研究生录取信之后：工作申请，面试，工作，未来：国际生也能做金融之IB

jimmy910128

1.      Tell me about yourself. It would be helpful toaddress where you go to school, what are you doing, and what do you like aboutwhat you are doing.

a.      I am originally from California where I studieda major which wasn’t related to the career that I wanted to be in. I ended upgoing to a decent school (UC Santa Barbara) but studying International Studiesbecause the school did not offer a Finance major. After finishing college, Itried to apply to finance jobs in banks and I never received any interviews;not even a call back. I decided to move to the East Coast to pursue my Mastersof Science in Finance at Villanova University. From then on, I finished theprogram and now I work at a small 17 man investment bank in Philadelphia, PA.

During the program, I gained a lot of knowledge about finance and theapplication of finance to the real world. I have been able to utilize theseskills and knowledge to my current position. My firm mainly works in M&A(Mergers and Acquisitions) so we aid in the sale or purchases of private andpublic companies. The valuation and modeling skills taught in my classes atVillanova have prepared me well for these task and I really enjoy what I do.

2.      Why do you go to graduate school in Finance?Which school did you apply? Why?

a.      As stated above, I decided to go to graduateschool to give myself a second opportunity. Coming out of an undergraduateprogram, I did not have skills and knowledge necessary to make it in thefinance world. It made sense why nobody would even consider giving me aninterview; it was because I was underqualified to do the job necessary.

I applied to a couple of differentschools to give myself the best opportunity. I applied to USC, Villanova, OhioState University, and Washington University in St Louis.  I thought most of these schools were withinmy range of what was acceptable in terms of my statistics (GPA, test scores,work experience, etc). I also did some research to see which schools would fitme best; their location, historical job placements, proximity to areas I’dconsider living in, etc.

3.      How many people helped you revise your resume?

a.      I have had lots of people revise and look overmy resume. I’d say at least five professionals that range from career services,people within the industry, teachers, etc.

4.      How many interviews did you have?

a.      I’ve had well over 20 phone interviews and 8 inperson interviews

5.      How did you network with others?

a.      Networking is a science and an art. It is anumbers game where you must reach out to as many people as possible. That isone part of the equation. The other part is that you must learn how to connectwith people and if you aren’t a very sociable person, that takes practice andtime to get comfortable with networking.

I personally did it by attempting to reach out to as many people on LinkedIn asI could and to find a way to connect to them. There are various ways you canconnect with people: alumni from your old school, interest, ethnicity, race,etc. More likely than not, you should be attempting to connect to all thepeople who have been in your position recently; your alumni base. Brieflyexplain your story and your objective and ask if they have time for a talk. Themore you talk to people, the more you’ll learn and the more comfortable you’llbe with talking to people.

Also, go to as many events as possible. Talking through the internet andnetworking with people over the phone is great but not real practice forinterviews in real life. Take the time to get comfortable talking in front ofpeople and telling your story.

6.      How did you prepare for interview?

a.      Interview is generally two main parts ofpreparation; behavioral and technical. Learn to master both. I believe networkingis vital to becoming a good interviewer as well. Find some study guides (whichI can help you find for your specific industry and help you prep) and learn theins and outs of your industry.

7.      Could you tell us something about your work?

a.      I’m an investment banker.. enough said.

8.      What tips would you offer to internationalstudents?

a.      If your English is not good, find someone whowill teach you or find classes. If you don’t want to do that, you need to makefriends with American students and ASSIMILATEinto American culture. Stop hanging out with all the people of the sameethnicity. It may make you feel comfortable but you will not be prepared towork at an American firm. You need to be able to fit in with the culture andthe people around you in order to be successful in America.