Getting a Foot in the Door

One of the most common e-mail questions I get is of the following type:
"Hi my name is XXXXX. I go to a no name college, so I find it difficult to make my way into a bulge bracket firm. How would you suggest I approach my job search to maximize my chances of landing a job at a bulge bracket?"

I figured I'd address this question because it is, indeed, a difficult one. Bulge brackets recruit heavily at top schools. The banking and s&t analyst/associate programs are like a who's who in the Ivies. So how do others make it on the street? A lot of big shots on the street are from (forgive my wording) "lesser" schools.

Unfortunately I can't help on the i-banking side too much. One good thought is going to a boutique firm first. A lot of boutique firms pay more than bulge brackets anyway (Jeffries comes to mind). In addition, a lot of boutique guys end up in bulge brackets (that move is what we call a buy-out). There is a good reason as to why i-banking is much harder to get into for people who did not go to an Ivy league school. A big part of i-banking is relationships, and it's just fact that people at Ivy league schools are better connected. Better connected people eventually bring in the bigger deals (if you go to Harvard, how many CEOs do you think you'll know in 25 years as opposed to the guy who went to podunk university?).

On the s&t side it's more about your risk taking skill and intelligence. Granted it's still heavily Ivy league weighted, but there's more of an "equal-opportunity" ground here. As a few of my bosses have said, "the market is the great equalizer. You can think whatever you want, but your PnL tells all. The markets are very humbling."

A whole lot of people who are top sales/trading folks are not from Ivies. I think it's because they are often hungrier. They've got something to prove. The hungriest, I've found, are those who come from humble beginning and fought their way into an Ivy and onto the Street. Those guys are fierce. But anyway, I diverge. How do these guys get onto the desk? A whole lot of them started in middle office or risk, actually. That's where you learn how the guys take risk or make sales. It's where you learn the ropes, get a "street" education and figure out how to work the system.

Don't be afraid to take a middle office or risk position for a few years if you're interested in sales and trading. It's a great breeding ground, and the best always make it onto a desk. You just need to want it that much, have the patience necessary of a good front office guy and be aggressive in your climb to the top.