Career advice for finance major?
April 15th, 2008 | by admin |Steve asked:
I am going to be a junior at Michigan State University in the fall and I have high aspirations of becoming an investment banker. My GPA is around a 3.3. What should I do to further improve my chances throughout the next 2 years? Aside from a good GPA and Internships what else looks good? Study Abroad? Regional finanace associations? Any suggestions will help because I am clueless
I am going to be a junior at Michigan State University in the fall and I have high aspirations of becoming an investment banker. My GPA is around a 3.3. What should I do to further improve my chances throughout the next 2 years? Aside from a good GPA and Internships what else looks good? Study Abroad? Regional finanace associations? Any suggestions will help because I am clueless
One Response to “Career advice for finance major?”
By tangek on Apr 15, 2008 | Reply
I work for a Wall St firm, and getting a job as an investment banker is quite challenging. Suggestions:
— Most firms will only look at your resume if your GPA is 3.5 or higher. So study and work on your grades.
— You need to be able to comfortably discuss the basics of financial statements and discounted cash flow analysis, so be sure to keep your mind fresh on those topics.
— Quality is better than quantity on your resume. Pick 1-2 interesting clubs or activities and work on a leadership position, win an award, or something to advertise on your resume. People will want to discuss something during interviews. Study abroad, sports team captain, investment club (know your performance), etc. are all good examples, but you are better off focusing your energies on 1 or 2 items only.
— Network, network, network. Michigan must have a career center with an alumni contact list. Find alumni who joined i-banks and email them for advice. Knowing someone and being able to talk specifics about the lifestyle, deal accomplishments, etc can be really helpful.
Good luck!!