Industrial EngineeringInvestment Banking Analyst
Unverified. Submitted, nothing checked.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Non-target University
- Major
- Industrial Engineering
- GPA band
- 3.8-4.0
- Graduated
- 2017
- Location
- Chicago, United States
- No professional network
- Non-target school
- Financial need
Limited exposure to the destination field at the start.
The sequence7 steps
- Networking9 mo
Cold-emailed alumni for informational calls
Cold-emailed alumni for informational calls. This took 9 months and was slower than expected.
- Project6 mo
Built a DCF model portfolio to compensate for a non-finance transcript
- Application8 mo
First recruiting season
Evidence for this stepObstacle
Applied broadly without understanding what the reviewers actually screened on.
How it was resolved
Narrowed the list and applied early in the cycle rather than late.
- Setback4 moPivotal
Cut after first rounds at every bulge bracket
Cut after first rounds at every bulge bracket. This took 4 months and was slower than expected.
Obstacle
The plan stalled here, and it was not obvious it would recover.
How it was resolved
Asked the people who rejected me what the specific disqualifier was, then fixed exactly that instead of everything at once.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Internship2 mo
Boutique advisory internship
Boutique advisory internship. This took 2 months and was harder than expected.
- Networking4 mo
Converted three alumni calls into referrals
Converted three alumni calls into referrals. This took 4 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
Evidence for this step - Application4 mo
Second recruiting season
Obstacle
Applied broadly without understanding what the reviewers actually screened on.
How it was resolved
Narrowed the list and applied early in the cycle rather than late.
Outcome
Investment banking analyst offer
Reflection
Would repeat
- Starting the outreach earlier than felt comfortable.
Would skip
- The first application cycle, which I entered underprepared.
Biggest obstacle
Having no contacts in the field, which made every early step slower than it needed to be.
What was luck
- One person answered a cold email who did not have to.