There are a few caveats, however. The less "brand-name" your school, the stronger your academic and extracurricular record must be in order to win an investment banking or management consulting interview (except in the areas of sales and trading). In particular, academic performance standards are higher for students from schools that a firm does not actively target in its recruiting process. At the MBA level, name brand is even more important; investment banking divisions and consulting firms typically do not hire associates from business schools outside the top tier. Also, if you have absolutely no quantitative courses on your transcript, expect to be grilled more heavily on your quantitative abilities or business interest during an interview. You should emphasize any business summer experience you've had.
Critical Skills
When asked about the candidates they hire, bankers and consultants at any firm will mention a few characteristics again and again. We can call these "critical skills" because they are the fundamental qualities you need to demonstrate to get a banking or consulting job. Do you think you have these qualities? What examples would you use to show that you do? Here's what recruiters mean when they say they're looking for ...
Analytical Skills: Intelligent; able to find patterns and causal relationships in what appears to be unrelated data; creates hypotheses to drive research; uses clear and logical thinking; draws on past experience to solve problems; applies a creative approach to come up with solutions.
Business Sense: Entrepreneurial; stays current on major business developments; intuitively understands basic business dynamics; and converses easily about business issues.
Capacity for Continuous Development or Quick Learner: Solicits and is open to feedback; humble; wants to improve himself; learns from mistakes.
Communication Skills: Listens carefully to understand others; uses tactful phrasing and timing when communicating; has a good sense for what people mean; understands how he or she is being perceived.
Integrity: Does not waver on ethical issues; has basic respect for other individuals; is able to maintain confidentiality; follows through on commitments; has high ethical standards.
Interpersonal Skills: Mature; avoids turning business issues into personal issues; genuinely interested in other people; can get along with people from a range of backgrounds; positive in attitude; keeps cool under pressure; thinks before leaping; open-minded; able to put things in perspective.
Leadership Skills: Has influence; can make decisions quickly; provides leadership in situations where there is none; understands individuals' positions on issues and how to influence them; able to take risks; takes action when necessary; sets clear goals; rallies people around a shared objective; believes that every problem is surmountable.
Motivation and Energy: Enthusiastic; has a "can-do" attitude; has high performance standards; motivates others; willing to work long hours; organizes work effectively; detail-oriented; willing to do grunt work, or unglamorous work.
Quantitative Skills: Can apply quantitative thinking to analysis of issues; understands quantitative relationships in business; comfortable performing simple math mentally; some academic training in math.
Team Player: Likes to work in teams; sensitive and willing to help others; knows when to be a leader and when to be a follower; puts group's priorities before own; shares credit for joint work.
Do not worry if it seems at first that you don't meet these criteria. Most successful candidates don't really possess all these characteristics-many of these skills and characteristics are learned once you've actually started working. But packaging yourself as someone who has these characteristics or the potential to develop them is the difference between receiving a job offer or not.
Associates
The fundamental difference between associates (hired from graduate school) and analysts (hired from university) is time horizon. Associates are expected to have the same critical skills as analysts yet also have qualities that will allow them to be successful in a long-term career at the firm. They should be able to be future leaders of the firm.
- Managerial ability: Associates will need to manage teams of analysts almost immediately. It helps if a candidate is able to show some previous management experience and teamwork or a strong potential to be a good manager.
- Sales ability: Good salesmanship is important in both banking and consulting, because in a few years, associates are expected to start bringing in business. A corollary to this is that prior industry experience helps in consulting-potential clients are more impressed by someone who actually understands their industry or who has had years of general management experience.
- Leadership: The firm has to be able to see you as a future managing director, someone who can inspire and influence at the firm. Evidence of unusually rapid career advancements prior to business school will help your candidacy.
- Commitment: Since they will invest money and time into training a new associate, firms prefer associates who say they will stick around for the long run.
If you're applying to an investment bank, you should demonstrate:
- A cultural fit with investment banking: In addition to the critical skills, banks seek people who will get along with clients and colleagues-people who are extroverted, sociable, well rounded, and not eccentric. Bankers perform more work alongside their colleagues than consultants, who can spend days working alone on their own separate piece of work. Banks hire many former athletes because they view team sports as good training for the type of teamwork and leadership that banking entails.
- Enthusiasm for investment banking and the thrill of the transaction: Investment bankers like to hear that you really want to be an investment banker. The hours are brutal and an interest in the job is what keeps you going.
- Thick skin: Certain areas of the bank, particularly the trading floor, are harsh environments where there is little time to think about how to say things. Communication tends to be blunter and less "touchy-feely" than in consulting.
- Some understanding of finance: Investment banking focuses on financial issues in which deep, specialized knowledge is important. On the other hand, banks provide less training than consultancies throughout an employee's career because it is harder to pull bankers away from the office for dedicated training time. Therefore, the more you can demonstrate previous knowledge of business and finance, the better off you'll be.
- Strong quantitative skills: Banking work tends to be fairly quantitative, and you'll hear that you're supposed to "be comfortable with numbers" in order to do the work. Your grades in quantitative classes will be scrutinized more carefully.
