What Finance Geeks Don’t Know About Getting a New Job (and pretty much most idiot college kids)

I try to tell my little brothers all the time that the key to getting a job is to network and follow-up with people.  Most type-A college kids who go into Investment Banking and Consulting go through their campus recruiting programs and are thus completely clueless when they are [forced to / choose] to leave the profession.  Getting a job is NOT about going to online job postings (in my experience) - - it is about networking heavily and doing it in an efficient and organized manner.

 

Get your address book out and start contacting your friends and family for help.  The first thing to do is blast email / call your friends and family and let people know that you are looking for a job in the field and that any contacts they could provide would be helpful.  You can and should contact specific people who you know will be more helpful (i.e. your parents because they are obligated to).

 

Now as the contacts start rolling in, remember that the the most important aspect of the approach is that you are not contacting these people to ask for jobs.  It is always better to approach them by asking for advice or an introduction to others in the field you are interested in.  I prefer doing this initially with an email and establishing some sort of common ground.  The idea is to collect information and synthesize it to help you in later discussions. 

 

As you talk to more people your knowledge of the area you are pursuing will grow.  Not only will you then start building better repoire with your contacts by demonstrating knowledge, but you will also be able to narrow the focus on the specific area or company you want to work with as well as the specific people that your contact can help you reach out to.