I-Banking: A Shrinking MBA Option

BUSINESS SCHOOL CLASSES GOING INTO INVESTMENT BANKING & THE MONEY MBAS MAKE

What does it take to land a job at one of the so-called bulge bracket banks–Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan/Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Citi, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse–or one of the elite boutiques–Evercore, Moelis & Co., Qatalyst Partners, Lazard?

“At the MBA level, the expectation is that candidates are much more focused and targeted,” says Sandra Buchanan Hurse, head of talent acquisition for global banking and markets at Bank of America. “Therefore, it is valuable for them to participate in activities that support their career aspirations such as investment banking or sales and trading clubs. On campus, we find that many students sign up for those clubs based on where they see themselves developing their careers, whether or not they’re on the same career path they had before business school or if they are switching careers.”

Relationship building is critical. “We are a relationship-driven business,” adds Hurse (see What Bank of America Seeks In An MBA Hire). “The more contact you have with professionals from the bank the better. That contact can be through face-to-face meetings or by leveraging professional networking sites and email. If we’re out on campus, candidates should make sure they are building relationships [with us]. Candidates should be putting themselves in situations where they will have more than one touch point with the bank and whenever there is an opportunity to meet someone from the bank they should take advantage of it.”

And a summer internship, moreover, is pretty much standard because the banks want to try you out before making a full-time hire. Shinewald says the three most important traits are:

1. Strong analytical skills and detail orientation

“You must be comfortable with numbers, analyses, and finance. Paying attention to details is a must as well. Errors in financial models or even presentations could make or break a potential transaction. When applying, ensure your resume, cover letter, email correspondence, and all interactions are error free.”

2. Excellent communication skills

“Banks look for candidates who can communicate persuasively—how else do you convince CEOs to sign multimillion-dollar deals? Being able to effectively describe your background and why you want the job will help demonstrate your communication skills.”

3. Ability to pass the “airport test”

“You must be more than just a number-crunching machine. You need to be likable, someone with whom others would not mind spending more than 100 hours a week—or, at worst, being stranded at an airport.”