this is a living document that I will regularly update, so please provide me with feedback and questions <3

Application form varies— apply via external portal/hiring form.

FIRST STEP: Have a personal elevator pitch; be able to walk someone through your resume in under a minute. Practice makes perfect! [something I learned from Goldman Sachs!]

Optimize LinkedIn aka ”your professional instagram”

• clear, presentable profile picture
• header title: your first opportunity to display your skillset
  • lead with your value add (i;e ‘Investment Banking Intern’ rather than just ‘Intern’; ‘4.0 Student at ‘X’ school, instead of just student)’.
    • when I changed my title from ‘Analyst’ to ‘Investment Banking Analyst’ I received way more traction.
  • industry leaders may get several connection requests per day. it may not appear significant, but your header can be the determining factor in someone’s decision to connect with you.
• input your relevant work and volunteer experience, using very summarized role descriptions (1-2 brief sentences)

Research Industry

• study technicals/material relevant to the industry. your personal connection outreach should be almost strictly about a company’s requirements and culture, not basic info that you can seek on your own. you must give the impression that you are independently intellectually curious and passionate about the subject matter.

Network:

• find individuals that are a few years advanced into the role at various other companies, schedule phone calls to get to know the industry at a base level (see: baseline coffee chat questions)
  • note: you will find more success cold-contacting someone who is an alumnus of your school or from your hometown
  • use a diverse sample size: individuals 2 years into the industry, 20 years into the industry, some may look like you and others may not. the more diverse the more knowledge you stand to gain.
• connect with individuals in the team at that company, get to know more about their experience as well with baseline coffee chat questions
• utilize LinkedIn to find team leadership
  • send a “personalize invite” connection to the director of the team: “Good morning/afternoon _____, I have applied for the open role on your team and would love to connect.”
  • if you are not able to identify key leaders, meet with whomever you can and then ask them for that info.

Magnetic Networking:

• don’t only network when you want something, network all the time. create business friendships with people that inspire you and are invested in your personal journey. you will gain the most from people that may appear to not have anything tangible to offer at the moment— they can show you subtle cues of success that you can adopt before you get the job, and they may even have you back of mind when an opportunity comes up down the line

Be Intentional:

• although at times it may feel like you should cover all bases, try not to just apply any and everywhere with an open role. think of your background (educational/geographical/professional) as your “personal story”. gather details of your story and identify skillsets that you’ve gained from various environments and experiences in your life, and how they may carry into the role. get creative and be brief.
• if you are commenting on every LinkedIn hiring post, others will see that and may perceive that you are not as serious about one specific industry as you may claim to be.

Be Courteous

• thank your interviewers for their time and recap on something that they shared with you which you found interesting