my career from Technology Consulting for a leading bank to Investment Banking. My goal with an MBA is to switch careers and join a leading bank – preferably Goldman Sachs. How should I plan my admissions?
Atul Jose (Admissions Consultant, F1GMAT): The good news is that for an Investment Banking career for an outsider, there are three schools where Goldman Sachs have been a top employer – Columbia, NYU Stern and Cornell – three New York based Business Schools.
Admission Consultant’s Note
I have seen clients targeting tier-2 schools (15-30 ranked) in the vicinity of New York to avoid reapplying. This is a losing strategy. The competition is intense for IB internship roles and here ‘the brand’ of the school matters. I would highly highly recommend that you persist in the current role, gain even more cross-functional experience in IB as a subject matter expert and build your volunteering experience over applying to a tier-2 school.
Even for, let us say, Columbia, this is the variation in just three years:
Morgan Stanley, after remaining stagnant for two years, almost tripled its hiring last year. JP Morgan peaked in one year before going to single-digit hiring, and Goldman Sachs had the slowest hiring at Columbia after an impressive two years.
Looking Beyond M7
NYU Stern is the only top school where the three have shown consistent presence. But the caveat is that these are single digit offers.
Even among top schools, the competition to get into the three top Employers in Investment Banking is high. These employers have refrained from hiring from one school to expanding their relationship with the Top 15 schools. I would suggest that you study the MBA Salary and Placement trends before shortlisting your target MBA program.
Which Employer is encouraging Career Switchers - JP Morgan vs. Goldman Sachs vs. Morgan Stanley?
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase recruit talent through the Summer Associate job.
Internship – Early Networking
The networking for the role starts even before Thanksgiving. This is a schedule you should be mindful of regardless of whether you are transitioning from IB adjacent (accounting) or switching from a completely different industry.
For JP Morgan, an MBA from M7 or T10 influences your viability, but the company also looks at the pre-MBA job designation, even if you are from a different industry or job function. The Directors, Project Managers, and other roles that demonstrate your ability to climb the corporate ladder in a short time are a measure of your future success.
Morgan Stanley is much more conservative when it comes to career switchers. They would rather choose candidates who are already in the Banking sector or working with a bank as a consultant. A complete newbie to Banking is rarely accepted.
Goldman Sachs is the most liberal of the three when it comes to accepting career switchers. You don’t have to come from a Finance background, but a unique career profile outside the standard Information Technology or Consulting route would push your resume to the top of the heap.
In both MBA admissions and roles in IB – branding and networking is the key. If you need help with branding your profile and planning for your IB career with resume editing and school strategy, Subscribe to F1GMAT’s Career Planning Service
