Networking
Ah, networking into investment banking. No other topic creates so much confusion – so let’s dive right and see how you use networking to break into the industry.
How to Meet Bankers and Develop Relationships
Here’s what you should do to develop relationships:
1. Make Your List
Start with alumni, family, friends, professional contacts, anyone you’ve met at information sessions, and then think about options like student groups, professional organizations, volunteer groups, professors, and even religious groups. Nothing is “unfair” when it comes to your starting list – if you have Capital IQ access, use it. If you need to “sneak into” other schools’ information sessions, do it. Aim for 20-30 names before you start your outreach.
2. Make the Initial Outreach
Email each of your contacts and ask for a 15-minute informational interview. Keep your email to 5 sentences at the most, and introduce yourself by giving your school name, explaining how you found them, and summarizing your work experience. Then propose 2-3 specific dates and times to speak with them.
3. Follow-Up If You Don’t Get a Response
Follow-up within a week if you haven’t heard back. If you don’t hear back after another week, move to the phone. Keep these emails very short – 1-2 sentences at most. And if you haven’t heard back after 5 or so attempts, put the person on the back burner and move onto other contacts.
4. Do Additional Research
Once you’ve set up your call or meeting, spend 20 minutes doing some simple Google and LinkedIn searches of the person’s name and see what you can find. Don’t go crazy with this – just do enough research to properly frame your questions.
5. Make the Call / Attend the Meeting
Start by asking about the person’s background and interests – always keep the conversation focused on them. They may “test” you but never preempt this by bragging about your accomplishments or showing off how smart you are.
6. Make Your “Mini-Ask”
As your conversation is drawing to a close, ask them if it’s ok to follow-up with any additional questions you have, ask for referrals, and suggest meeting in the future. You do this to condition the other person into helping you out. If you never ask for anything in the beginning, it’s weird when you do so later on.
7. Follow-Up
Only follow-up when you actually have something to say. If someone wasn’t helpful or if you have better contacts, don’t feel pressured to stay in touch with everyone all the time. Referral requests, advice about job offers, and news of an upcoming weekend trip are all good reasons to follow-up.
8. Make Your “Real Ask”
Once you’ve had your initial conversation and followed-up at least a few times, ask for what you want: “I hope all is well. With recruiting season approaching, I wanted to follow-up and ask you how I could best position myself for an interview with your firm.” That’s all there is to it. If you’ve made a good first impression and they like you, they’ll help you. Otherwise, don’t dwell on it – focus on the bankers who are most helpful.
Information Sessions
Focus on the bankers with the fewest students surrounding them, chat for a few minutes, collect business cards, and then make an excuse and go off to meet the other bankers. Quick follow-up is essential because these sessions usually take place just before interviews.
Read the rest here