Owner: Mergers & Inquisitions URL:http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/ Join Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:20:33 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Get a job in investment banking. Resume, interview and job search tips for the finance industry. Learn how to get a job in the industry and then maintain your sanity once you do. Site statistics:Click here
Staying Healthy While Staring At A Computer 18 Hours A Day 2007-12-13 16:30:25 “I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. I’m 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now.”
-Patrick Bateman, “American Psycho” (2000)
Back in the day, it was easy for investment bankers to stay fit. If you’re anything like Patrick Bateman here, can you too use a combination of diet, rigorous exercise, stomach crunches and facial cream to stay fit and look young?
Probably not. Banking is a massive change from your student lifestyle (and Bateman is a fictional character). Those convenient breaks in between classes when you went running or went to the gym no longer exist. Now you have coffee breaks where you go to Starbucks and get 200 calorie lattes. And you have those $30/night dinners where you almost feel Read more:Computer
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Breaking And Entering Into Finance, Part I: The Engineer 2007-12-03 19:00:17 “It’s something very personal, a very important thing. Hell! It’s a family motto. Are you ready Jerry? I wanna make sure you’re ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. SHOW! ME! THE! MONEY! Jerry, it is such a pleasure to say that! Say it with me one time, Jerry.”
-Rod Tidwell, “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
If you’re anything like Rod here, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Part I of “Breaking
And Entering Into Finance”, a series on how to get into finance from a non-finance background. I find myself answering this question a lot, possibly because I’m from a non-finance background myself. Or maybe just because everyone wants to get into finance.
Today I’m going to focus on the engineer. How you can leverage your technical background to land the job of your dreams as a monkey in the jungle of finance? As a technical person right out of school, you have two ways of breaking in:
Get an investment
Welcome To Mergers & Inquisitions 2007-11-26 15:00:09 Welcome to Mergers & Inquisitions. Want to get into the finance industry? You’ve come to the right place. Curious about what it is investment bankers actually do (well, besides make a lot of money)? Welcome. Trying to figure out if investment banking is really for you? Bingo.
Whether you’re still in school and trying to break in or you’re out in the real world already and trying to transition in, you’ve come to the right place. Mergers & Inquisitions provides frank, easy to understand advice that can’t be found elsewhere. Unlike existing resources, we provide how-to guides with real examples of what to do and what not to do. And since we’re not sponsored by corporations, we’re free to tell the truth.
You’ll definitely be entertained by what you read here, but we’re not trying to be a comedy site. Instead, we’re providing practical information that won’t make you want to fall asleep out of boredom.
To ki Read more:Welcome
Contact 2007-11-25 17:12:36 Since the author would like to keep his job (at least for now), he will have to remain anonymous. Feel free to email him.
About 2007-11-25 17:07:06 Mergers & Inquisitions was launched after the author realized the web lacked good, free resources on investment banking, finance jobs and career advice in general for college students and recent graduates.
Most existing guides such as the Vault Guide To Finance Interviews or the Wet Feet guide are dry and don’t have much in the way of frank, practical advice with concrete examples. They’re also so boring that you may want to poke out your eyes after reading them (just kidding :). There are some high-quality finance-related sites and blogs out there, like Leveraged Sellout, Wall Street Oasis, and several others, but these have a different focus from what we’re doing here.
Since the author would like to keep his job (at least for now), he will have to remain anonymous. Feel free to email him.
How To Get An Investment Banking Job 2007-11-25 14:58:48 Ah, yes, so after deep and thoughtful consideration you’ve decided you want to spend the next few years of your life as an investment banker. Although in some countries I might be legally obligated to stop you, I won’t. In fact I’ll show you how, in three simple steps:
Get the attention of recruiters and get your foot in the door.
Make a resume that stands out and get an interview.
Nail your interviews and land the offer.
Your Foot In The Door
“I opened the doors for you… showed you how the system works… the value of information… how to *get it*! Fulham oil, Brant resources, geodynamics and this is how you pay me back you COCKROACH!”
-Gordon Gekko, “Wall Street” (1987)
If only everyone applying for finance jobs had Gordon Gekko to open the doors for them. But most of us don’t, which is why we need a strategy for getting a foot in the door ourselves.
The strategy you use depends greatly on your background. And there
Q&A On Investment Banking Topics 2007-12-21 18:31:53 Continuing this week’s theme of other people generating content, today I’ll post a few of the questions I’ve received so far from readers. Hopefully these will be applicable to many of you out there looking for answers on investment banking, getting into finance, or changing careers. More original content next week when I (hopefully) don’t have to work 120 hours… that would be a pretty bad Christmas.
Interview Questions For Prospective Senior Hires
“Do you know what types of questions are asked of Senior Associates or Vice Presidents when they are interviewing for lateral positions? I am quite certain that the bulk of questions are focused on deal experience, however, what do you think the most commonly asked questions are? I ask because I am wondering how much I need to focus on the details of my previous deals and if I should review all the documents or look over the Definitive Agreements… I want to be well-prepared but don’t want
Investment Banking Background Checks 2008-03-10 04:20:17 The general rule of thumb is this: don't lie and especially don't put any lies in writing on your resume or on the background check form.
This sounds simple, but there's a lot of subtlety when you consider "gray areas" - slight GPA inflation, exaggerating previous jobs, omitting jobs, and more.
Investment Banking Exit Opportunities: The Myth Of The Buyside Job 2008-03-03 06:00:39 “Before I became so fervent about Private Equity, I thoroughly considered all my other career options: hedge funds and VC.”
-Hicks Musings, The Leveraged Sellout
One common question I’ve been getting lately goes something like this:
“Inquisitor, I just started as a freshman at Harvard. I am majoring in economics and finance and I’m in the stock market [...] Read more:Opportunities
February 2008: Month In Review 2008-02-29 04:00:33 For new Mergers & Inquisitions readers, I thought it might be helpful to do a recap of February
2008, just as I did for January 2008 and December 2007.
The investment banking internship recruiting season continued in full force in February 2008, and many readers asked questions on how to decide on summer internship offers and [...] Read more:Month
Networking Your Way Into Investment Banking Jobs 2008-02-25 04:00:39 Your best starting point for getting investment banking interviews are your friends and acquaintances already in the industry. If you went to a 4-year University in the US, chances are you know at least a few people in the financial services industry.
The Investment Banking Superday Interview Guide 2008-02-19 06:00:50 “If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate. “
-Sun Tzu
With every investment bank out there well into summer recruiting season, I’ve been getting questions not only on how to judge offers but also on how to prepare for superday interviews and what [...] Read more:Guide
The Worst Time To Be An Investment Banker: Friday At 4 PM 2008-02-15 06:00:55 All the senior bankers do their planning for the next week on Friday
at 4 PM. Suddenly, they'll remember those Monday/Tuesday meetings they had planned the whole week but somehow forgot to tell you about. And the pitch or board presentation on Tuesday that they also conveniently forgot to tell you about. Read more:Banker
What Should I Do With My Bear Stearns Investment Banking Offer? 2008-03-17 03:00:53 So, what should you do? Perhaps start speaking with boutiques and middle-market firms where you know people. Don't even try for other bulge brackets unless you have a killer connection that can get you in at this late stage. Read more:Bear Stearns
, Offer
, Stearns
Bear Stearns Episode 2: The Shareholders Strike Back 2008-03-19 04:48:30 The reality is no one knows what's going on. Neither the CEOs of the companies, the Fed, nor any of the Managing Directors know what's going to happen.
Will people be fired? Yes. But no one knows how many, who, or when, and anyone else saying otherwise is simply spreading false rumors. Read more:Bear Stearns
, Episode
, Shareholders
, Stearns
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Private Equity Interviews In 3,000 Words 2008-04-07 07:00:23 Ah, private equity. The promised land. What you slave away for as a banker: the chance to become the next Steve Schwarzman. But unless you have an inside connection with Steve himself, you'll have to go through a few interviews to get to paradise. Read more:Equity
, Interviews
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, Private Equity
, Words
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