The non-core school

I just want to make a few comments about what it’s like coming from a “non-core” school. All of the investment banks have certain target schools that they always actively recruit from. They go on campus and make presentations, then come and interview on campus for spots in the internship. I did not come from a core school, so I want to talk a little about what it was like to get an internship.

If you are not on the core list, it means that you will have to work pretty hard to get a spot at a bank. You have to somehow prove to them that even though you don’t go to a school in the Ivy League, you are still a smart kid with lots of desire and skills to be an investment banker. I think the biggest disadvantage besides not having interviews on campus is just the fact that you have to overcome a stigma that many people have of not being from a well-known business school. But, if you are really smart and know what you’re talking about, you can impress people and still end up in a good spot.

I flew out to New York on my own dime four times in the year leading up to interviews just so I could meet people at different banks and figure out what it is that investment bankers do. I called tons of bankers and sent hundreds of emails. And it wasn’t just me. Everyone from my school who got an internship at an investment bank flew out to New York at least once before interviews started just to network and meet people. If they don’t come to you, you have to go to them.

This really did make a difference and I feel like it proved to people in New York that I was meeting with that I really was serious about this job and I really want it. Plus, it helped me a lot to understand how banks are set up, what analysts do, and how you get from Lehman Brothers in mid-town to Goldman Sachs downtown and back to Morgan Stanley without going the wrong direction on a subway train.

Some banks are pretty closed to outside recruiting, especially in tough markets. Others seem to really emphasize finding the best people regardless of what school they come from. No matter what though, you just have to get your name out there, make sure your resume is perfect, and make sure you can sell yourself and tell your story in 5 minutes or less.

I work with quite a few people who didn’t go to “core” schools, but honestly most of the people I work with went to the Ivy League. Summer Associates just joined my group last week and they are from the following schools: two from Penn (Wharton), one from Harvard Business School, one from Duke, and two from NYU (Stearn). So even with the MBA students it’s mostly just people from the top-10 B-schools. It’s possible to get in from a non-core school, but it’s a lot of work and time to get in the door.