Hope

Dennis left a comment on the last post that is, I think, especially important:

"I've been doing all those things, but I think you still need to keep some hope. If you don't some hope that your hard will will come into fruition, then there is no point of the hard work."

Thanks for that Dennis - you're absolutely right. While the point of my last post was to remind everybody the importance of not feeling a sense of entitlement, or sitting back and waiting for everything to come to you, it is vital to believe that your hard work will pay off.

I think having a belief, even if it's against all the odds, is what really helped me and many others to get where we are now. Coming from a non-target school (and frankly any school these days), it's easy to feel like there's no point to hard work, that there's no chance for an opportunity. Granted, nobody knows the future and where investment banking will be come next summer, but you just have to believe that if you do all the right things, you will have that chance. If you study, read, network, learn, prove yourself, and prepare, that hope grows into confidence.

There comes a time when you don't have to just hope it will happen - you will be confident that it will actually happen. That's how you want to feel when you go into those interviews - so confident that you know they would be crazy not to give you a job. You know that nobody has prepared more than you for this interview. You know that, if given the chance, you would work harder and smarter than anybody else they can find out there.

Thanks Dennis for the great reminder - we have to hope. In times like these, we have to believe there will be chances for us to do what we really want to do. And that hope can grow into a confidence that will help you to stand out when you actually do get your chance to shine.