MFIN— Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For all you that think having passed level 2 is of > no benefit in the eyes of the employers…well, I > feel the complete opposite. > > Lately in my interviews, they’ve been very > impressed with passing it and it goes along > way…I think it depends on what type of role > you’re interviewing for… Mine have been > buy-side…everyone i’d be working with who is > above me is a Charterholder so obviously it’s very > important. > > If you want to move into equity research, having > passed the CFA exams is very important…they also > love the master of finance program…so far > toronto job market is really easy. +1
Cool story, bro. I mean it 
You re the guy who posted about not knowing what to chose between trading and m & a right ? You obviously kick ass in interviews ( ironic given the thread title ) . So I m wondering what you eat on the morning before interview ? Cheers.
MiserableLawStdnt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just wanted to post a final update here on where I > finally ended up: > > I did get an offer from Carlyle, which I was > surprised about since I thought I blew the > interview. Also was offered a position with IADB, > Inter-American Development Bank. I declined both > offers and went with a small PE-firm in Oil & Gas. > At the time I was unsure if this was the right > decision, but now I know it was the right > decision. The firm is on a major acquisition spree > and is investing over 200 mm over the next 2-years > buying everything. I am really liking the work I > am doing, as it is really challenging. > > I am working on a hedging model now, to fight the > volatility in the Crude market. I am going to all > of these meetings with a lot of big banks and > consulting firms, ie Morgan Stanley, Smith > Barney…etc. It’s a lot of good exposure and > that’s what I was looking for. I am reviewing > their models and then giving my views, which at > the moment aren’t a whole lot. > > Last week, I was reviewing a DCF model by another > bank, and my boss asked me what I thought. I told > him I thought that the WACC used by the other > analyst team wasn’t great because of the comps he > used, Hess, Exxon…etc. Hess, Exxon are refiners > and the company we were working on was a > wholesaler. The margins have an inverse > correlation. Meaning if the price of RBOB > (Gasoline Futures) goes up, the refiner margin > goes up, but the wholesaler’s margin goes down. > Well he just shook his head and later on I got an > e mail telling me I could sit in on the Morgan > Stanley meeting. During the meeting he totally > gave me all the credit for catching that > discrepancy. In my experience, not many people > will do that. They will just take all the credit, > but he didn’t. The best thing about this position, > is my boss. He is considerably young for this > position, mid-30s, and is very intelligent. Most > places I have worked, and well I am in my early > 20s so there haven’t been many, I have never felt > as if the guy above me was more competent. Here I > totally feel it, and feel as if I have so much to > learn from my superior. > > I guess the lesson I learned here, and would like > to pass onto others is, it doesn’t matter if you > work for a big bank if you don’t work in the > position you are interested in. If you work at a > huge bank and all you do is manage their database, > you will never attain the work experience you need > to move up in what you truly want to do. It’s > better to go where you can actually gain the > skills and exposure you need to move up in what > you truly want to do. Well done…I guess the lesson I’ve learned here is to ask the same question as you at the end of the interview Good to hear about the job, sounds very interesting and you have a very good opportunity to churn out a great career for yourself.
how are you getting all these private equity interviews in DC in the first place?
MiserableLawStdnt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I guess the lesson I learned here, and would like > to pass onto others is, it doesn’t matter if you > work for a big bank if you don’t work in the > position you are interested in. If you work at a > huge bank and all you do is manage their database, > you will never attain the work experience you need > to move up in what you truly want to do. It’s > better to go where you can actually gain the > skills and exposure you need to move up in what > you truly want to do. Thrilled to hear things worked out so well for you! Well done keeping at it, and way to learn from the experience. Nothing wrong with making a mistake in an interview and then learning from it - plenty of people NEVER even attempt to give their interviews a good post-mortem and as a result don’t learn from their mishaps.
The moral of the story (although it seems obvious) is that you will not have a perfect interview. Sure, you will f*ck up a few times, but if you do enough good things and sell yourself right, you still have a shot. We tend to dwell on the worst parts of the interview.
Amen, brother.
wake2000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > how are you getting all these private equity > interviews in DC in the first place? Would like to know as well. I had 2 phone interviews with P/E and P/E R/E that were more or less screeners to tell me I didn’t have the relevant experience for an entry level position out of college. Still wondering how people get these “entry level” positions when they only want peolpe with “relevant experience.”
MBA > CFA, then?
MiserableLawStdnt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Past few weeks I have been interviewing at some > IBs. I completed my level II this past summer. Was > very excited, until an interview at The Carlyle > Group last week. I sat across two men, David > Marchick (MD) and the other a Sr. Analyst. The > interview seemed some what short to me, so I guess > in some act of desperation to prolong the > inevitable, I asked something along the lines of, > “I just completed my Level II CFA this past June. > Do you have any questions regarding the CFA?” > > “Uhm…that doesn’t really pertain to what we do > here.” was the reply. I was so embarrassed. Would > have been an ideal time for an “earthquake”. Your street savvy is off the hook!
johnnyBuz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wake2000 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > how are you getting all these private equity > > interviews in DC in the first place? > > Would like to know as well. > > I had 2 phone interviews with P/E and P/E R/E that > were more or less screeners to tell me I didn’t > have the relevant experience for an entry level > position out of college. > > Still wondering how people get these “entry level” > positions when they only want peolpe with > “relevant experience.” I’ve had classmates in undergrad complete summer internships at PE firms, that’s probably how.