Exaggerating but

I intern at mm investment bank this summer and the other team is kid of a big client. At first I didn’t mind because he seemed hard working. But now more deep into internship he’s been making lots of messy mistakes which I also dgaf

But throughout the internship he always interrupts me when I’m talking or when I’m talking to someone on the team one on one in the bullpen he would walk up behind me and just stands there until he finds a time to butt into our conversation like?????? Hello???

I never do the same and I show him enough respect and space when he talks to others.

I am doing well in terms of work and technical things but I feel like I need to step it up with networking what do I do to fight this

After what felt like an endless cycle of interview prep and questioning whether I was even cut out for quant, I finally signed my internship agreement with IMC.

I'm honestly just relieved more than anything. I know it's "just" an internship, but for me it's a huge milestone

Interesting article I read on Bloomberg recently talking about WM firms losing 'allure' from the younger 'mass affluent', but I wonder, for those working in HNW or UHNW wealth management (MFO, SFO, private banks etc.), how is it going, and do you see this generation shift?

Quick summary, im 19y/o entering my 3rd year at a semi-target canadian university

Is there something fundamentally wrong with my work exp? Or the way i write about it in my bullets? Not enough extracurriculars? Is my interests section repelling?

Even so, how is it that i cant land even a single interview? Ive even applied to places with referrals but still get ghosted/rejected with no interview. So now im working multiple part time jobs this summer instead of big downtown toronto internships like others at my school/year

Ive been applying across many finance fields but at the end of the day i want to work in FP&A or accounting and pursue a CPA

All help is appreciated and if theres advice on other parts of recruiting for internships besides just resume

AI prompts I tell current undergrads and IB analysts interviewing for hf jobs to use to start a stock pitch:

1) Understanding the business - Yes it sounds basic but people don't take the time to do it. Stock pitches are given conversationally to judges in a competition or a senior analyst in an interview.

AI Prompt to get things started: Explain [company XYZ]'s business model in plain language - what they actually sell or provide, describe its customer type and end-market.

After you do this - you need to really be able to explain to a non-finance member what the business does in 30-45 seconds) forces you to prioritize and thats how much time you have in real interviews. I've interviews where the interviewer PM/analyst simply loses interest and starts looking at their phone or screen

2) Key industry terms/jargon and KPIs - To sound like you know the company you need to speak the language of the industry its in. A perfect example is analyzing convenience stores - you dont refer to their profits from gas as gasoline sales minus cost of goods sold. It actually gallons sold multiplied by a fuel margin on a cents per gallon basis.

AI prompt to get things started: Provide me with the key industry terminology/metrics used to monitor company XYZ's and its peers operations. It should be language and terms used by investors, sell-side analysts and company management teams. Provide the acronyms used for these terms as well.

After you do this, read the last three transcripts and look for commentary on these metrics so you start getting a sense of how these metrics are trending. Again, AI saves you time, then you have to understand the business further.

3) Industry structure: You need to understand the chess board relating to the industry of the company you are researching. Are they dependent on only a few large customers? Have their been any new entrants taking market share with a new business model? Has a regulatory change impacted pricing?

AI prompt to get things started: Give me an overview of the last 10 years of the industry and any structural changes such as changes in customer concentration, consolidation among peers, supply chain or new entrants. Please identify events and the timing when any of these items saw a change.

After you do this, you will need to then form an opinion on where you think the industry is going and why - don't rely on AI on this you should play out what you think will happen. Read current events, comments from management teams in this sector etc

I'm happy to continue on this as I can go through the entire stock pitch process or another area where you can incorporate AI into your research process as you put together stuff your clubs etc. I wanted to put out something where the undergrads focused on finance could see something concrete

Happy to hear from undergrads on what they want to hear next or questions!

Going into my first year of college and I'm trying to lock in a major and I heard that its hard to get a job in Finance, but its also something i was committed to

What are the best free white pages or research articles you know of for learning about asset management and finance in particular?

My current favorite is the state street markets insight research papers but there’s not enough of them for how much free time I have between meetings.

I don’t like BlackRock’s equivalent site because it is too salesy.

SS+C makes you log in with email

My profile: Non-EU, bachelor’s in Computer Science, 3.1 GPA, GRE 332 (170Q, 162V), not so great university. I want to pursue a MiM or MiF. I have applied to HEC Paris MiF and Imperial MiF and got rejected. Which program should I apply to? There are so many programs, and it’s confusing, i.e., IE Business School (Spain), Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Germany), ESCP MiM/MiF, ESSEC, INSEAD MiM (France), Bocconi (Italy), and London/Warwick. I have doubts about whether I am competitive for LSE or LBS MiM/MiF. My goal in a master’s program is to get an internship at a bulge bracket bank through the master’s program.Pls guide me.🥲🫠

Hey guys,

I’m 28M, got a finance degree in 2022. 3.1 GPA, barely remember anything.

From there I have done:

- junior accountant at a startup 2022-2023
- 2023 - now : in person high end retail sales. I’ve sold over $2.5million in furniture over the last 2 years. I’m good at sales, but don’t know where to pivot. I’m only making $55k a year.

I saw myself making 6 figures by now. I’m capable but I didn’t let me self show that through college. What can I do now as someone who wants to maybe quit sales? Or can I take this skill and go far with it?

I want to find a job where, with hard work I will get up to 200k+ territory. I am very able to do it, I just need to be in the right place and have the stepping stones there. Should I go back into finance? I don’t even remember anything I learned.

I feel burnt out and lost. All my friends make so much more and they say they barely work (engineers). Do I go back to school?

:(

I don't even use LI. I have some connections from college and never posted. Decided to log in and I apparently have to go through the Persona process because they restricted my account. No idea why. Anyway, have any of you went through this nonsense and verified yourselves?

I'm currently a rising Senior in Managerial Economics and Law, I met an Uber driver from Germany that told me I should look into project management and go for it, his son was able to use that role to find better opportunities and other stuff. He basically told me to focus on a specific area and utilize project management as a tool. It was a complex conversation tbh but he really got me thinking about it. How can someone become a project manager with my degree? Is it recommended to get some entry level experience before jumping into project management? Should I take Google Project management certificate or any other courses?

I'm an undergraduate economics student from University of Delhi, currently entering second year of my 3 year degree, and I want to build a career in finance. I have little to no finance knowledge beyond basic economics.

My goal is to learn from scratch on my own and eventually work in areas like investment banking, asset management, equity research, corporate finance, private equity, or consulting, but I'm still exploring and not really sure which field will be right for me.

Could you recommend:

1. The best order to learn finance from scratch.
2. Books, online courses and certifications worth doing.
3. The skills like accounting, Excel, statistics, and math I should know.
4. Projects or practical work to build skills.
5. Things to keep in mind before starting and while learning, mistakes beginners make.
6. A realistic 2–4 year roadmap that would make me employable.

I'd appreciate advice from people already working in finance. Thanks!

I have 3 years of experience (small sell-side and buy-side firms) and want to move to Europe. I believe I have a better chance of landing a job if I have the MSc behind my name, but I do have the CFA charter.

What would be the best and quickest way to land a role in any country in Western Europe? I have EU citizenship so this isn't an issue, I just grew up outside of the continent.

Hi all,

I have once again been laid off and am having a little bit of a crisis of faith. I've essentially been getting shunted into progressively-better-titled-but-still-underpaid roles for my entire banking career, and at this point I am looking at nine years of experience with very little idea of where to go next.

Here's the very brief summary without posting my full resume.

2017-2019: Universal Banker at local credit union

2019-2021: UB at much larger regional bank (25% pay increase for same job)

2021-2022: Same bank, promoted to RB at branch in very affluent neighborhood, top performer for consumer lending (800% of annual goal hit by June, when I was laid off due to a merger)

2022-2023: Senior RB at even larger regional bank, top performer, once again laid off due to a merger

2023-2024: Client Service Associate at local commercial bank, in training to be promoted to Relationship Manager before - you guessed it - being laid off due to a merger

2024-2026: Commercial Banking Operations at a large regional bank, RMs/sales team would get clients and send them to me and I did everything from product recommendations to account opening. Laid off for unclear reasons (entire department was cut with no notice on a Friday morning, our job tasks have not been reassigned to anyone else, entire process is in shambles apparently).

The problem is that I just don't really know what to do with this resume and experience. The vast majority of positions I am seeing offered that aren't entry-level - ie, that pay what I was making in my last fairly specialized role - seem to require some sort of professional certification that I'd need sponsorship to get (Series licenses, CFP designations, etc) and the ones that will sponsor you are mostly commission-only boiler-room financial firms. I could conceivably go grind it out at one of those firms for a few months, get my licenses, and then dip, but I'd rather not do that.

As far as what I am good at and what I like doing, I am very good at BSA/AML/Audit stuff and was constantly catching red flags and potential fraud at all of these jobs, and I guess I could get my CAFP/CAMS certification without sponsorship. Alternatively, I also really like the aspect of helping people with their money, setting up budgets, and actual financial planning, but, again, I don't really know how to get those certifications in my current state.

TL;DR: what would you do if you were me and you had my resume and were looking for work?

In May, I applied for an off-cycle IB analyst position at Citi NYC. On June 2, a team member invited me to an interview.

The process went very well. After a first-round conversation, I had a second round on June 18 consisting of three back-to-back interviews with increasingly senior people: a VP, a director, and an MD. The director walked me through three open-ended analytical problems and told me directly he was impressed and hoping for good news from the team. The MD, who mentioned she personally leads recruiting for the group, told me there weren't many rounds left and that a decision should come "pretty soon," though she couldn't give an exact timeline because off-cycle hiring is less structured.

Keep in mind that throughout this entire interview process, my application status on Citi Workday remained at "Application Received." This seemed unusual, as based on what I've read, the application status is typically "Business Review" during the interview process.

Then nothing. I sent a polite follow-up on June 29, and another on July 9 asking to be connected with the right HR contact. No response to either.

Here's where it gets strange.

The morning of July 14, I received two automated emails from Citi Workday. The first, at around 8 AM, was a rejection: they would not be moving forward with my application. The second, at around 9 AM, said the opposite: that after review, they were interested in learning more and my application was being considered further.

But the application portal didn't match. Normally, when Citi rejects you, your status changes to "Process Completed" and you get the rejection email. That's what happened every previous time I was rejected by Citi. This time, my status changed to "Business Review," which is an active status indicating a candidacy is still under consideration. And it has stayed there ever since.

I applied to two other Citi positions on July 16. Both were rejected the next day, and both immediately went to "Process Completed" and stayed there, even though those job postings are still live on LinkedIn. That confirmed two things: the status reflects my individual candidacy, not whether the job is still open, and a rejection normally produces "Process Completed."

Working backward from which emails fire on which status changes, it appears that on July 14 my record was first moved to "Process Completed" (triggering the rejection email), and then later moved backward into "Business Review" (triggering the "still being considered" email). That's not a system glitch drifting forward; it's someone deliberately reopening a closed file. And as of July 22, eight days later, it's still sitting in that active state.

My best interpretation is that the team either chose another candidate or paused the hire, which explains the rejection, but then deliberately kept me in an active status rather than closing me out, so they can come back to me if their first choice declines or the position reopens. In other words, I may be held as a backup. But I could be wrong.

What do you think this means? Could someone familiar with Citi's recruitment process shed some light on what this all likely means?

Hey so my division head wants everyone to do ai goals where we talk about how we’re going to incorporate ai into our jobs. The problem is that I spend all day in our portfolio management software (third party) and Bloomberg buying and allocating bonds to clients I manage separately managed accounts for. If Bloomberg and this other software don’t make the ai feature, it’s unclear to me how I would incorporate ai features.

I go days without sending an email sometimes, there’s 2 layers often between me and the actual client.

So far my best idea is to have ai write summaries of sell side research that I’m often too busy to read.

I’m 40 years old, not totally tech stupid, but I’m at a loss what I’m supposed to be using it for at work. Help me spend some tokens (performatively!)

Curious about niche or underrated roles in finance/banking that don’t get talked about much but seem like hidden gems.

For anyone in one of these roles, what is the:

• work-life balance
• stress level
• compensation range
• exit options

I know no role is 10/10 across every dimensions, and a lot depends on the team, firm, and person, but would be interesting to see some insight on which less-discussed roles still seem like attractive long-term careers.

I don't know if it's just me but even after educational knowledge in finance, I feel like I'm lacking behind when it comes to practicality. So anyone (or a group of people) who are up for weekly discussion about any random finance topic in layman terms?

I want it to be super silly. Like why the profit and loss format is the way it is. And like how the balance sheet can show that the company isn't profitable when on books it's showing hefty profit.

It can be a silly finance club.

I am looking to get into Private Banking/Wealth Management/Financial Planning in the UK, and I was advised by a number of colleagues to do this qualification. Those with experience, could you guide me as to whether it would be worth it?

I am eligible for the Level 7 directly, with an exemption for one exam as well, so I wanted to know about that too.

I am based in the UK

Thank you for your time and guidance.

Right now I have an offer to work in Dallas at a BB in wealth management; the role is structured as a financial advisor development program with base around 70+ bonus benefits etc. that role is a 2 year minimum commitment.

I also have an offer to work on a private wealth book in NYC under the same company umbrella, but for an individual advisor as opposed to the institutions clients. The pay is similar in notional value, but obviously that plays out very differently in nyc compared to Dallas. I would rather live in nyc and I know the mobility / networking opportunities are gonna be better, but I would be rolling the dice on that specific teams culture, as well as not having the collegiate culture of working with groups of people similar to me in seniority.

Third, I have a last round interview with a prop firm in Chicago; I did well the first 2 rounds and if I get this job I’ll be paid considerably better, but I know that sub industry is pretty cutthroat and there is a lot of quick turnover. My worry is if I don’t succeed there, either for conditions I fail at or circumstances out of my control, I’ll be SOL and who knows where the job market will be then. Assuming I even get the job lol.

TLDR, balancing 2-3 different offers and not sure how to play it. Or should I just start looking for ER/ non internship cycle roles in nyc

In your opinion, has it shifted from an added plus to a requirement? What are the best internships to get? Or is it based on where you’re planning on recruiting? I would just like to know general thoughts.

Looking for honest opinions.

I’m 30, graduated from a non-target school with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Accounting, have ~4 years of experience (Big 4 + corporate accounting), and I’m pursuing my CPA.

Investment banking has become a long-term goal, and I’m considering a top MBA as my pivot.

Realistically:
Is 30 already too old to make the switch?

Does coming from a non-target make it nearly impossible?

If you were in my shoes, what would you focus on over the next few years?

No sugarcoating… I’d rather hear the truth than false hope.

So I’m 19 entering my junior year of college and turning 20 next month, and I’m a little worried about my chances of even being able to get my foot through the door into high-level finance. I’ve heard so much about the age cutoff of even being able to get in: “It doesn’t make sense for a 24-year-old intern to report to a 23-year-old analyst,” and that worries me because I don’t expect to even be working in the industry until I’m 20, let alone to be interning at a top firm. It feels like I won’t even have a chance to get in.

My current situation:

As I said above, I’m 19 now and will be starting my third year of university(non-target) studying undergrad dual major finance and math(I do plan to pursue an MBA or masters in finance after) and turning 20 next month. I’ve spent this summer studying for FINRA’s SIEs exam and will complete the examination a few days before I turn 20. After, I plan to complete health/life insurance licensing, then start applying for retail banking positions. If I do well and that all goes according to plan, would the jump from retail banking to IB even be possible? Or am I too late? I know people my age at target universities are already interning at large firms, so I feel behind and like I may not even get a chance. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Much love!