Hey all, I'm a long-time reader first-time contributor to WSO. I am posting this to say thankyou to everyone on this board for the insight you all gave me into a career in IB and how to succeed. Whilst I have decided not to pursue IB I have learned lessons on this board that I feel I would have taken a long time to otherwise.

A little background: I'm a final year student at a semi-target in the UK. Made it to university by the skin of my teeth and am currently (barely) averaging a first class degree.With a bit of hard work and a lot of luck, I managed to stumble my way into an M&A internship at an MM in London. I've always considered myself (and be considered) a smart guy.

When I got to my internship, things changed drastically in terms of my intellectual standing. I got a huge reality check in the fact that almost everyone in my intern class was from a better university all attaining first class degrees and probably for the first time in my life I really felt out of my depth.

Enter WSO - While I had been interested in this website prior to my internship beginning, the late nights and long commute meant that I ended up browsing the forums here a lot more regularly. What stuck with me is this - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE INCREDIBLY SMART TO BE IN BANKING. After reading this over and over again I decided I could compete with my interns in a different way. I chose to make sure that I got on well with all the analysts and associates I interacted with and to check my pride and ask if I had any issues to ensure my work was of top quality.

Doing this meant people were generally happy to help me as well as going to bat for me when it came time for FT offers. This resulted in two offers from one internship! One from the MM bank as well as one from an expanding boutique an associate I worked with closely moved too after I left.

So again I would like to say thank you WSO, if I had tried to compete on pure academics with my other interns I would have without a doubt been left in the dark. And to all other aspiring Interns out there, just because you're not the smartest guy/girl in the world it doesn't mean you won't succeed.

EDIT after reviewing the resources available on WSO I would highly recommend that anyone looking for an internship/graduate job in investment banking takes a good look at the Investment Banking Prep Pack offered by WSO. Even if you have already secured your job it would be good practice to review and understand this material, it may even set you ahead of your peers and help you get a return offer!

Hey guys, so I haven't made it 'per-se' but I have secured my first job offer and wanted to walk you through 'the process'. I am a December 2017 graduate.

Coming into this, my last, summer my experience was quite lacking in energy or any commodity space. I didn't really have a network in the space and I was feeling a bit down on my luck as I had interviewed at a bunch of places but still had no internship. At this point I was about to hang it up, and join the Army. Right before this however, my mom kept telling me to contact my uncle, and I just kept saying "He's a (type of) engineer, he's not going to know anyone etc.."

A week or so later I texted him and he told me to send him a resume, what exactly I was interested in, and just like a quick one liner he could tell people about me. Turns out, he was just put into a new role a few months back as site manager of a large plant here in Texas and with that came a lot more 'business meetings' and interactions with people from a variety of different industries that provide services to the plant.

Long story short, the company that handled all of the plants power procurement and other energy services offered me an internship. Another interesting tid-bit, my uncle didn't meet the guy, my new boss until four days before I texted him, so a lot of this boiled down to sheer luck, and timing. After two phone interviews and about a month of radio silence, I was offered an internship, a week from the day.

My internship is great and as it is winding down I was getting nervous on how to approach a return offer, I even reached out to a few people on here I have gotten close with to get their opinion. Turns out, as much as I appreciated all of their advice, I didn't even end up needing it. My bosses last day in the area for the summer was last week, so we played golf with my uncle. We have been really busy at work lately so I asked him what the worst his workload has been and if they ever felt the need to hire someone desperately and he said it's never been that bad, but it does get rough. Then he said something along, "Hey I wanted you to know, we want you back here in January, so keep looking around apply for other jobs, I'll help you, but just know there is a home for you here. I'll have (name) put a rough contract in your inbox for you to see what we would be able to offer."

I was honestly so taken back by what had happened I didn't even know what to do because it was so informal, much like most of what happens here so I shouldn't have been surprised. I came in today and there was a contract sitting in my inbox.

All of that being said, I want you guys to know I came from a christian school far from Texas that you've likely never heard of, with a 58.7% acceptance rate(Googled it), and a 3.3 GPA, so if I can make it happen so can you. I'm not going to sit here and tell you I didn't have a leg up because of my Uncle but one lesson I took away from this was to never underestimate your network.

The company I intern for now has about 25 employees between their two offices in Texas and before me, has never had an intern. Working for a small shop has been awesome, I really walked into a situation where the work coming across my desk was that of an actual analyst, and with the same work load. I haven't interned anywhere large so I can't speak to that, but I would not underestimate the beauty of a small shop, I couldn't have asked for a better experience work-wise because they actually needed value added instead of just your 'office intern.'

I would be happy to answer any questions if you guys in my similar situation have any, and I would also be happy to expand on my background a bit. I was actually fortunate enough to have found a mentor on WSO who I email quite frequently, so if I can give back to this community by helping someone out I'd be more than happy to.

(The company I intern for operates within wholesale and retail power/natural gas markets)

I will probably make a thread in the next few weeks seeking advice on budgeting; what percentage of your yearly income should be allotted for you car payment, housing etc. But if you guys wouldn't mind dropping some of that knowledge here I'd appreciate it as well.

Thanks for all you guys have done thus far. My journey is just beginning.

Buy or..

That's a pretty good promo video. Better than average.

What are the thoughts and suggestions of community on this ?

Hello my fellow Monkeys,

Although I've been stalking this forum for a year and a half, I didn't have the courage to officially join until recently. I'm currently in my second internship with JPM and have some down time after working on a lengthy project. I thought that I would share my story with some of you to provide a different perspective from what we usually see on here. Anyways, here goes:

Growing up in the Caribbean:

I was born in the Caribbean to a working class family that often struggled to support itself. My father and mother have always had a strong relationship with me and my siblings. When I was 5 my father had to leave our country in search of employment, leaving us behind. He didn't go too far and was able to consistently send money back home. Despite this extra source of income, things weren't easy for us. My parents both lack a proper education and often turned to the massive factories nearby for employment. From a young age I recognized that struggle and told myself that I wanted my life to be different.

At the time my government did not have a structured public school system. I was home-schooled early on and was later enrolled in a schoolhouse nearby. They taught us how to read and write, as well as basic arithmetic. We were taught by women who barely had more education than we did. I look back at this fondly as it undoubtedly shaped my appreciation for education. I developed a sharp focus and was instilled a hardy work ethic by my parents.

Visa Sponsorship / Move to south Bronx NYC:

My grandmother on my mother's side became a US citizen before after I was born. She sponsored us for visas, a process that would take over 11 years. Shortly after I turned 8 we received news that we were approved. I would soon be leaving for NYC in search of a better life. We were shocked but clearly very happy to have the opportunity to seek a proper education and improve our circumstances. My older brother and sister would finally be able to attend high school and possibly higher education. We packed up all our belongings, sold our small house and took off.

Life in New York was not what I expected. The tourist infested areas were clearly very clean and well kept. I moved into the South Bronx, where I continue to live to this day. Needless to say, my first few years here were really rough. I was faced with growing up in a tough neighborhood and learning a new language. I forced myself to read constantly and watch TV shows in English to pick up the language. School was obviously a big help, but I'm sure I don't need to mention the struggles and shortcomings of inner city schools.

My English improved and I progressed through elementary school, middle school and high school. My high school experience was the worst by far. We had virtually zero guidance when it came to applying to college. My saving grace was my English teacher who helped me apply to schools and multiple scholarships. I was accepted to many private schools that offered very little financial aid. My scholarships didn't stretch too far, so I had to come up with a different solution. I turned to local schools and decided to attend a CUNY. This guaranteed that I would be fully covered.

Internship with JPM FLDP

I currently attend a liberal arts college without a proper business school. My affiliation with national business organizations and extra curricular activities set me apart. My sophomore year I attended an annual convention which hosted a career fair. I was able to network effectively and secured an internship with JPM's FLDP. This brings me to today. I'm coming in on the my last few weeks and it feels unbelievable.

I'm not an IB intern or a student from a prestigious university. I'm not in a FO role but I can proudly say that I have accomplished everything I set out to do so far. Working in Midtown feels unreal as I remember nights when I went to bed hungry. Perspective is everything, I view my current internship and potential full time as a milestone. I still have aspirations to break into high level finance and I will not give up until I do. The turning point was seeing my mother cry because she couldn't afford to feed us. This will forever push me to do better, to break this vicious cycle I was born into. Sorry for the long read guys, but it feels good to get this off my chest.

Thanks for reading,

Slim

In 2005, my mother passed away unexpectedly.

In 2008, my family's house was foreclosed on and I was told I would need to support myself through college. I was 17 at the time and already unstable due to the emotional trauma of my mother's death.

In 2009, I was officially kicked out of college from Cal State Long Beach and on a path of severe self-destruction.

In 2009, I started to sell hair straighteners at the local mall and convention shows - think the people at the mall kiosks who harass you as you walk by. Yup - I was one of them.

In 2010, I received an offer in retail banking as a Personal Banker and began to get my life back on track.

In 2011, I declined a promotion to a Business Banker, a $50K salary at 21 years old, and moved back in with my father to again pursue my education.

In 2012, I unexpectedly was asked to become a Operations Manager within a retail branch. I accepted the full-time manager position (even though I did not feel qualified or prepared and had never worked in operations) and simultaneously pursued my education full time during the evenings at the local junior college. I maintained a 3.75 GPA, no social life, and severe sleep deprivation (6:30am wake up - 1/2am bed time).

In 2013, I was accepted to a UC. While at UC, I worked 24-32 hours per week to pay for my rent, utilities & tuition, all while again attending school full-time. On top of the already demanding schedule, from 2013 to 2015 I was active in internships and was a member of several clubs. I maintained a 3.0 overall GPA and was chronically sleep deprived (think 3-4 hours of sleep per night and to the point I was losing my short term memory).

In the summer of 2014, I made the decision that I wanted to be a financial analyst.
Over the course of 12 months, I applied to said Financial Analyst program a total of 24 times. I utilized my network, cold called people I could find on the internal work website, reached out via LinkedIn... and not a single bite... I was deflated... I almost gave up... I accepted an offer at a boutique consulting firm and was preparing for my exit from "blank" - A company I had been loyal to for 5 years at this point. I was sad, frustrated, and felt defeated..

Three weeks prior to graduating, a gentleman by the name of "Bob" came into the local branch to make a deposit. We talked about my professional endeavors and he told me he currently works for "blank", started in retail, and is now the RVP of "Said team".

The very next day, I received TWO phone calls from TWO different recruiters. One from a Financial Analyst position I applied to on my own in Miami, Florida (I live in CA... I was determined to be a Financial Analyst even if it meant moving across the country) and another thanks to "Bob".

12 .... Months.... Later... Two Calls. Two different recruiters. Two positions. Same day.

I pushed to have my phone interview ASAP as I wanted to secure a position as a Financial Analyst prior to graduation. I had a 3 week timeframe... The recruiter from Miami Florida said they knew of a potential position in "Blank" and asked if I would be interested as I lived in "Blank" - of course I said yes. I had absolutely no personal or family connection to Florida - just on the pursuit to become a Financial Analyst.

Phone interview (check) - I stumbled on one technical question and thought I bombed the interview... I cried and opened a bottle of wine to drown my sorrow. 12 months of pursuit, 24 applications later, all for a 15 min call. I felt like my dream was shattered.

Next day, phone call from a weird number while I am in the bathroom. I answered awkwardly, "Hi this is ...". There was a weird eco in the background because of the bathroom walls. "Hi ..., this is ... from "said team". We would like to invite you to an in person interview in "blank"." Silence...
More silence...
"Hello?"
"Yes, I apologize there was a weird echo. I would love to attend an in person interview. When would be a good time?"
"Are you available next week?"
"Yes, yes I am".... Although it was most chaotic week of the quarter ... dreaded finals week. I didn't care. My heart was dead set on getting this job and securing it before graduation.

In person interview happens... essentially a super day...5 hours of meeting people back to back. As I am sitting in the office with the RVP of "blank team", guess who walks by and notices me... the RVP of "other blank team", the gentleman I met while working at the retail branch. He greets me cheerfully and tells the other RVP whose interviewing me our story of how he met me. He then ends the conversation with "you should hire "my name"", and closes the door.
I walked out of that office that day on a cloud. Think Goku in Dragon Ball Z on his cloud Nimbus, but replace him with me with a massive smile on my face.

Next day, the other recruiter calls me and tells me to update her on "blank team" decision because if they choose someone else, she will schedule me for an interview with a man named "blah blah" (the ultimate of all ultimate Financial Analyst managers in the West Coast).

Fast forward - I have now been a Financial Analyst for almost two years (Sept. 6th). I am now off to join the Corporate Banking (technology, media & telecommunications) team in "blank".

Two things I want to highlight: 1) College dropout to Corporate Banker. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the team members who make this organization so great. Between all of the mentors, managers, inspirational leaders, and support staff - I could not have pursued my education while simultaneously building my professional skill set if it were not for them. 2) Passion... grit... and tenacity. I could have given up. I could have accepted my fate. Heck.. I could have continued selling hair straighteners (trust me, the money is not all that bad). I could have accepted the Business Banking position or went back to CSULB. I followed my instinct and intuition and now have a B.S. in Managerial Economics and am off to Corporate Banking.

How... ? It did not happen overnight. It happened because of all the little choices I made every day along the way. I am proud to say the least, but I hope this message finds someone who too has doubted or is doubting themselves. Don't give up. When people say "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade".. screw the lemonade. Squish those lemons. Do not sweeten your circumstances... push through them. You can do it... even if it takes 12 months and 24 applications later... do not give up.

Title says all. Is there any point submitting an app if you don't have any connections at the firm?

My story to get to where I did is a very strange one. I went to a semi target school, had an OK GPA, didn't join any finance clubs, and had zero connections into the business. At this point I was pretty much shunned and didn't get any interviews at a bank, even regionals. I personally didn't think I would ever get to where I wanted to be in finance, so I shifted to try and look at consulting, as the big4 recruited heavily at my school.

So I was lucky enough to get a position and I started my career at EY in their BAP program and was put into a valuation team. I realized because I was working with specialty finance, and a complex one at that, this could 've my chance to try and leverage it to break into finance. I worked my ass off learning for just less than a year and wanted to leave from their as soon as I can. I happened to find a HF on LinkedIn of all places who posted and applied. Out of sheer luck, I got an interview and an offer as an Investment Analyst after 3 rounds of interviews.

The next two years I reverse commuted to CT and learned the business. We went under. Having not many connections, i relied on my resume to do the talking, sending it out to recruiting firms, company HR portals, and LinkedIn. Finally, after a few weeks, I got interviews at PE firms, BB shops, capital raising, and boutique AM and trading shops. I got multiple offers and took one at a BB.

To me, it is satisfaction knowing one can get in when they are totally ignored and don't have the perfect gpa in the beginning. In just 3.5 years, it all changes with no connections helping.

The summary is generalized, but If anyone has any questions I would love to give any advice people are looking for on any front. To me, I went through a lot of psychological changes to thinking I wasn't good enough to landing at one of the most prestigious firms in the world in a short time. I'm very lucky, and I want to help others get out of that mindset I was in.

I have been a long time lurker and recent poster here, I have got so much from this community, I can say I would not have done it without you so I think it is time to give something back. I am sure you heard stories like mine but I hope this can be inspirational to some of you.

My background:

I come from a very low-income family in continental Europe (I am not afraid to say my family cannot make it till the end of the month). I was the first to ever attend university, I got a BSc in Finance with top grades from my hometown university because it was the only place where I could afford to study and I made it thanks to the scholarships my university paid and to my work as a tutor. Starting in university I had no target job, but towards the end of my bachelor watching some finance movies I got interested into M&A and PE. So I looked at some MSc, got a good GMAT and got admission into some top schools in the UK. Sadly, I did not attend because I did not find a way to pay the tuition.

The heartbreak:

It was heartbreaking because I thought going to a top school was the only way to get an M&A job at a BB so I spent some weeks crying (I know it sounds stupid).I decided to defer my offer with the plan to work for a year, make money and then attend the MSc. I applied to all jobs on BB job boards, I spent 3 months checking their websites day and night and networking. In the end I got a 6 month BO internship at BB, I accepted the offer because it was a good way to make money and add a good brand on my cv. While interning I was still applying to M&A jobs in the UK, through networking I got some interviews but no offer, I kept applying but nothing was working out and in the end I spent 1 year unemployed.

Picking myself up:

That time spent unemployed made me feel useless and depressed like I had no purpose on this world, in the meantime I took level 1 of the CFA and I decided to apply to M&A jobs in my country and thanks to some luck I got an analyst job at a small unknown boutique. The pay was rather low, I could barely make it till the end of the month but I was happy to finally work again. My plan was to work sometime there and then lateral to a BB in the UK. In the meantime I also passed the 2nd level of the CFA.

Networking paid off:

Even when I was unemployed I kept networking and applying, the feedback was that I could never get an M&A job with no previous M&A experience, so after I started working for the boutique in my country I was feeling it was just a matter of time until I got what I wanted. After starting at the boutique, thanks to networking I got 2 interviews, an EB in my country and a MF. I got an offer from both of them and I chose the MF because the economic offer was superior. I'd recommend the WSO private equity interview package for those of you looking to break into PE.

It has been some months since I started and I now feel happier than ever, I love my job and I can help my family plus I see increasing opportunities opening up for me. The matter of the story is never give up and always try, even when it seems impossible, always work hard, have a plan and you will reach your goals. There is no magic, that's life.

Throwback Thursday - this originally was posted January 2017

Hi everyone,

This website has been incredibly useful to me, and I owe a lot of career success to it. It's given me a lot of excellent insight into IBD and has been a great source of motivation. Therefore, I'd like to give back by sharing my experience here.

For some context I'm a foreign student at top 10 UK non-target university.

Rejected everywhere...

In my second year of University I found myself having landed NO spring internships during first year - I got flat out rejected EVERYWHERE I applied. Coming from a non-target I received ZERO interviews which was very discouraging but motivating at the same time. I knew I had to step my game up and create a long term plan to get into a top IB position. Finding myself in that position the positive takeaway was that I learned how competitive the industry is and learned to be realistic with myself: it's important to realise that, however smart you are, you only are what your CV shows. Nothing less, nothing more. So I decided to take a year abroad at a top univeristy to accumulate experience through spring weeks and internships and to find myself in a position to compete with other candidates and start landing interviews. The "easy route" for me would have been to do a master's degree, which was not an option for me financially. I took the "hard" route, knowing the chances of me breaking into IB would be very slim.

Landed a MMIB internship offer

After doing a spring week at a tier 4 firm in my second year of uni, I spent my third year studying abroad. I applied to IBs during that period and only got 1 ib interview: made it to the final round of a top EB in London and got dinged at the last step. I was heartbroken, to put it mildly. The only interview I had, though, confirmed I was smart/good enough to break into the industry, but my prospects as a UK non-target school in penultimate year without a top IBD internship were looking very poor (especially in post-Brexit Britain - something I discovered later). Instead, I received an offer at a 2nd/3rd tier consulting firm but I knew I desperately needed IB experience going into my final year or my dream would have been crushed. Therefore, I cold emailed more than 30 boutiques, and ended up getting 5 offers. So I interned in a 2nd/3rd tier consultancy and at a MMIB firm.

Importance of networking

In my final year I applied to a mix of FT positions and SA positions. Instead of simply applying online, I realised the crucial importance of networking. In the UK, networking is not as important as it is in the U.S (based on what I understand from reading WSO posts), but it's crucial if you're from a non-target. I reached out to complete strangers for a chat and showed my hunger and passion for IB. Every call I had with alumni but mostly random people (due to lack of alumni in IB) ended up with me being referred to HR. I got interviews at 7 firms (EBS and BBs), compared to 1 the previous year and NONE in the two years before. I started to understand that IB is simply a game of people. I was naive and believed online screening is fair/efficient - that my application would actually be read. Don't make my same mistake. As soon as you enter your non target school name in your online application, there's a solid chance you'll get cut. I couldn't stress the importance of networking more!

Landed FTM&A Analyst Job

After networking my ass off and landing multiple recommendations, I prepared diligently, practiced lots of mock interviews, read the FT obsessively and studied the WSO Investment Banking guide like the bible. I highly recommend this resource as it covers the vast majority of questions you'll get - here is the link: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/investment-b.... I got a few offers and got to final rounds of other BBs and EBs. I received and accepted a full time position at a top tier independent advisory firm/ EB, where I'll be starting work as a full time analyst in M&A. Years of hard work, frustration and stress ended up paying off. I'll admit that at times I thought of quitting, to stop trying and give up on my IB dream, but don't let those rejections put you off. Put your head down, prepare and - I couldn't stress this more - NETWORK! However many rejections you get, do not give up. I tallied up all the IB rejections I received in the past few years: 126! If you really want it, work hard and smart for it, you can get into top BBs and EBs regardless of your school.

Good luck to everyone!

Hello everyone,

About my background, I am an international student, graduated from an unknown state school in Ohio with a bachelor in Finance. My GPA was mediocre (3.2), and I tried to pull it up with my final semester GPA of 3.9. While earning my degree, I have 2 internships: one in Corp Dev. and Strategy with a very big company in my home country, and one in wealth management with a reputable bank, and a lot of leadership activities.

I was set to graduate with a rotational corporate finance role in a big F500 company, but the offer was rescinded 2 weeks before my start date due to my work Visa situation. I did not give up and applied like crazy to jobs, and most of them turned me down due to Visa status. Fortunately, 3 weeks before my OPT due date, I received an offer for a temp position at a Big 4 company in Chicago.

I have been working here for a month, and I really hate it, but I love the company. The job is mostly administrative, and dreadful. Since I have some background in Finance instead of Accounting, I don't think I can land anything in Audit/Tax and my family/ I really cannot afford a master degree at least for now. I have been always interested in consulting. As I already graduated 4 months ago, what can I do now in order to break into transactions/ advisory/consulting? My school's alumni network is terrible so networking with alumni is not an option. How do I network in a new city? Should I email recruiters at my current company and how should I do so?

Please feel free to provide any recommendations. I am really OPEN to anything. Thank you so much in advance!

Partner at a multi-billion fund here. My 2 cents.

• People skills > Technical skills
• Smart assholes > smart nice guy ...career/money wise and banging hot chicks wise
• Smart assholes < smart nice guy ...life happiness wise and great life partner-wise
• Extrovert > Introvert (I'm introvert, but some extraversion can be trained and practiced)
• Talking ? communicating
• Failure, criticism and rejection = information
• Brand names > doing cool stuff you like ... early in 20s and early 30s (career wise)
• Average performer at growing organisation > being a star at a stagnating place
• Being ruthlessly organised and leaving early > doing face time and stay in the office all day and night
• 30min focused meetings > 1 hour meetings
• Side passive business + day job > focusing only on your day job [selling stuff online, real estate, long term investment, whatever builds passive income]. Start early.
• Details/facts/practical steps + excitement> "strategic" sales pitch
• Learning how to learn (check out Art of Learning book by Waitzkin) > rote memorisation and practice
• real life experience, talking to experienced people, being on the ground, getting your hands dirty > education, study, academia, theory, models, strategic pitchbooks
• networking = waste of time
• building meaningful relationships / bonding over time with very smart people = goldmine
• Learning = cycles of fast growth, plateau (work your ass off)/failure (learn from it), fast growth, plateau (work your ass off)/failure (learn from it), etc. etc. Iterate.
• Being very good at something = 10 years of practice. Start early
• You dont make real money in finance until you are an MD/Partner and that takes a lot of time, and increasingly a lot of time. So you better love what you do or just do a stint for the brand and get out.
• Marrying in your 30s > Marrying in your 20s
• In your 20s - dating nerdy types, artsy types, foreigners and anything that takes you out of your comfort zone > dating only people from same background and industry. And pay attention to what they do. That'll make you grow as an individual and sharpen your self-awareness
• 2 year stint in an emerging market in your 20s > staying in US/Western Europe. Date a local and learn the language.
• Learning how to cook, play an instrument very well, basic dancing and singing skills / fashion / staying fit > reading about finance / trying to ace that exam / practicing modelling / going out clubbing / drinking
• weights and exercise 10 min in the morning when you wake up and 10 min before you go to bed > trying to make it to the gym
• fat you eat = fat you wear
• Giving up sugar > going for a run now and then
• back or knee problems, recurring headaches = try taichi with a top teacher
• after 25-27 yo...cheater = cheater, asshole/bitch = asshole/bitch, irresponsible = lost cause [unless they get a major slap in the face or major life lesson ]
• Finally,
• for all of you doing startups or thinking about it. For god sake, please think about your addressable market size, how much it costs to get a customer and how much you get from them, and how long it takes to get that money back before starting. You're not Elon Musk.

** Past the CV screen stage / first meeting nobody gives a f* anymore where you went to school so stop mentioning your HSW degree (from a HSW alum)

I got my desired scores in the IELTS certificate without exams from (genuineielts1 at outlook dot com) which i used for immigration to Canada without any problems you can trust him (Skype: registeredielts1)

Foreword

Apologies for the long text but I wanted to share my journey since so many stories here on WSO moved me deeply, especially the one about a guy getting 10 rejections and finally one IBD offer - truly amazing. I have been a long time lurker and recently created my own account to join this amazing community. This story is dedicated to everyone who has faced disappointment. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions.

Description

I am a guy of Jewish origin from a second-world country in Eastern Europe from a middle class family with no inclination towards finance. I spent my early years in a public English speaking school and was naturally willing to study in England.
At the time I had no real idea what to do with my life but managed to secure a position into an undergraduate marketing programme in a well renowned university (think Portsmouth, Southampton, Leeds, Oxbridge).
Apart from that I had a short two month internship in a bakery on the management side. I was also a member of the national curling team (great team sport).

Initiation

I got really excited about banking from a couple of friends who were into finance so I started reading appropriate literature and watching finance related movies - even the documentaries! We began applying together in the beginning of our second year to all bulge brackets.
Since I occasionally play Call of Duty and Fifa and almost succeeded jailbreaking my old Iphone, I figured out that i have an aptitude for technology alongside finance. I then realized that my dream was landing a good summer internship offer at an M&ATMT coverage team and then converting it into a full time. What I found even more appealing was joining a PE firm or a hedge fund since analysts had an actual say in investment decisions.

Application

I spent countless days submitting applications, making tests, writing cover letters and more. I managed to make more than 10 applications in that month by sometimes putting more than 2 hours a day. While my mates were enjoying fresher's week I was stuck filling countless online forms and sitting aptitude tests with my trusty calculator, pen and paper.
The awful truth is that even though I spent weeks applying, my work didn't always pay off. I was about to find out how hard it is to break in.

Preparation

I managed to get some first round interviews in October and was on fire. I started preparing for technical and fit questions because I had no prior knowledge in finance. I used WSO's excellent guides for preparing - you can get the IB interview questions course at the WSO Courses website subsection.
I studied long and hard for about a week preparing scenarios and coming up with my stories while simultaneously working on a couple of assignments for my university. Even though I had no interview experience the hard work really paid off because I was doing well on my first rounds.

Desperation

Two months into the nonstop grind, I faced the brutal investment banking truth. Some of the applications I submitted were left without any response. I was waiting for the outcome of 6 assessment centers and had gotten a rejection from 2 of my favorite companies. I cannot begin to describe how depressing it was for me. I never failed at anything in my life before - I managed to score a first class grade in my first year at university (pushing 70%) and was on the track to do the same for my second year before depression and applying had taken their toll on my academic performance.
I started drinking quite a bit more and locked myself for a week in my room. I am not ashamed to say that I cried at times, even though I am not usually the emotional type. It was devastating. The companies discarded me like an used old shoe (or a more profane item, often discarded after usage). They didn't even bother giving me feedback on how I did despite my numerous request.

Provocation

In addition, some friends of mine were already getting offers at bulge bracket banks and were constantly asking me how my efforts were going. Unfortunately I had only the two brutal rejections to show for my work. In situations like this, you are happy for your friends... for like a second. And then you start reevaluating your own choices.

Invigoration

The first call came on Monday and I got the offer. I was so happy and exhilarated. The blood sweat and tears had finally paid off and I was on top of the world. What was more surprising was that four more calls came through in the following days. I could not believe it was really happening - Banking at Barclays, Asset Management at UBS, IBD at Credit Suisse and more. Even the exhaustive assessment process at a mid-cap PE firm paid off and I had the offer!

However, the cherry on the cake came last Monday. Apparently my last AC went quite well and a senior employee at the M&ATMT industry group liked me a lot. I remember speaking with him mostly about my personality and baking. Turns out he was a pastry fiend like me and we spent the majority of the interview talking about cheesecake varieties and strawberry tarts. Goldman Sachs wanted me to join them for the 2018 summer internship programme. This was my dream and I accepted the offer in a heartbeat over the phone. In hindsight I realize that the PE offer was good but I wanted to work for the Goldman Sachs, period.

Retrospection

Those three months were some of the worst in my life. I cannot believe that I spent so much time and sanity grinding towards that goal. The light was nowhere to be seen but by the end it shone brightly.
In conclusion, never give up on yourself, no matter how bad the situation might seem. Do as I say, not as I do - do not give in to depression like me, especially when your efforts don't pay off. In the end hard work always pays off. It is just hard to see how far the end is, is it weeks or perhaps months?

TL;DR: Shoot out any questions you may have regarding any topics over here - the job, MFPE interviews, consulting interviews, ibd interviews, unstructured recruiting, start-up dramas, networking, nerd culture, anything. I've got a couple of weeks off, and usually hang around the forums frequently, so I'll try to answer your questions to the maximum possible extent I am knowledgeable/ am allowed to. And apologies for the long post, and the noticeable incoherence in my writing style : it's a bad habit that has only grown over the years.

So folks, I've been wanting to do this for some time now, but really haven't had the opportunity to sit down and answer questions for the community. IMO, as I've mentioned before, this community has given me more than a boatload of knowledge for getting me where I am, so I really want to give back to this awesome forum. But thanks to popular demand - and a surgery I'll be having tomorrow - I'll be free for the most part of the next two weeks (using up my annual leave). Although there's a shit ton of online gaming to do, one can only play so much.

I've been referring to this site since I joined here, so I've a lot of appreciation to hand out. Maybe later, I'll make a bookmarked list of all the useful topics on this site, for a guy in my position. Made quite a few enemies it seems, but mainly a bunch of cool folks. Special shoutout to @aspiringchimp here - we argued acerbically sometime back, but now I think he's a pretty cool guy. Especially considering his useful advice for consulting wannabes (he has one of the highest SB/MS ratios too from what I've seen).

As most of you know, I'm not the real Frank Quattrone, but just a broke-ass low-level analyst. Just so that's cleared up.

For my background (chronologically):

- spent most of my childhood in the Middle East, learnt a bunch of languages including Arabic, Farsi (thanks to my crazy Iranian ex) and broken Hindi - hence the semi-liberal views most people see from me

- started working on some cool drone shit during high school (to be more specific, b/n freshman and soph) with 2 other friends. Got serendipitously partnered with an aerospace firm, which in turn partnered with a behemoth, and hired a cool bunch of guys. Dealt head-on with rejections from potential VCs (including a top VC from a top firm who poked fun at us for a valid reason).

- then girlfriend passed away unexpectedly, between junior year and senior year of HS. Heartbroken, overworked, under immense pressure and misery. Nothing more. Also, got accepted to some of my desired schools in the US, but didn't get schols to cover up the tuition. My dad isn't rich, and getting a loan is hard when your family has to pay up a home loan too, so that went out the window too. But s/o to UCB and Georgetown for offering me partial funding.

- Attended a top-tier school in my country with an engineering major a year back (5 yrs). Effectively disregarded my major and shot for opportunities in finance. Took up projects with professors from top universities during the school year, and covered the rest with internships and experience, hence a shit GPA. Had a crush too in uni - that didn't help much.

- interned at a major bank in developed Asian economy in AM, where I dipped my toes into finance; loved the kind of work, hated the culture of the firm (I think we know which one), but love the country. Amazing place. Got this intern by networking with a friend of a son-in-law of my dad's boss. Yeah, kinda went full retard networking.

- went full retard sometime afterwards, and began working on a couple of cool engineering projects in Machine Learning, since I thought my mediocre GPA would not help for consulting or finance, so thought about the MS option. Couldn't handle working on my company, studying and these projects, not to mention ECs and student orgs, so GPA went down further. As a note for guys who want to try this, I was practically sleeping 4-6 hours thanks to a phone perpetually buzzing about. It didn't help that part of my company's team was many timezones away.

- went desperately retarded and began emailing a bunch of star bankers for career and generic advice, after guessing email addresses (mailtester yo!). Only one replied. Kept in touch for a long time.

- next year's intern, due to crap uni rules, I had to stick to an engineering intern. Interned at a conglomerate, where I realized that engineering was not what I wanted to do, thanks to the dozens of dull individuals who like to call themselves "engineers" (though they were more like technicians). Oh, and rejected from a possible McKinsey internship also (though I didn't know what I was doing).

- Meanwhile, decided to chuck the VC route and opt for a huge investor and his son, a referral we got via a well-positioned amazing board member we had. Formally established ourselves as a company only around three years back though.

- the finance project I was working with an amazing professor from a top West Coast school (I should give a donation to those liberal fuckers) ended up as part of a white paper for a BB the prof consulted with. Prof offered to recommend me, even though I was miles away. Did not get the offer (it was in S&T).

- About to graduate without a good job, but I had the startup option to fall back to. But as time passed, I realized that working with defence behemoths sucks considering the number of demands they had for us. So I was thinking about getting out of the aerospace startup. Buddies weren't. Company had achieved steady state (to some extent), so I was able to focus on other things.

- the engineering project I worked on goes really well, I got a pretty solid publication out of it

- Decided to extend my school year, and to have a couple of networking chats to obtain an INTERN (yes, I wasn't looking for a job now). The story that stands out most is here (from some previous comments):

I once connected with an MD at a megafund simply because I waited outside his office everytime he got off work. Ended up giving me an off-cycle internship (it was unpaid, at one of the smaller offices, and in what this forum might consider a BO role).

I waited outside the office building for maybe a week and a half, with a bunch of models I had built in my hand. Guy was chill enough to give me a chance to have a coffee chat. Literally put his saucer and tea cup on my resume, and asked me to explain my models and my assumptions. Ended up offering me an unpaid intern, since SA recruiting was long past, and that office traditionally didn't hire interns.

The decision to approach him was pretty stochastic though - I just scoured linkedin and the company team profiles, scoured them for anything I could talk about, then coldcalled and got rejected. Then decided to wait outside, since I had nothing better to do anyways. After all, as a student, one has nothing to lose.

That being said, I think this would only work if you worked in a smaller office in a city that had a similar finance culture to NYC or LDN, but without the usual high number of firms. That was what I banked upon when I contacted this guy,

Great story, extremely retarded now that I think about it, but not as retarded as emailing Ken Moelis and Frank Quattrone. Definitely not recommended, unless you have nothing to lose. Note, I was working in a combination of a "BO role" (not necessarily) and an AM role - kind of like that extra hand in the office. Learnt as much as I could, even though I was told head on that the intern was inconvertible.

- Towards the end of the intern, had an accident. Kneecap damaged permanently to some extent, and put on a morphine drip

- MDs seemed to have liked me. 3 MDs referred me for an interview at the MF. Story's somewhere out there, but basically I screwed up midway, but it didn't really matter since I could bounce back. Also, it seemed I wasn't competing with others, but a minimum (really high) threshold they had put up for me. This was for a specific, lean team at the fund with a great title for the business card, and quite close to a PE team. GOT THE OFFER!!! London beckons for the summer.

- Last (extended) semester, just focused on completing the little backlog that was left, and began networking extensively for advice from anywhere I could get. Offered an interview at McKinsey via referral. NAILED!!! Thanks to months of previous failed prep (for non-existent interviews). Though this was in an Asian office, so much easier. And rejected it (since the MF offered up first), though I doubt they really cared tbh. Still in touch with those folks though. Couple of other interviews, including at an IB, which I quit midway. Remember, all this with a shit GPA.

- Also got slightly addicted to the morphine (drip) so had to attend therapy sessions, which were just a slight bother. Not called by BCG or Bain, even after letting them know I made final round - seems McK values entrepreneurial experience more. Finally graduated around this time. And diagnosed with a chronic condition, for which I'm regularly undergoing treatment (like right now).

- In the gap time between school and job during spring, I helped my dad manage his restaurant. I guess I did a number of auxiliary tasks that helped, because business boomed by 200% over 3 months, from unprofitability. Maybe I should have been a consultant. Basically anything to pass the time.

- Decided to sell the startup and bagged a few dollars in the process - behemoth was getting too bossy over us. Spent the rest of the time till start date partying with my rich buddy and hanging out with a lot of models and fashion designers. Basically the artsy liberal types who make us all cringe.

- All my contacts (including partners and MDs and startup CEOs) began telling me that I was retarded to continue working in finance (or consulting) after that. I decided to join my MF job only because my dad told me to work in a real job for some time and learn what it's like to work in a formal setting. Also, the credibility helps to some extent.

- Planning on doing another startup maybe in a few years. Definitely not making MFPE a career for me. Decided against B-school too, since I'm likely going to be rejected by HSW (yes, I'm kind of a prestige whore to some extent).

- Landed in the hospital recently, thanks to my never ending troubles with my condition. Not to worry, it's a regular thing.

So there you go, my life's story. Bottomline: networking works, GPA sucks but you have to maintain it, else life gets really hard, have as diverse an experience in college as possible since you'll never get such a chance ever again. And don't go full retard and desperado like I did.

TL;DR: Shoot out any questions you may have regarding any topics over here - the job, MFPE interviews, consulting interviews, ibd interviews, unstructured recruiting, start-up dramas, networking, nerd culture, anything. I've got a couple of weeks off, and usually hang around the forums frequently, so I'll try to answer your questions to the maximum possible extent I am knowledgeable/ am allowed to. And apologies for the long post, and the noticeable incoherence in my writing style : it's a bad habit that has only grown over the years.

And apologies to many guys for trolling around for a long time here and for my acerbic behaviour at times. Sometimes the job does get to you, in a nasty way.

Note:- I can speak for mainly recruiting in non-US countries, since recruiting in the US is IMO completely retarded. Also I can provide only what may seem like reused advice for the structured PE process, since my process was highly unstructured. That being said, I would also like to point out how much networking actually helps in PE recruiting.

Mod Note (Andy): top 50 posts of 2017, this one ranks #45 (based on # of silver bananas)

I was reflecting on my path the other day, and I decided that it is time to share my story with WSO. I am going to warn you in advance, it is going to be long.

Rewind to senior year in high school, I was a good student at a school of 400 kids in a rural part of fly-over country. At the same time, I was a three sport athlete that was getting recruited to play in college by numerous division three schools. Growing up, I always had a curiosity for business, but things changed forever when my Grandfather gave me a book called "The Seeds of Wealth". The book showed the power of compound interest and investing at young age. My interest in investing and finance was piqued. Shortly after, I put $1000 of my savings in a Roth IRA. I funded it with money I saved up from working weekends and summers at Burger King since sophomore year.

I decided to attend a small liberal arts school where I had received an academic scholarship with the intent to be an athlete. At this time I was oblivious, slightly awkward, and much uncultured. I was located in a city of ~150,000 people and I thought I was living in the "big city". It was also my first real exposure to ethnic diversity. It is really quite comical how naive I was about everything.

I entered school with the intent to major in accounting, but switched to economics after taking micro that first semester. Being a student athlete gave me structure and helped me build the work ethic necessary for finance. A typical day would include 5:30 A.M. practice, breakfast at the cafeteria with the team around 8:30, and class from 10-4 with maybe an hour or two break in between. After class we would workout out or hit the batting cages for a couple hours and then hit the library until 9/10. If a project or paper was due, it would obviously be much later. After the library, we would play video games or shoot the shit for a couple hours and finally hit the sack to repeat again the next day. We had one day per week where we didn't have any practice or sport-related activities. That was really our only day to actually party. Without the structure provided by collegiate sports, I definitely think I would've been a partyaholic shithead my freshman year.

The first year went by fast and everything was going well. My sport was great, I loved my Economics courses, and I had a 3.9 GPA. That summer I worked for the park and rec department cutting grass to give me some spending money for school in fall. However, I had started seriously contemplating what I wanted to do post-graduation. I started reading finance books in my spare time. Liar's Poker, Monkey Business, Graham, Buffett, everything. Eventually I found this site, and as I got through the sophomore year I decided I needed to try to get an internship.

At this point I had horrible interview skills, a bad resume, little finance knowledge, and I was at a no-name liberal arts school. I applied to any type of business internship I could find, but I didn't have many options due to geographic constraints. I got about 5 interviews ranging from helping a financial advisor to treasury at a local bank. I struck out. Due to my lack of success trying to find internships, I started contemplating transferring.

I eventually decided to transfer for two reasons:
1. I took an investments course that spring and decided I wanted to go to a school with an investment focused curriculum.
2. I wasn't enjoying my sport anymore and I wanted to get serious about my career.

It was May, and I had decided to transfer to a non-target state school with an applied investment management program. In order to get into my major immediately and remain on-time, I took 9 credits at a junior college that summer while cutting grass 40 hours/week again for the Park and Rec. I worked from 7:30-4:30 and would drive 30 minutes to the school to get to class by 5:30. After class, I would go to Starbucks to do homework because I lived in the country and had extremely poor internet.

That fall, I hit the ground running at my new school. I joined the student investment club and was able to get an internship helping a financial advisor. My passion for finance continued to grow. I spent hours a day in the student finance lab messing around on FactSet/Bloomberg, got a WSJ subscription, and read anything finance that I could. (Don't worry, I still had plenty of time to booze with the guys and mess around with women.)

I was located in a top 25 metropolitan city now, with a decent finance scene for its size. I applied to any investment related internship I could find, and eventually got an opportunity with a small buy side Asset Management firm. They threw me into the fire, and I got exposed to a lot. I got to meet with management of companies we were looking at, sit in on the daily discussions, and do my own independent research. We were generalists, so I learned a lot about a wide variety of companies and sectors. At the end of the summer, they asked me to stay on during the school year. That fall, I worked between 20-30 hours/week (more during earnings) at my internship while taking a full course load. My skills really started to improve, and I sourced a name that got into the portfolio. Later that fall, they told me that they would hire me on full-time upon graduation. I loved my role on the buy-side. After that, I started passing on interviews elsewhere....

It's the end of January, and compliance went through the yearly review. Being at a small shop with no formal process set up, I got very little compliance training. I am not going to elaborate, but they told me that I could no longer stay on after graduation.

There I was jobless, and it was past the main recruiting cycle. I had not been applying, so I had no leads. I started reaching out to people that I had turned down earlier. They all asked why I had re-considered, and despite having great experience, they considered me a risk. I decided I needed to cast a wider net geographically. I applied to every Equity Research role I could find on LinkedIn/Monster. I lived in the school finance lab and I wrote Equity Research reports on a couple companies that I included with my applications. Despite being at a no-name school, with my internship experience I was able to pull some phone interviews with boutiques. Many of them were impressed with the research reports I had sent. I also started writing on Seeking Alpha.

It was May, and I was set to walk across the stage on Sunday. I had under $500 in my bank account. I paid my own living expenses including rent throughout college, and not working that semester killed me. I woke up extremely hungover on Friday morning with a voicemail from HR at a small firm I had applied to. The message said something to the tune of "We have good news for you! Please call us back". I immediately started panicking as I was still drunk from the AYCD wrist band deal from the night before. I chugged water and talked as little as possible. I accepted the offer on Monday and was to start three weeks later.

I threw one final kegger and said goodbye to all my college friends before heading home for a week. I took my job offer to the bank, and took out a $2000 loan so I had cash to move. Two weeks later I threw as much stuff as I could fit in my dented 2003 Toyota Corolla and drove 15 hours to my new location. I worked there for 6 months, and now I am in sell-side ER at a bulge bracket in New York. The hours are long, but I honestly can say that I enjoy my job. I guess I am one of the rare people who are truly passionate about finance. My long-term goal is to get back to buy-side asset management for a value-oriented firm.

If you would have told me when I was a senior in high school that I would go from living in rural nowheresville America to Wall Street within 5 years, I would not have believed it. My family still doesn't believe it. When I come on here, it really irks me when I see posts by kids struggling with rejection, contemplating which Bulge bracket is better, or posting about getting into IB/ER with really no clue what the role entails. This is one of the most competitive industries in business, it is not easy to get in. What are you doing to separate yourself from the 1000+ others that are applying for the same position? I know I busted my ass to get into this industry, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

Mod Note (Andy): top 50 posts of 2017, this one ranks #44 (based on # of silver bananas)

Good morning,

I am posting my success story for a few reasons. First, to (hopefully) inspire someone in a situation that I was in. And second, to thank members of high finance and this website specifically.

I will try to keep this as brief as possible.

Background

Why High Finance

I had aspirations to be on Wall Street at about age 15. Keep in mind, for all the wrong reasons. Then early in college I decided that I wanted to become a financial advisor, as I had a great role model who thought I would be very successful in that field. Then during my junior year in the fall at a non target school in the pacific north west, I began reading wall street oasis. I was reintroduced to the idea of becoming (to quote the book *Straight to Hell*) "A big dick swinging banker." (To clarify, this is a joke. I do not think that book is truthful, as someone questioned in the comments, and it is simply a reference and a light hearted joke. I just wanted to break into high finance.)

Where I was at

Now being very late on the recruiting chain, and under qualified compared to most in high finance, I had limited options. I began networking HARD. Every day over winter vacation was spent on my laptop emailing, cold calling, on linked in, reaching out to alum, friends, friends parents, etc. For about 10 hours a day I sat on my couch, in front of my laptop, trying to connect with anyone who could help me out. Fortunately for me, I had a few alumni who sent me in the right direction, and helped me immensely.

After reading several articles, I realized that many of my hours were wasted. My resume, cover letter, and other methods of reaching out were not up to par. Rather than dwell on my mistakes, I learned from them. I reached back out to previous contacts, and continued pushing. If you take anything away from this post, lesson one is **do not dwell on mistakes**. Reach back out to people, learn from the mistakes, and continue to grind it out.

Dealing with Rejection

During my entire life I really never faced constant rejection. If I was rejected from something, I would usually bounce back and be ok. I received a scholarship to play my sport of choice for college, I had internships at high school in a law firm and a congressman's office, and I had early success in my life. During Sophomore year I received three summer internships for Financial advising, a nonprofit, and a political office, but did not pursue any of them due to family reasons. Applying for high finance internships I was rejected, a lot. In a big way, this rejection was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I firmly believe that rejection can really help people. Rejection is not failing, which is something I have just recently understood. Being rejected means you tried, and though you did not ultimately get what you wanted, you gained feedback, you maybe had a chance to practice, and you are more prepared for the next chance you may receive. Rejection for me really helped me evaluate my position in life, where I was, where I wanted to go, and the most effective and efficient route I could take to get there.

Networking/Trying to make it

During my networking, one important contact I made via a cold email. He kindly agreed to speak with me about his career in IB. He and I spoke a few times, emailed back and fourth, but ultimately his small firm in the Mid West did not hire a summer intern. I offered to work unpaid, and they were still not interested. This was the lowest I had felt during my search. To work for free, and still not be wanted, was not a great feeling. However I understood, as the time it would take them to train me, and my minimal, if any, contributions would not be worth the time it would take to get me there. But what was lesson one? press on. This would become a theme almost in my search, getting close, interviewing, connecting well with people and feeling like I could win the offer, to not be hired. Whether it was them not hiring, or selecting other people, I just wasn't landing offers. Ultimately I was rejected well over 100 times in a four month span. Some random company applications, some final round interviews where I had contacts on the inside, and some in the middle of those two.

It's always darkest before the dawn

This is right about the time (March) where I had exhausted contacts, and almost felt like my search for an internship was futile. I really considered going to the city my girlfriend was going for the summer, working at Starbucks, and meeting everyone in the area that I could who worked in high finance to network. However right as I started to feel down, I connected with an alum who was a consultant in a southeastern city. I had never really considered consulting, I always wanted to be a banker, but I gladly scheduled a phone call to learn more about him, and **ask for guidance and or help**. *(Something I have noticed with people in general, not specifically bankers, but people as a whole are they are unwilling to ask for help. Why? to quote Don't Eat Alone"Everyone you meet is a chance to either be helped, or help them" So please ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask for things, everyone in their life has been helped by someone else, and the best thing you can do is either help that person in return, or pay it forward and help someone else when you can.)*

Keeping an open mind

During the phone call, I realized that I had never really considered consulting, and furthermore, had no idea what a consultant really did. Another key note here is to **KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN**. Do not assume that you are meant for something based off of a book that you read, a quiz you took online, etc. Always keep options open, and do not talk down about career fields that you may not know about. I see this all the time on this website about private wealth management or financial advising. Just because it may not take a niche skill, does not make it a bad field to go into. If you want to purse that career, do not let anyone judge you. The only person you have to accept the outcomes of the decisions made in the past, is the person you see in the mirror.

From "down in the dumps" to "on top of the world"

To continue, I had interviews in the alums consulting office in the southeast, I felt great about the interviews, how I connected with the people I met, and I felt great about the case study, and that I was finally about to land the internship I was desperately seeking. I got rejected after the final round. In a state of shock, I emailed my alum and thanked him for the opportunity, and asked for some feedback. I was told that I did great, and that I was highly considered, but not chosen. (I was given reasons, and these helped me in my next interview) I do not know if this was BS or sincere, but I felt deflated. My alum then told me that he would reach out to some other friends in consulting, and get back to me. But during this process I learned a lot about consulting, a lot about myself, and most importantly how consulting interviews and banking interviews differ, and how to spin previous experiences just a little differently to be more appealing. Expecting to never hear from him again, I started looking over other options. I then received an email from the alum, with a CC to one of his consulting friends. After a few emails and a phone call with a random consultant I was told to speak with, I had an interview. I made it through to the final round, and of course had the flu during my last round. After struggling through it, I ultimately landed a summer internship, in a great city, for a well respected firm that I am very excited about.

Epilogue and Thank you's

Also, to the people who have helped me out along the way, I am extremely thankful. And if I am in any position to help you out in the future, I will. However the main thing I can do is pay it forward, and always attempt to help someone who reaches out to me, not matter how irrelevant they may seem. For example, I have started helping freshman in my fraternity build a plan to pursue high finance, even though I certainly do not have it all figured out, I just want to help them start that initial research on what jobs they might want, and how to put yourself in the best possible position to get them

Thank you again to all members of this community, I love discussions on here and am very fortunate to have found this website. Great members, and I hope this post will inspire a few people who currently feel a little lost, like I was.

Thanks again everyone! Sorry it was so long!

Mod Note (Andy): top 50 posts of 2017, this one ranks #32 (based on # of silver bananas)

Hello my fellow Monkeys,

Although I've been stalking this forum for a year and a half, I didn't have the courage to officially join until recently. I'm currently in my second internship with JPM and have some down time after working on a lengthy project. I thought that I would share my story with some of you to provide a different perspective from what we usually see on here. Anyways, here goes:

Growing up in the Caribbean:

I was born in the Caribbean to a working class family that often struggled to support itself. My father and mother have always had a strong relationship with me and my siblings. When I was 5 my father had to leave our country in search of employment, leaving us behind. He didn't go too far and was able to consistently send money back home. Despite this extra source of income, things weren't easy for us. My parents both lack a proper education and often turned to the massive factories nearby for employment. From a young age I recognized that struggle and told myself that I wanted my life to be different.

At the time my government did not have a structured public school system. I was home-schooled early on and was later enrolled in a schoolhouse nearby. They taught us how to read and write, as well as basic arithmetic. We were taught by women who barely had more education than we did. I look back at this fondly as it undoubtedly shaped my appreciation for education. I developed a sharp focus and was instilled a hardy work ethic by my parents.

Visa Sponsorship / Move to south Bronx NYC:

My grandmother on my mother's side became a US citizen before after I was born. She sponsored us for visas, a process that would take over 11 years. Shortly after I turned 8 we received news that we were approved. I would soon be leaving for NYC in search of a better life. We were shocked but clearly very happy to have the opportunity to seek a proper education and improve our circumstances. My older brother and sister would finally be able to attend high school and possibly higher education. We packed up all our belongings, sold our small house and took off.

Life in New York was not what I expected. The tourist infested areas were clearly very clean and well kept. I moved into the South Bronx, where I continue to live to this day. Needless to say, my first few years here were really rough. I was faced with growing up in a tough neighborhood and learning a new language. I forced myself to read constantly and watch TV shows in English to pick up the language. School was obviously a big help, but I'm sure I don't need to mention the struggles and shortcomings of inner city schools.

My English improved and I progressed through elementary school, middle school and high school. My high school experience was the worst by far. We had virtually zero guidance when it came to applying to college. My saving grace was my English teacher who helped me apply to schools and multiple scholarships. I was accepted to many private schools that offered very little financial aid. My scholarships didn't stretch too far, so I had to come up with a different solution. I turned to local schools and decided to attend a CUNY. This guaranteed that I would be fully covered.

Internship with JPMFLDP

I currently attend a liberal arts college without a proper business school. My affiliation with national business organizations and extra curricular activities set me apart. My sophomore year I attended an annual convention which hosted a career fair. I was able to network effectively and secured an internship with JPM's FLDP. This brings me to today. I'm coming in on the last few weeks and it feels unbelievable. With the help of WSO's FDP guide, I feel like I've had a successful internship and I'm ready for more.

I'm not an IB intern or a student from a prestigious university. I'm not in a FO role but I can proudly say that I have accomplished everything I set out to do so far. Working in Midtown feels unreal as I remember nights when I went to bed hungry. Perspective is everything, I view my current internship and potential full time as a milestone. I still have aspirations to break into high level finance and I will not give up until I do. The turning point was seeing my mother cry because she couldn't afford to feed us. This will forever push me to do better, to break this vicious cycle I was born into. Sorry for the long read guys, but it feels good to get this off my chest.

Thanks for reading,

Slim

Mod Note (Andy): top 50 posts of 2017, this one ranks #5 (based on # of silver bananas)

Sup Chimps, I am currently 19 years old taking a gap year. I'm working for the top commercial real estate agency in my region. To be honest, when I went knocking on their door hoping to join the firm, I never even expected for them to consider me. Especially since they just went through a huge round of interviews with tons of college graduates. They only hired four and one was the son of a partner in the company. However, I must have said something they liked when I met with the partners because they welcomed me into the company with open arms.

My first couple months were spent interning because I hadn't gotten my license to practice real estate yet. It was at this time that I was learning everything I could about CRE online. I stumbled across a list of properties in my county that were behind on taxes. It was 43 pages long, but I went through the whole thing in hopes of finding properties I could list as agent in the months to come. I compiled a list of all the interesting commercial properties and showed them to my father. He immediately pointed at an 11,500 sqft office building and said he had tried everything he could to find out about the building, but simply couldn't. My dad had done some real estate investing in the past, so I took it upon myself to do everything I could to get this deal done. It was not as easy as I'd hoped. After looking through tons of records and researching the company who owned the building, I was looking at a pretty bad situation. The company on record who owned the building was dissolved. The building still had tons of debt that wasn't being paid, and the owner, when I finally tracked him down, told me over the 15 second phone conversation that we had that he was losing the building and didn't want a thing to do with it.

So how did I get this impossible deal done? I improvised. I knew very little about real estate in the grande scheme of things, but I couldn't figure out why the bank had not foreclosed on the property yet. I soon found out it was because the mortgage note had been sold bank to bank and fund to fund almost 11 times in the past year and a half. Nobody was willing and able to put the effort into the property to make it work. So, I decided if we can't buy the building, we'll just buy the debt and foreclose ourselves! Long story told short, I negotiated a deal for way less than market value and all parties are happier than ever.

At the time, I thought I was a beast. I'd just changed the game.I'd created a whole new strategy from scratch. Sadly, I am not the genius I thought I was, and there is an entire industry that does this. However, not only can I look back on my first deal with pride, but I'm just happy to being the only guy in my firm to have done hours and hours of research on these deals. My focus has been on putting a portfolio of these deals together and forming an Equity-SweatEquity partnership to get the money I need to kill it in this market. I would appreciate any advice I can get on this industry and Equity-SweatEquity partnerships. Hope you have enjoyed my success story and thanks in advance for any help you could give.

Thank you to everyone on WSO for giving me the tools and courage to pursue this huge career change. After 6 months of slowly decaying in a middle office role, I was finally able to land a FO Coverage role at a BB (think Deutsche/BMO/UBS). Here is my story:

My Background:

I came from an extreme non-target with a horrible GPA (~2.5). I was a shithead in HS and most of college and partied almost everyday. During my junior year, I became really interested in challenging myself with a career in IB and other sophisticated financial services. So I busted my ass to land a bunch of internships in various fields of finance, but was still unable to close on any IB Analyst roles. During full-time recruiting, I snagged a backup MO offer at a multi-national IB on the West Coast.

Getting out of Middle Office Hell:

I was somewhat comfortable with it because I was able to negotiate an all in salary of ~80k, and thought I could try to lateral internally. However after the first couple weeks, I knew immediately that it would never happen and that I needed to GTFO of living hell. The combination of mind-numbing work and a clash with the MO culture was not the best place to be in. It definitely took a toll on me, led to depression and unfortunately went back to my old partying ways. Lost my girlfriend of a few years and fell into a deep spiral, but the hope of a better career/life kept me pushing on.

Interview for a Front Office role:

After months of networking and cold-calling, a dozen phone screens and two superdays with no offer, I started to get discouraged. However, I kept at it and kept finely tuning my resume and deal-experience. Then one day as I was looking through online job boards, I fired off a blind application online that turned into a superday. Due to my lack of FO experience, I was heavily grilled on technicals and behavior, but was able to successfully navigate it with ease because of the interview guides from WSO. In the end, I believe my understanding and passion for the business of banking really sold me as a candidate. As I was being walked out by an MD, he basically hinted at a verbal offer. Got the written today.

Success!

I credit my success to never giving up and being relentless. Being in the right place and the right time was crucial, as well as having an immaculate, well-formatted resume. Coming from a BO role with little FO experience, utilizing the WSO interview guide (http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/investment-ba...)was crucial to giving me a basic outline on how to prepare for technicals. I'm happy to answer any questions, give out any advice to anyone else who is in my shoes, whether it be a life-draining BO job or a poor GPA.

Happy fucking new year everyone.

Finance Interviews:

Goldman Sachs 1st round. No.
Altamont Capital 1st round. No.
Bracebridge Capital 1st round. No
Bridgewater Associates 1st round. No.

Consulting Interviews:

Cornerstone Research 1st round No.
Analysis Group 1st round. No.
Simon-Kucher 1st round. No.

Final Round Interviews:

Centerview Final round. No.
BlackRock Final round. No.
JP Morgan Final round. No.
Another Bulge Bracket Bank -- YES! the final interview I ever had AFTER the slew of rejections above.

Learn from rejection:

I'm not going to say what company I did get into (to remain anonymous), but I did get into a BB this year. Coming from a finance background with a high GPA at an IVY, I started getting depressed because I got dinged in so many interviews. There were so many times when I felt like my efforts were futile. THEY'RE NOT! Once you get rejected, move on to the next one. Learn from it. What did you do wrong? Was it a technical question that stumped you? Was it the fit questions? Behavioral questions?

There is always room for improvement:

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. With your roommates, friends, and career center. Whether on the phone, skype, or in person. There is ALWAYS room for improvement. Smile during the interviews. I found that you have a much personable look when you do. Don't be afraid to talk about you what makes you unique (I won art competitions in the past, which surprised many interviewers). As for consulting, don't be stupid like me--go and PRACTICE how to answer case study questions with someone. As for finance, make sure to study up on the technical (the WSO was a god send here!). There are always the same questions (DCFs, valuations, etc.). Use the Investment Banking Interview Prep Course ...I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer.

In summary, this was the most grueling thing I did in college. I'm glad I did it because it was a great learning experience. Moral of the story: DON'T GIVE UP, NO MATTER HOW IMPOSSIBLE IT LOOKS. If this didn't convince you, then I don't know what would.

The background story is here: I'm so pathetic--I can't get past 1st round Interviews