I am a recent college grad that is currently searching for my first opportunity in investment related finance (preferably ER). However, I need a little guidance in respect to networking etiquette. My father has been kind enough to help introduce me to some of his contacts in the financial industry. Over the course of the next couple months I will be attending social gathers with many different analysts, fund manager and bankers that commend respected positions within the financial industry. In preparation for these meetings I have built a personal portfolio that contains my resume, college transcript in addition to a couple well developed research reports with the corresponding financial models (these reports/models have been reviewed by a credible 3rd party).
How aggressive should I be when asking for potential job openings or internship opportunities? Should I bring my portfolio with me to these social events with the intent of distribution? If you were some of these industry contacts that I will be meeting at these social gatherings, how would react to my inquiries about potential opportunities within your organization? Really, any help would be much appreciated!
I think best way would be to show admiration, ask them their story, then share your background, very briefly, and say, any advice or thoughts? A lot of these guys just off a 12+ hr shift and just want to have drinks and chill, not get hassled. Don’t bring anything, people don’t want to carry your folder around all night. Maybe ask to exchange cards and you can email it all if they really are interested in getting something.
There is a myth out there that people can blow introductary networking meetings out of the water and land dream jobs. If you can do this, this mean you probably already have solid experience/background, or connections, and already have employeers fighting over you.
Please don’t bring your portfolio, nobody care about your thoughts on your stocks. Nobody wants to give you a job or listen to you pitch. Show how you can scratch their back and be easy to talk to.
Your goal with an introductary meeting is to make enough of a connection so that s/he will follow-up with you if you ever call or email.
Aside from showing appreciation, your goal right now is to show people how much you want a job in ER. Instead of saying “I love researching companies and I ready 10-Ks for fun”, say “I turned down a job as a trader so I can hold out for an ER job” or “I got so interested in researching company XZY I harassed the manager of the manufactoring facility so I can see their new product”.
I find it effective to shoot the sh*t a little bit with the person, find common ground, and then after they somewhat open up, state your intentions, ask to follow up with a possible meeting or most likely they will say to shoot them an email to schedule and give you their card. Also, 20% of the time I have run into people that say that they don’t have any openings at their company, but their friend is looking for analysts or something. They have you email the person your’e talking to and then they fwd to their friend. That works pretty well also. The most important thing to focus on is to line up emails, meetings, and follow-ups to establish connections.
Yeah, I would agree with this except I would venture to say that memorable things in your past sometimes click with people at networking events. My past is quite vast and I can hone in on making quick commonalities that stick in interviews. If you can get someone to meet you and go to sleep and have that person wake up the next day and remember something memorable about you, you have succeeded. You’re in their life and it helps to make further progress down the road. They will remember the date coming up to meet you again and the cogs will turn in their mind to possibly find a place for you or refer you to a friend. ALWAYS at the end of your meeting with the person: a) Make sure to let them know you’re interested if there aren’t opptys but to send note if some arise in future b) Ask for any referrals inside or outside of the company After university I was interviewing for positions and networking up there when I had one referral turn into another one, and then I was in one meeting and they called their friend who was 10 blocks away, said they had 15 min, then went to that one and they ran out of time and sent me to someone else in the same building after that. Meet as many people as possible, get into as many offices as possible, and collect business cards and write notes on them as well as thank you notes for each person with a personal touch (could be business or otherwise). Maybe you both like the Atlanta Braves and you’re in NYC, who knows.
Yeah I think this is key. You’re going to have to have an interesting conversation with them that piques their interest without getting into the nitty gritty of I went to X, got a Y GPA, and so on. Thats kind of boring. Sometimes you’ll talk to someone who you know is a heavy hitter and just let the conversation flow. You might even be at the bar and start taking shots. He might have some ridiculous stories. Listen. Laugh. One of the qualities people unconsciously find about liking a person is the amount that they get to relate to the other person. If you can get the person to open up 70% of the time and you talk 30% of the time, you have succeeded. A pitch of your resume might be appropriate in an office but not at a networking event or a bar. Get that card, seal some kind of meeting in the future, but when they leave, they will have the general impression that they liked you.
This this this. I’ll be honest, I’ve stopped going to lots of events that I used to enjoy attending because with all the layoffs in the energy industry around here, pretty much any free or low cost happy hour or event put on by an industry group or young professional group is just a bunch of people who will hassle you about looking for a job. It’s just not worth the aggravation to me. I went to one a few months ago and a guy who wanted to be a “financial analyst” and was currently an auto insurance salesman for some hacksaw company just kept talking to me, and I chatted with him for a bit but just wouldn’t get the hint. I’d go to the bathroom, come back, and he’d start talking to me again. I just wound up leaving…
I appreciate all the helpful feedback! Taking into consideration what has been noted here, I think most of you are right regarding the portfolio, it’s a little much when paired with social events. I think networking with the intent of pursuing a second meeting catered to possible career opportunities is the way to go. This leads me to my final question. _ Is the portfolio a good idea? I created this portfolio as a way to stay stand out among recent college grads. My transcripts are superb, GMAT is high and resume is well thought out. However, I worry that the research reports may do more harm than good. Would you recommend scaling back my efforts to a more standard resume+cover letter approach? _
I’ll tell y’all a story from a little while ago… Was during earning season and had one co release before the open and one after the close, so long day. I rushed over, about an hr late, got a drink, someone walked up to me, saw my name badge, and talked me up. I said I’m on the SS and dude just rips on the industry! Said he wouldn’t do that, constantly optimistic, bs price targets, not making real investment decisions, ect ect so I’m like, okay, what do you do? “I graduated from hacksaw u in December, taking level 1 in June and looking for a job on the buy side, you know anyone?”
In my former days, I would be nice and say ‘yeah that sounds great, sorry I don’t know anyone’ Now, when I hear these stories, I just say ‘yeah dude you have no chance.’ The only exception is to people I know. I had one guy come up to me who is a friend and established Marine Corps officer. He has a crap resume NYC speaking and hacksaw MBA. He asked me how he could get into NYC IB. I told him his chances of even landing an interview were low, but I was intrigued by his career as a Marine officer, so I said I could line up a couple interviews, but the rest was up to him, and he would be up against top 10 MBAs for associate positions and would probably at best land an analyst position with his hacksaw MBA. He was startled to hear his MBA was hacksaw. This blows my mind for some people. Do they not know they are getting hacksaw MBAs? You don’t just get a hacksaw MBA and go to GS IB. He is in the alum network at my school, so we are really tight with lining up interviews in NYC, but I don’t think he will make the cut. I’ll give him the reco though cause hes a good guy.