OT: What do you do for work and/or school?

[Irishguy42]

It just feels like when submitting resumes as if I'm just throwing them into a wasteland never to be read or even confirmed if they were received and being reviewed or anything.

I keep a spreadsheet with all the information of places I've applied to and if I've heard back from them or not.

I'd say a solid 70% is filled with companies who haven't gotten back to me after I've filled out the initial application and sent my resume/cover letter.

Really frustrating to not even get a simple "No" sometimes

 

[Crease]

Sometimes it is just a numbers game. Keep applying and keep building your resume.

 

[Allan92]

Just finishing a masters in production and direction of film so I'm unemployed

 

[patnyrnyg]

I don't think it has to be top 10. Cornell is a target school I believe that's more top 15. Of course top 10 helps. However, yes top 20, top 25 is important but especially important if the school is a target school. Carnegie Mellon is a great school for Tech and Management Consulting (albeit 2nd tier consulting) but IB, it's not great. Still got most of the people that looked into getting into Banking, a job, I believe. It's just fewer people looked. But yes, outside of Cornell all of those schools are usually top 10 and all of those schools are target schools.

Well, I didn't mean top-10 in that there are only 10 schools that can get you into IB. Secondly, rankings are subjective and open to interpretation. Point is, you want to be in one of the top schools, not a program where almost all the students work full-time and are taking 1 or 2 classes at a time with the hopes they will get a $10K raise when they graduate.

 

[Bricho]

Well, I didn't mean top-10 in that there are only 10 schools that can get you into IB. Secondly, rankings are subjective and open to interpretation. Point is, you want to be in one of the top schools, not a program where almost all the students work full-time and are taking 1 or 2 classes at a time with the hopes they will get a $10K raise when they graduate.

You also have to remember what is considered "banking" has drastically changed an the industry is going through metoric shifts. There is Mergers&Acquisitions which I traditionally think of as genuine IBanking or sales and trading or asset management. I for one was also seduced into hedge funds and as my career progressed the hendge fund industry shrank to the point where there were no more viable jobs for a person with my experience. I decided to throw in the towel and stay at home to raise my kids while my wife worked to pay for health insurance, in a job she actually enjoys.

My best piece of advice is to find something you actually enjoy. In my years working in finance, I really never met anyone who genuinely enjoyed their work. Finance isn't even that high paying anymore based on what you choose so you risk being miserable for not very much compensation.

 

[silverfish]

Sometimes it is just a numbers game. Keep applying and keep building your resume.

+1

It's also a huge help if you are internet savvy enough and can find someone's e-mail who works for the company. Generally, companies have uniform e-mails. So if you can find like [email protected], chances are the HR rep for the company whose name is Silver Fish is going to have the e-mail [email protected].

Never hurts to follow up via e-mail like that. Show initiative.

Common company email conventions:

[FirstName][LastName]@company.com ie - [email protected]
[FirstInitial][LastName]@company.com ie - [email protected]
[FirstName].[LastName]@company.com ie - [email protected]

Smaller companies may just have [FirstName]@company.com

Worst case scenario, try e-mailing one of these at a time and if you don't get a bounceback, you win

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

You guys looking to go into investment banking or banking in general beware. Banks are automating everything they possibly can to cut expenses due to the continued low interest rate environment.

They are automating trading. These jobs will not come back when rates rise (which may not be for another 5 years).

Business analysis with a focus on automation/IT and compliance are your growth areas in banking.

I'm living it right now. I'm involved in the creation of a new branch model (staffing and technology) and rolling that out.

The writing is on the wall.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bank-of-americas-results-slide-1468839019

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Well, I didn't mean top-10 in that there are only 10 schools that can get you into IB. Secondly, rankings are subjective and open to interpretation. Point is, you want to be in one of the top schools, not a program where almost all the students work full-time and are taking 1 or 2 classes at a time with the hopes they will get a $10K raise when they graduate.

Not sure about the $10K raise but while I do think that lower level MBAs are more conducive to that kind of thing (and I have had problems with recruiters that seem to have that experience and not understanding a top MBA), I think that's more of a part time MBA thing. Although part time MBAs at top schools obviously have better prospects.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

You also have to remember what is considered "banking" has drastically changed an the industry is going through metoric shifts. There is Mergers&Acquisitions which I traditionally think of as genuine IBanking or sales and trading or asset management. I for one was also seduced into hedge funds and as my career progressed the hendge fund industry shrank to the point where there were no more viable jobs for a person with my experience. I decided to throw in the towel and stay at home to raise my kids while my wife worked to pay for health insurance, in a job she actually enjoys.

My best piece of advice is to find something you actually enjoy. In my years working in finance, I really never met anyone who genuinely enjoyed their work. Finance isn't even that high paying anymore based on what you choose so you risk being miserable for not very much compensation.

Maybe it's early but I have one classmate that actually went into banking because of his interest in the work and not money. I feel like that's like spotting a rare Pokemon or something (or at least I assume I don't know much about Pokemon).