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Not that excited anymore - Cold calling VP's at Investment Banks

Story - Finance degree 1st class from top 50 Uni, BBD - Alevels (yh yh i know), No internship or banking experience - Only telesales and book keeping.

Want to get into IB, realised that my online applications are probably being thrown away once they see Alevels. Found some internship roles that did not ask for AAlevels - They simply asked competency questions like "Tell us why you want to work for us" - This applies to BNP paribas.

Applied but got rejected :/ - Spent ages constructing these answers aswell.

Anyways; most boutiques were willing to take me but for 2015. Started cold calling VPs at BB's for quick internships to increase quality of CV - About 3 VPs gave me their email and asked for my CV. Two responded telling me HR would contact me.

Its been about 1 week now but heard nothing. Do i call these guys again?? One of them actually grilled me on why i wanted this before asking for my cv..

Seemed positive at first but now im just waiting..

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Your credentials just don't seem strong enough, in my point of view. People with AAA+ from top 20s struggle to get into IB.
Reply 2
Original post by Abdul-Karim
Your credentials just don't seem strong enough, in my point of view. People with AAA+ from top 20s struggle to get into IB.


Plenty of people with AAA+ from top 20 unis that would struggle to pick up the phone and cold call someone for an internship though. Never know, he might pull it off.
Reply 3
Not sure if this helps but in your resume why not mention something like:" At a-level i was a terrible student but i worked extremely hard in uni in order to get the 1st, this shows that i am a committed person and have learnt from my mistakes from the past"

or something like that? If its from a top 50 uni then i think you should be fine
Reply 4
Original post by Yux
Not sure if this helps but in your resume why not mention something like:" At a-level i was a terrible student but i worked extremely hard in uni in order to get the 1st, this shows that i am a committed person and have learnt from my mistakes from the past"

or something like that? If its from a top 50 uni then i think you should be fine



Good idea; I could Include that in my cover letter!!

Thanks
Reply 5
Original post by Abdul-Karim
Your credentials just don't seem strong enough, in my point of view. People with AAA+ from top 20s struggle to get into IB.



Yup I know that; and that's one of the reasons I stopped applying to BB's online.

But boutique's don't ask for Alevels; and I don't have my Alevels listed on my CV, yet I still get rejected
Reply 6
good luck, you're welcome
Original post by flygirl64
Yup I know that; and that's one of the reasons I stopped applying to BB's online.

But boutique's don't ask for Alevels; and I don't have my Alevels listed on my CV, yet I still get rejected


BBs recruit ahead of the curve. Boutiques recruit only when vacancies are created, making it just as competitive. With no experience, you should be looking at entry level roles. Not sure what role youre looking at in IBs, but have you thought of commodity trading houses? For example, glencore just requires a degree and good knowledge of the oil market. Competitive but within your reach.

Look into this as well

http://www.investment2020.co.uk/

GL
Reply 8
Original post by PrincePauper
BBs recruit ahead of the curve. Boutiques recruit only when vacancies are created, making it just as competitive. With no experience, you should be looking at entry level roles. Not sure what role youre looking at in IBs, but have you thought of commodity trading houses? For example, glencore just requires a degree and good knowledge of the oil market. Competitive but within your reach.

Look into this as well

http://www.investment2020.co.uk/

GL


Hey thanks for the link, i'll be looking into that right now.

I am actually applying for internships and also cold calling and asking for job shadowing. But i'll look into glencore too

Thanks a lot
Your chances are next to nothing. Better to re-direct your efforts into a full time job in the finance sphere and then network.
Good luck, keep hustling.
Reply 11
Original post by Tokyoround
Good luck, keep hustling.



Thanks
Original post by flygirl64
Story - Finance degree 1st class from top 50 Uni, BBD - Alevels (yh yh i know), No internship or banking experience - Only telesales and book keeping.

Want to get into IB, realised that my online applications are probably being thrown away once they see Alevels. Found some internship roles that did not ask for AAlevels - They simply asked competency questions like "Tell us why you want to work for us" - This applies to BNP paribas.

Applied but got rejected :/ - Spent ages constructing these answers aswell.

Anyways; most boutiques were willing to take me but for 2015. Started cold calling VPs at BB's for quick internships to increase quality of CV - About 3 VPs gave me their email and asked for my CV. Two responded telling me HR would contact me.

Its been about 1 week now but heard nothing. Do i call these guys again?? One of them actually grilled me on why i wanted this before asking for my cv..

Seemed positive at first but now im just waiting..


Keep at it. It sounds like your efforts have not gone to waste. I've tried cold calling before so I know it's not easy.

At the end of the day, you may want to consider joining a boutique as there are perks to working for a smaller firm. You can always do a post-grad degree at a better uni later on in life and attempt to break into the BBs then.

All the best!
Reply 13
Original post by RobertJWild
Keep at it. It sounds like your efforts have not gone to waste. I've tried cold calling before so I know it's not easy.

At the end of the day, you may want to consider joining a boutique as there are perks to working for a smaller firm. You can always do a post-grad degree at a better uni later on in life and attempt to break into the BBs then.

All the best!


Thanks!! Im kinda starting to give up though because its beginning to become frustrating..

You say you've tried cold calling before, how was it? Were you successful?

Yes I have called Boutiques and i either get "We only do experienced hires or We aren't recruiting right now or we don't take on interns"

Meanwhile BNP paribas a Boutique is rejecting me based on my lack of experience. I have begun my research for a masters at LSE in 2015 but i need some sort of internship between now and then.

My lastest communication with a boutique senior analyst was looking good, he recommended me to his colleague but his colleague was "busy" the whole day and he asked his PA to get my number and email.. another dead end...
Original post by flygirl64
Thanks!! Im kinda starting to give up though because its beginning to become frustrating..

You say you've tried cold calling before, how was it? Were you successful?

Yes I have called Boutiques and i either get "We only do experienced hires or We aren't recruiting right now or we don't take on interns"

Meanwhile BNP paribas a Boutique is rejecting me based on my lack of experience. I have begun my research for a masters at LSE in 2015 but i need some sort of internship between now and then.

My lastest communication with a boutique senior analyst was looking good, he recommended me to his colleague but his colleague was "busy" the whole day and he asked his PA to get my number and email.. another dead end...



My cold calling efforts mostly lead to dead ends. I got to know this senior recruiter from Standard Chartered pretty well but it turned out he was just entertaining me. Internship season is around the corner so start applying, perhaps consider a year-long internship?
Reply 15
Original post by RobertJWild
My cold calling efforts mostly lead to dead ends. I got to know this senior recruiter from Standard Chartered pretty well but it turned out he was just entertaining me. Internship season is around the corner so start applying, perhaps consider a year-long internship?



Lol entertaining you? that's wrong of him lol made me laugh a little but - Did he actually say that?

I am applying for Internships, that's what I have been calling these Bulge brackets for. But they seem so hell bent on Alevels, sometimes I feel like lying about them.

But then even when I applied to the boutiques like bnp who did not ask for my Alevels, I get rejected.. based on fck knows...

I only have two leads, one bulge bracket guy I connected with on Linkedin said he will sort an interview out but I haven''t heard from him in a week now and another boutique, the Line manager called me ans gave me a quick interview over the phone but aint heard nothing either. .

I need those year long internships aswell, where else can I find something like that???
Original post by flygirl64
Lol entertaining you? that's wrong of him lol made me laugh a little but - Did he actually say that?

I am applying for Internships, that's what I have been calling these Bulge brackets for. But they seem so hell bent on Alevels, sometimes I feel like lying about them.

But then even when I applied to the boutiques like bnp who did not ask for my Alevels, I get rejected.. based on fck knows...

I only have two leads, one bulge bracket guy I connected with on Linkedin said he will sort an interview out but I haven''t heard from him in a week now and another boutique, the Line manager called me ans gave me a quick interview over the phone but aint heard nothing either. .

I need those year long internships aswell, where else can I find something like that???


Just to clarify, BNP is not a boutique. Also, for their long term internships they are looking for guys with previous experience. There is no formal training, you need to already know your basic stuff.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 17
Original post by PrincePauper
Just to clarify, BNP is not a boutique. Also, for their long term internships they are looking for guys with previous experience. There is no formal training, you need to already know your basic stuff.

Posted from TSR Mobile



Oh what are they then? Middle Market firm?

Ahh I see, that explains why I kept on getting rejected.

Okay, do you recommend any Banks (boutiques included) that I can apply to, that will not reject me based on experience.
Original post by flygirl64
Oh what are they then? Middle Market firm?

Ahh I see, that explains why I kept on getting rejected.

Okay, do you recommend any Banks (boutiques included) that I can apply to, that will not reject me based on experience.


The reason youre getting rejected is because there are guys in yr1 yr2 and yr3 with much more experience going to top 10 unis rather than top 50. They receive 000s of apps and at the moment you dont have any experience or anything on your cv that makes you stand out. On top of that, youre applying for IBD.

Its easier to get internships while still at uni as your competition is only your fellow uni students. Once you graduate recruiters have a much larger pool to pick from: Grads, guys that wont give up applying, guys with 2-3 year experience in other sectors and so on.

Look at the guys on these threads, they are your competition. Ask yourself why a recruiter should hire you over them. If you dont have good reasons apart from your 1st from a top 50 then you need to reconsider your USP

I would say,

1) Keep networking and hope to get lucky, or
2) Do a masters at LSE and drastically improve your chances, or
3) Apply to MO, BO roles, or
4) Apply for entry roles outside of I.B. and leverage later on in your career
Reply 19
Original post by PrincePauper
The reason youre getting rejected is because there are guys in yr1 yr2 and yr3 with much more experience going to top 10 unis rather than top 50. They receive 000s of apps and at the moment you dont have any experience or anything on your cv that makes you stand out. On top of that, youre applying for IBD.

Its easier to get internships while still at uni as your competition is only your fellow uni students. Once you graduate recruiters have a much larger pool to pick from: Grads, guys that wont give up applying, guys with 2-3 year experience in other sectors and so on.

Look at the guys on these threads, they are your competition. Ask yourself why a recruiter should hire you over them. If you dont have good reasons apart from your 1st from a top 50 then you need to reconsider your USP

I would say,

1) Keep networking and hope to get lucky, or
2) Do a masters at LSE and drastically improve your chances, or
3) Apply to MO, BO roles, or
4) Apply for entry roles outside of I.B. and leverage later on in your career



I do have a USP, my story is an example of a life changing experience, I was routinely kicked out of school even at 6th form.. but there is no platform for me to convey this on an application form.

Yeah I agree that I have to do a Masters at LSE or even Imperial, Cass etc. but the thing is this - These programs do not start till 2015 September.

I have secured an Informational Interview with a Bugle B VP, this friday.. but I am tired of going to these, I had one early in July with a boutique and whilst we joked and drank coffee, It did not get anywhere as he said the firm weren't looking at the moment.

Lol, even MO and BO roles have rejected me.. well I applied to an MO role at JP morgan and they rejected me. Im beginning to look for any Job that will allow me to earn money to fund my masters next year.

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