How do I get the job I really want?

• I want to become an investment banker, badly. After finding out as much as I can about what i-banking actually is, the more I want to do it. There's a short list of about 5-10 "top 40" institutions that I think make a good match in what kind of culture I want, what I'm looking for in a company. I'm a senior (err, graduate a semester early in December). The problem is I'm at a non-top tier college. My grades are good (3.80, which puts me in the top 10%), the school I go to is small, private and well known regionally -- in the midwest. I've talked to numerous people about investment baking and know all the caveats. The 80-hour weeks don't bother me, and everyone who hates it seemed to get into i-banking simply for the money. What's the best way to go for internships? I graduate a semester early in December so I can feasibly do it over the summer. The firms I looked into appear to be "recruiting at school", which are all big name coast schools. I bought a "WetFeet" guide which states somewhat simply that you either need to be Ivy or know someone in the business to get into a big NYC firm. There must be a way around this? Would trying to find work in London be easier or harder? Is the Ivy bias that bad at top firms? My goal is to work in i-banking for several years, get into a top MBA program and then return to i-banking. I've been told that to get into a top MBA program the best thing I can do for myself is get into a top i-banking firm. It's kind of a circular problem. I have a pretty good resume for someone of my age, with extensive corporate experience which I doubt too many people have (lucked into a really good IT job with a lot of responsibility during college, working near full time every week). Some other questions, are internships really that important? They seem least obtainable, albeit a good stepping stone into a future career. This career guide I got also states some firms do have a strong Ivy bias but doesn't list those firms, are the big players pretty exclusionary? How the hell do I land a job at one of those firms? All the firms I'm into say something along the lines of "please stop by our office for more information", and NYC is a fairly expensive trip to go and pick up internship packages. Sorry to be rambling and somewhat broad. All the advice I keep getting is somewhat frusterating, "We'll come to your college! You go to Harvard or Yale right?" There's obviously some hyperbole there, but that's what it's starting to feel like. PS Since I can't respond to questions, would doing a two year stint at a top management firm (Boston, Bain), then MBA, then i-banking be a better route to take?

• Answer:

  I just finished my analyst career at a bulge bracket bank. Feel free to email me at the address in my profile. I came from a school that was way off the recruiting radar for investment banks. Just to answer a few of your questions in the most basic of fashions: Do you need an internship at an i-bank? No. Internships are basically a guarantee of a full-time analyst offer but internships are harder to come by than full-time offers. You just need to do something time-consuming and finance-related. Something interesting is a bonus but by no means required. London? This would be harder if not impossible for a US undergrad. I've only heard of US analyst moving to overseas offices after their second year to do a third. Do you need an ivy league degree? Nope. It makes it easier, but is by no means necessary. Aside from Goldman and Morgan Stanley, a lot of firms are starting to see state school kids as "scrappy" and more than willing to work insane hours. If you want a summer internship, you better get your ass to NYC about now. Resumes drops at NYU have already begun. Whatever you think you know about firm culture and what firms will be a good fit for you is bullshit. There is no way to know and it probably doesn't matter. That's great stuff to use in an interview and you should use it then, but it has no relationship with actual working conditions. Anyway, feel free to email me and I'll answer whatever questions you have in gory-detail.