Does anyone here work in institutional finance? like merchant banking, commercial banking, i-banking, sales and trading or mergers and acquisitions?

I'm applying for some internships and have a couple questions.

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My greatest accomplishment in life is that I've lived this long.

yeah i do.

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http://www.bash.org BASH DOT ORG WHORE All those who believe in Telekenesis raise my hand.

yeah i've been in the banking field for about 17 years now. what can I help you with?

quote:

Originally posted by Sunsnail yeah i've been in the banking field for about 17 years now. what can I help you with?

n00b!

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What kind of questions do you have?

Just general questions about the industry and the application process. Been sifting through Vault message boards... guides.. everything I can get my hands on

If you're on MSN you can get me at [email protected]

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My greatest accomplishment in life is that I've lived this long.

Right now the most pressing question is 'sector and geographic preference'. I'm in Canada (If that even matters) and the certain analyst positions are asking for sector and geographic preferences in the cover letter. Is it okay to state that I have no preference? Or would that seem unresearched and unprofessional?

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My greatest accomplishment in life is that I've lived this long.

Unprofessional.

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Originally posted by psychosomatica Right now the most pressing question is 'sector and geographic preference'. I'm in Canada (If that even matters) and the certain analyst positions are asking for sector and geographic preferences in the cover letter. Is it okay to state that I have no preference? Or would that seem unresearched and unprofessional?

Ideally, unless you do not wanna leave Canada, you should apply for financial positions in places like New York and Chicago.

I majored in finance and was planning on moving to NY before I decided to head to law school. But once I'm done with school, I'll probably move up there.

I've been told by some MBAs (I'm undergrad) that I should just call up NY institutions.. tell them "I'm in the area" on certain dates and send them a resume. To be honest, from the literature I've encountered, it's near impossible for a non-Ivy student to intern with the likes of GS, Blackstone or MorganStanley, let alone a foreign-educated one...

I DO intend, however, to end up in a New York office... some day.. *dreams away*


edit: To be more specific with my questions, I think they're just referring to Canadian offices that I'd like to be posted in. Sector preference is what really bothers me. I KNOW what sectors they cover, but honsetly have no preference. They ask for your preferences on the cover letter and I don't want it to affect my chances negatively if I am indifferent to the industry.

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My greatest accomplishment in life is that I've lived this long.

You are screwed. There are hundreds of finance/accounting/engineering graduates in Canada who are in your situation and would love to work in the US at one of the top tier investment banks (GS, ML, UBS etc.)

Consider this, there are 8000+ Canadians who are taking the CFA exam each year plus the 6300 chartholders.

Not to mention, the thousands of foreigners applying to the top 15 US MBA programs.

quote:

Originally posted by psychosomatica I DO intend, however, to end up in a New York office... some day.. *dreams away*

Charles Schwab is hiring !