Want an Internship at the Best Firms on Wall Street?

How would you like to get interviews for internships with most of the top investment firms on Wall Street? Is there a secret? Yes and no. What matters are some things everyone should already know such as doing well academically and getting involved in activities and organizitions that will promote and teach the skill sets they look for.

But there are some things people do not often do. What follows are the words of Yash, whose educational journey has already been a part of this blog in two previous entries. I knew back then he’d have great options, because he’d done what almost no student I have met has done to ensure his success at finding a great fit for his talents and interests. Those willing to follow his path will likely find themselves with great choices too.

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Yash visiting LinkedIn

Since your interviews for me earlier in the year you have been very busy. The last couple of months have been very full as this is the time when students compete for highly sought after internships with the top firms in New York and around the world.

Q. How did you approach your search for firms?  Did you continue to do outreach to people, did you use on grounds visits a lot? And how wide was the net you cast?

A. I started out with an advantage or disadvantage, depends on how you look at it.  I knew I wanted to focus on Investment Banking and did not really cast a wide net in terms of industries for that reason.  So I basically only applied to Investment Banks and absolutely nothing really outside it.  I got to know combination of my university alumni to whom I reached out on my own and also met through formal visits, family connections, friends and some chance encounters to build a list of over two hundred people that I eventually interacted with over the recruiting season.  My personal outreach never stopped.  That was a daily effort and the process looked like: initiate – follow up – thank – stay in touch – update with each one to really impart a meaning to that relationship.  Whatever relationships came my way through my university, those were helpful too however they didn’t really add to my competitive advantage as they were helping out many other candidates too and I was probably just another student to them.  So I pursued those connections with less rigor and spent more time working on relationships I developed on my own since those had a higher personal value for me, and were likelier to help me out individually.  Finally, I applied to almost all the investment banks I knew about, hoping at least one would give me an offer.  This narrow strategy could have just as easily blown up in my face to leave me without any offers – but that, luckily, did not happen.

Q. Given your exceptional overall performance it comes as no surprise that many top firms interviewed you. Could you list a few of them?

 A. Sure – here’s a slightly narrowed list of firms at which I received interviews:

PNC

Goldman Sachs

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Morgan Stanley

Lazard

Citi

Deloitte

Deutsche Bank

Houlihan Lokey

Perella Weinberg

Blackstone (Boston)

Jefferies

Nomura

Moelis NY

Blackstone NY

JPMorgan

Evercore

Credit Suisse

Qatalyst Partners

Stripes Group (Venture Capital)

Guggenheim Securities

Q. In talking with you I was very impressed with how you prepared for your interviews. Could you give some detail about your preparation?

 A. To prepare, I thought about it in terms of really understanding the firm I was interviewing at.  Given the large list, this personalization was not just stressful – it was also fun.  Speaking to people helped here, as I could get a glimpse into how personalities and values varied across firms.  It also helped to know the points on which each firm prided themselves (at Deutsche Bank, pride lied in the fact that it is the Great German Lender and this helped their advisory business a lot; Citi loved to mention its global presence in everything; Credit Suisse prided its collegial and social atmosphere; Goldman loved their collaborative culture and really wanted to hear about that; Lazard boasted about its strong dealflow as an independent bank; Moelis and Evecore spoke about the speed at which they’ve grown to become top-tier firms, and so on and so forth.)  This differentiation in how I presented myself was key to differentiate my knowledge from the otherwise standard responses we’re all trained to blabber out.  In addition to this, I had to also learn, practice and truly understand my technical skills, which was the easier part as I’ve always been a quantitative person and enjoy this work – in fact my skill with this is the biggest reason I enjoy investment banking.  So in a nutshell, getting down the basics, understanding what each firm prided itself on, and nailing the technical questions is what I would suggest to anyone. (Aka – don’t simply wing the interview process…you won’t get far.)

Q. Did you spend a lot of time researching by suing sites and individuals on-line? How much time did you spend doing research on particular firms before going in to your interview?

A. I spent a lot of my free time between July and December doing this.  But one shouldn’t think about meeting people and researching firms as two separate processes.  You’re better off getting firm-specific information from the people you speak to, and that’s also more time efficient.  But as I mentioned earlier, this was still very time consuming.  But if it’s important to you, as it was for me, it’s an easy choice to justify.  Before going into my interviews, I had a lot of simple facts written down about each firm which I knew most other candidates wouldn’t know, so I focused on bringing those up.  I was generally prepared with details like the CEO’s name, their stock price, some recent deals etc.  But I didn’t use that knowledge as my primary differentiator as there was really no differentiation in knowing these details.  Those are also very easy to gather – it’ll take two minutes to get them whereas understanding what each firm really wanted in their employees and understanding what they stood for was a multi-month effort.  But like in everything, preparation was definitely key to doing well here and one should be prepared to make this a big part of their time.

Q. You received many offers from top firms. Why do you think so many firms picked you?

A. I have very strong grades, I am heavily involved in extracurricular activities at UVA, I had demonstrated interest in Investment Banking with past experience, I had met multiple people at each firm, and most importantly I was fortunate to have had access to so many resources (family networks, alumni networks, Career Services, On Campus Recruiting systems etc.)  That’s what got me multiple interviews. 

What got me past the interviews was a different strategy.  I had to use the information I got from people with whom I had spoken prior to the interview season.  I had to have a very strong understanding of the technical knowledge required in Investment Banking and had to demonstrate through my behavioral answers that I was a well-rounded individual who was good at dealing with people too.  While these skills are harder showcase on a resume, its important to bring up as often as you can in an interview as it gives you enough room to make a connection with your interviewer and differentiate yourself even further.

Q. Why, in the end, did you select the firm you did? 

A. I selected my offer at Moelis over the others for many reasons.  The firm was founded by one of the biggest legends in Investment Banking – Ken Moelis – who ran stellar firms in the past and then started his own firm only six years ago, from scratch.  It has grown to over 600 people today with over $400 Million in revenues.  In addition, its senior leadership is very experienced but also relatively young.  The average age of its Managing Directors and Partners is less than many of its competitors and I think this will continue to help the firm grow at its phenomenal pace faster than its competitors.  In New York, Moelis has 45 Managing Directors but only 15 Summer Analysts and this abnormally high ratio of senior people will give me exposure that I will get nowhere else.  Not to mention, these are some of the most prominent people in the industry and will lead to an experience in which I will work every minute I am awake, but also emerge stronger in many ways.  They have consistently been advising on some of the biggest deals in history and this shows that the senior leadership has a relationship network that is strong, widespread and successful.  Finally, I looked at the profiles of some people who started working here and they have been very successful – whether they continued working at Moelis or went on to do different things.  Lastly, the firm filed for an IPO a few weeks ago, and I will be able to witness the transition from its private to public status over the coming months. I thought the combination of these facts presented me with an opportunity that was highly differentiated and that’s why I decided to go with it.

Yash did more than his homework in the traditional sense. He did very well in his classes, but that isn’t the only thing necessary to get the offers he did. His homework consisted of networking with as large of group of people as I have ever heard of for one student. Reaching out to hundreds of people, in itself, signifies that he is unlike most students or professionals. In addition, he planned and approached his search systematically. He put in untold hours doing this, and clearly it worked. Getting interviews at top firms is one thing, getting an offer is something else and requires a different set of skills sets. Yash honed his interpersonal skills to make sure he was ready to wow the people he talked to. Every time I talk with him, I can sense his confidence and his ease about things he knows he know about. He has, to put it simply, a great aura. But even this is not enough to rise to the top. Yash also did his homework when he did his research on firms. He went into interviews with detailed knowledge of what each firm did well and focused on best. Having this kind of knowledge does not come from attending classes; instead, it comes from spending time with a computer doing lots of research on current trends and finding sites that explain the corporate culture of a particular firm. Giving abstract answers to questions about why a firm should hire you won’t impress anyone. Having a huge data set and an overview of the firm in hand will impress anyone.

Yash certainly impressed me with his approach to his job search. He also impressed me with his willingness to share his wisdom with me and with others who might wish to learn how the road to success coms through effort, research, and the willingness to keep growing as a person in and out of classes. I feel confident that before too long my next update will Yash will outline how he has continued to be prepare himself as a future leader in the world of high finance. I am lucky and grateful he has taken the  time to share his words here.

Yash visiting Tesla