Your firm has just merged with another and your job might be rationalized away; or maybe the grass is simply greener at another firm. Here are ten tips to finding your next investment banking job:
1. Contact old friends and colleagues: It is by now a clich�. The best jobs are not those that you find listed in the classifieds section of your newspaper. The best jobs, in fact, are never even listed but passed by word of mouth. Make sure that you have your ears to that grapevine with frequent contact to your friends and old colleagues in the investment banking industry. And by all means, ask for advice on your resume and cover letter. Your friends can give advice on what key words and experiences should be included-and what other ones should be avoided.
2. Hunt the Headhunters: A lot of us like to avoid executive recruiters, because it sometimes seems that they don't know-or even care what most positions on Wall Street entail. You might think that they are trying to fill the next job with the nearest warm body that they can find. But a good headhunter can be worth his or her weight in gold if they are truly diligent and looking to establish a long-term relationship with you. Use them to weed out the least interesting opportunities-and to find the ones that you would not immediately think of yourself.
3. Tap your alumni network: Contact other alumni who work in investment banking. This includes looking up your old fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. Tapping fellow alumni can be especially effective if you did not go to a name school, because the few of you on Wall Street might go the extra distance in helping out someone from the alma mater.
4. Comb the Internet: More and more, there are job sites on the Internet geared towards the financial professional. Some of our favorites include Bloomberg, which posts opportunities by type and salary level. Other suggested links can be found on our jobs page.
5. Understand the trends: Know which firms are hiring and know what kind of bankers they are targeting. For instance, several American firms such as Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette and Salomon Brothers are attempting to build out their mergers & acquisitions and leveraged finance groups. You might also find another finance specialty to be more interesting or lucrative and being ahead of the curve can allow to take night classes, brush up on your reading or take other steps to move your skills in that direction.
6. Upgrade your skills: Make sure that you have nailed down your qualifications such as your Series 7 and Series 63 examinations. But better than that, look into taking the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)examination, which is administered by the AIMR. You might notice that some employers these days equate the CFA with having an MBA. Also, take the opportunity to plug the gaps in your background. If you need more valuation experience, for instance, take classes (here in New York, professionals have access to evening classes at New York University and the New York Institute of Finance) or bone up by reading books like Copeland's Valuation. It will improve your ability to win over prospective employers during the interview process and buttress your resume.
7. Think out of the box: If you are not finding the opportunities that you want, it could be because you are too married to the idea of working for a particular firm in a particular group. Have you considered working overseas? Or, if you are in the United States, why continue to bang heads against the numbers of people all competing in New York for the most plum assignments. According to a salary comparison calculator on Bloomberg, you only need to make $100,000 in Atlanta to make the equivalent of $250,000 in New York. Not to mention that living in the suburbs can be an improvement in lifestyle.
8. Keep sending out that resume: Too many people grow frustrated at how slow the job search process is going, but when you ask them how many resumes they have sent out, they will say "one or two." You are going to find a job if you are not getting in front of people, so keep working those contacts and chasing down opportunities.
9. Dress for success: Investment banking is an industry where attention to detail is paramount. If your shoes are unpolished and your shirt or blouse wrinkled, prospective employers might not be far off base to think that you will also be sloppy in your financial modeling or writing. Also, you want to ooze success. Nobody wants to hire the chaff from another firm.
10. Be aggressive and confident during interviews: Make sure your prospective employer is fully aware of all your skills, your determination to work hard and your team-playing attitude. There is a fine line, however, between confidence and arrogance. Remember, firms want to see someone who knows what he or she is doing, and they want someone who will give 110% effort-but at the end of the day, most people want to work with people to whom they can relate.
