Can You Break Into Wall Street?
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Breaking into Wall Street doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you go about it the right away.
Misconception #1: You need to be a rocket scientist.
People like to think that, but it’s not true at all.
Most of the time, you just need basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - anything beyond that is rare.
Until you actually have a job lined up and you’re about to start working, forget about learning advanced financial modeling: just focus on what you need for interviews.
Investment banking is much more about perspiration than inspiration - as long as you’re a hard worker you can pick up everything you need along the way.
Misconception #2: You need to attend a top university and have perfect grades to break in.
You do get a leg-up with that kind of background, but it’s not required to get into finance.
So what do you “need” to break in? For one, you need to be much more aggressive with your networking efforts, contacting alumni and cold-calling extensively.
And you can’t go for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley if you have less-than-stellar credentials: set your sights lower.
Misconception #3: Goldman Sachs is the only investment bank in existence.
Aim for local boutique banks, and your odds are much better because there’s less competition and it’s easier to stand out.
A much more sensible plan: start somewhere small, spend time there, and then go to a larger firm.
The actual work at large banks and small banks is not much different - but large banks do give you a better brand-name, and access to a wider range of opportunities in finance.
Those are important, but it’s better to get into investment banking anywhere vs. getting no results at all.
Start where you can, and then move up afterward.
Finally, don’t assume that certifications and exams will help you break into Wall Street.
Should you take the CFA? What about the CPA? What about getting Bloomberg certification?
No, to all of the above.
These exams are just excuses to be *active* rather than *productive*.
Rather than exam scores, you should focus on what investment bankers actually care about: work experience, your school, and your networking efforts.
Exams like these are a huge waste of time - your hours would be better spent finding good internships, networking, or both.
Riyan Richter is a Associate Editor to several finance-related news and tutorial sites, including Breaking Into Wall Street and Mergers & Inquisitions. He writes about economic news, the job search, professional advice, and networking.