Strange Circumstance
Here's my deal: I have made a 4.0 ever since I returned to school last year. But, I left for a year after making terrible grades my first year. I effectively needed to stop and figure out what I was doing. It wasn't that I was any less capable then, I was just totally directionless. Then, after my freshman year, I starting learning about i-banking and I fell head over heels for it...actually...and I'm not one of the people who just heard of a bunch of people doing it and thought it sounded like the thing to do. I absolutely love the business and I spend most of my time learning more about it.
What I am asking about is the reality of my chances. While I am on track to graduate in 2009 with a 3.75 (given that I keep up my 4.0s each semester...something I am very committed to), I currently have a 2.6 from my freshman year grades really diluting the 4.0s I have made this last year.
I know that most BB...not most, ALL BB banks have a tendency to throw out any resumes below a 3.5. But, I feel really strongly about getting into the i-banking business. I am so passionate about this and I am doing a lot to prepare. I have a very strong resume and I am currently working for Citi this summer in PWM (as a sophomore so it isn't my actual summer analyst position). I have held many substantial and interesting jobs in the past.
As for what I'm doing to actively pursue the summer analyst position, I am going up to NYC next week to meet with the BB banks I am interested in (including all of the top banks we are all familiar with). Of course I am nervous and excited.
While the data certainly screams that I am in no shape to be talking to these BB banks based on my GPA alone, I have a feeling and a hope that they will see the reason for my grades and be able to tell that I am in a totally different place now. Does anyone have a sense of how this kind of thing is perceived? I feel rather confident that few of my peers feel as sincerely passionate about this job as I do and I am doing so much to get ready. Please advise me on how to communicate myself to these banks. This job really means a lot to me and I'm hoping that I can connect with the people inside the suits and get them in a conversation where they hear me in all of my humanity saying, "I know my grades. I know your standards. I have the brain and I've shown it every day since I returned after my year off. That first year was a result of me, unfortunately, not knowing what I wanted or even how to work with that."
Because the real hard part is that I will have a really competitive GPA when I graduate but I can't show them that until I graduate in two years. Though I have made 4.0s consistently since I returned, its only been two semesters so it is not yet as apparent that I've made a shift as it will be in retrospect. How do I communicate this to these BB banks? Am I crazy to think this is even remotely possible? I'm tempted to say yes...but I just can't imagine that an employer would be able to look across the table at someone who is absolutely crazy for the business and the company- and actually knows a lot about it in addition to having pursued it like mad- and tell them that even though they are suitable in every other way, a number just isn't high enough. I hope that passion can outperform statistics if it is true and heart felt. Am I nuts?
You don't have the confidence to succeed in business.
Not nuts. And don't freak out. It's a matter of sales. You're selling and they're buying. Some people will appreciate your story. Some people won't give a crap and throw you out. Take the good with the bad.
The perspective of the interviewer is "convince me." So, line up the reasons and lay it out for them. Two good semesters. Passion and energy. OK, and....? What else makes you special? Pick your best strengths and tell the story. In fewer words, please.
Once you get into i-banking, you're gonna wish you didn't spend so much time obsessing about it. End of the day, it's just a job.....with a lot of work!
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