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Resume/job application advice


okonomi

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to everyone that has pm'd me about my resume and has not received a pm back:

i am updating my resume cause ya boy has just finished up an internship and will be starting one (hopefully) in the summer.

ill let you know when its ready and hopefully it has helped the people i have pm'd in the past.

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for future consultants / bankers / hedge funders etc

this website has been very useful for case prep www.caseinterview.com

Case questions are good for consulting, maybe banking. If you are going for a hedge fund job (or any s&t job), just go buy a book of trick probability questions. I hear people talking about trading interviews every day and 95% of the questions asked in the interviews are just about expected values. Also, www.glassdoor.com is a good place to see which questions specific firms are asking.

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Welp, I just got the internship, with my "more than a bit low" gpa.

The extent your GPA matters really depends on your industry, and like I've stated before it was due to one bad first semester, not me being a slacker. Experience matters way more in my desired industry.

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So, kind of a tough situation here.

I have a lunch meeting with the senior accountant at a small consulting firm. My intended major is accounting, and my intentions of meeting with this guy is to get an internship at the firm. The owners of the firm are parents of one of my friends/classmates. Because it's a small firm, I'm not getting the vibe they want or need an intern. During the email exchange between myself and my friend's mom (owner), she invited me to the office, to "meet the staff, learn more about their business practices, and ask any questions that I may have" and proceeded to list off dates in which they were available. Today she said that she would have her senior accountant take me out to lunch next Tuesday.

How the hell am I supposed to turn this lunch meeting, into a possible internship???

Side note: what the fuck do I wear?

TL DR version; have lunch meeting with senior accountant at small consulting firm. how do i hint at an internship?

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breh, you don't want to be overt about it. my philosophy about this is to be aggressive (not pushy) and to "butter up" the relationship.

go to the lunch meeting with du. people love talking about themselves. charm him, make him laugh. it's almost as if you're gonna fuck him (pause). ask questions about how he got to where he is, his life/wisdom/likes/dislikes/knowledge, alla dat. keep the conversation going. be genuinely interested in him.

when the lunch ends, thank him for his time and ask him for his contact info. shoot him a thank you e-mail afterwards. let a few weeks go by and update him as to what's going on in your life. then pop the question: "i'm currently looking for an internship. how do you recommend i best position myself for a ____ position at your firm?" attach your resume. while you wait for a response, start applying to other places.

PS - wear a suit. there's no excuse to not look like a boss. i'm assuming this is all for an unpaid internship, right?

Edited by ohsnap
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Guest glasses

i agree with most of what ohsnap said, but dont wear a suit. consulting firms are already pretty casual, and you dont want to be overdressed for an informal meeting. i think an oxford/button up and slacks would be fine

Edited by glasses
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ah, but i also assumed that this was at a restaurant/cafe. if it's actually in-office i'd say go full on "business casual." if its outside the office use your best judgment and dont order the most expensive thing on the menu (or the cheapest!)

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just spoke with the daughter. she said they wear suits in the office, so I guess i'll be wearing a suit/tie. luckily she says that everyone there is chill and younger, so I'm a bit less nervous.

definitely need to fix up and update my resume still, as well as prepare a list of questions to ask the senior accountant. thanks for all the help thus far.

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Ahh! I hate cover letters. Haha, but they are truly useful if you don't have an immediate "in" with the company. There are tons of sites online about them, but here's my take on the format: (I'll use analyst as a generalist term)

To Whom it May Concern: (Definitely use Mr/Ms. _____ if you know who'll be reading)

I read about your analyst position on [Company]'s Careers site, and I am very interested. I have been spending the last ____ years/months/time pd as a ____, and I find that this position is directly relatable.

The analyst position requires excellent organizational skills (or whatever). While working as _____, I [solve a problem] by _____.

[Maybe another paragraph about this]

I am very interested in the analyst position because ____. I believe that I have the right combination of ____/____/acrobatics to perform well in the industry. Thank you for your consideration.

sincerely,

Mr. T

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As you can see, my version of the cover letter is Extremely stock. This is virtually the skeleton of what I send out everywhere (I'm looking for a job in Investment Research currently). The fill in the blanks portions are obviously the most important. You have to really think about what you did in school (if just out of undergrad) or most recently in work. Typically, I say not to use life experiences unless it's directly relevant. No one want to read about your skydiving trip, but you could save that for the interview to show you're a little different/not boring.

Just so we're clear, the purpose of the cover letter serves as protocol, a teaser, and a gap filler:

It's protocol because some hiring mgrs or HR may be the type that requires it. "They have to put in a little effort to be considered..."

It's a teaser because it's not a regurgitation of your resume. It gives character to you and says "Hey, this person may be qualified/interesting. Let me read more." I your cover letter completely sucks, they may never get to your resume at all.

It's a gap filler because it tells about yourself in full sentences, not bullet points. Think about it: if these are jobs you really want, you should be able to say "I really want this position, and this is why:". The cover letter allows you to back up those reasons.

OK that's what I've got. I'm sure I've missed good pointers, but these are my feelings. Granted, I'm no huge stud who tears through interviews or anything. But I do feel like I've started to be able to play the game a little better recently.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

got a pretty serious finance and accounting competition coming up and as a graduating student i'm not sure of what approach to take towards employers

pretty confident i'll do well so that's that

but should i just hand out resumes to people i meet? collect business cards and follow up later?

my school is sponsored by an accounting firm and the chartered accountants of quebec but i'm in finance so no luck there

TL;DR: i'm a networking noob but i'm talkative and fun, help

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i talk like i regularly do to these "professionals" (lol, everybody's a professional nowadays)

whenever they're talking about their careers, make sure you have googly eyes. think about it: don't you like getting fellatio, whodi? ~nh~

and i slip in a "swag" every once in a while. i'm not joking.

and yes, get that business card. and compliment him/her on the fantastic raised lettering.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Phone interviews are tough. If you are contacted directly, I suggest being friendly in a professional manner. In in-person interviews, you can get away with more (like making a good joke when appropriate). On the phone, it can get lost easily.

In phone interviews, just try to come off as a nice guy/gal who's interested in the job and a hard worker. I don't think there's a big make or break factor. They're likely either phoning a lot of people and your chances are slim anyway or it's just a phone screen to make sure you're not a jackass.

Either way, (I gotta say it) just be yourself. Ask yourself "is that something an idiot would say?" and say the opposite.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys,

I have been unemployed for about a month now and I think I really need to clean up my resume. I was hoping someone could help me out cause I really think my resume is quite unimpressive (something someone would look like and say 'boring' and pass) so if someone could please p.m something i would appreciate it. cause im burning through my savings quite quickly.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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