I’m a person with average grades (GPA around 3.5) from an average private university in my country. I have minimal contacts from the finance / banking industry that i can utilise but I really want to get myself into one of those investment banks.
From what I’ve heard from the people that I talked to, it’s basically impossible for a fresh grad like me to get hired by top investment banks upon graduation.
I know that almost everyone in this forum has a superior experience compared to me when it comes to the finance / banking industry. Soooo… how hard would it be to enter the big investment banks and would it be realisitic for me to have that in mind as a first job after graduation?
Your best bet is aggressively network into it. Sitting for and passing your CFA can also be really helpful and validate your understanding of finance and passion for it. This will help in terms of building an understanding of the financial markets and valuation, but all investment banks have a standardized recruitment process that’s difficult to break into if you aren’t from a target school (e.g., Ivy League, NYU, etc.).
In addition to a CFA, I would focus on networking and trying to make a lateral move into the Bank. Here is a helpful list of junior investment banking jobs to get you started: http://tapwage.com/channel/beginning-in-banking
