I graduated college in September with a bachelors in Applied Mathematics and Economics, passed the CFA level 1 in December, level 2 candidate for June 2008…I am trying to get a job as an associate in Equity Research, what is the best way to go about it? I have good qualifications including an SAT score of 1450, then why can I not even get a call back from ANY place? Don’t get me wrong I’m not frustrated, I’m the fighter type but I would like to know how I can change the situation. If anyone can offer advice, I’d be glad.
I think more than anything hiring, especially in research, is pretty bleak right now. I think most banks are trying to scale back recruiting efforts in lieu of the credit crunch/recession. Additionally, I think there are a number of qualified research folk floating around out there due to recent layoffs. A few weeks ago the entire energy research team at BofA was let go (including two II-ranked analysts, I think). My analyst got a call from a headhunter who is trying to place some of the displaced research associates into our energy group. Frankly, if we did have an opening, we’d much rather take an experienced associate that was let go than a fresh college grad. That’s not to say you should stop trying. I just think it will take longer than average to find something.
I got my job in ER by emailing the VP of ER. I knew she was the one making the final decisions for college graduate hires (graduated Dec. 07 Finance/Entrepreneurship). I sent a convincing enough email apparently and she was willing to interview me whenever I was in town. I have almost zero experience with this, but avoid HR and go directly to the person making the final hiring decisions. If you are on the east coast, I know of a position open in Atlanta under a well known analyst. It was available during the spring recruiting season, so I have no idea if its filled or not. Its worth a shot though. Send me an email if you want: Nabil523@gmail.com
I have to agree that in the present market, getting hired into the bulge bracket without any experience will be difficult. It’s a buyers market out there and a lot of qualified people who were let go for no fault of their own are available on the cheap. If you know someone who is looking to fill a position due to attrition, I would work that angle but if you’re looking to send in your resume to a bulge bracket firm, don’t hold your breath. As has been said, most are reducing staff.
preetchawla Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I graduated college in September with a bachelors > in Applied Mathematics and Economics, passed the > CFA level 1 in December, level 2 candidate for > June 2008…I am trying to get a job as an > associate in Equity Research, what is the best way > to go about it? what school? what are you doing these days? why do you want to do research? > I have good qualifications including an SAT score > of 1450, then why can I not even get a call back > from ANY place? 1450 is solid but won’t give you an edge. frankly i’m not even aware that 1450 is a “good qualaification” among pre-MBA’s these days…personally i feel like that is probably at the bottom to middle end of the range. i’d seen a lot of NYU resumes with those kinds of scores, and obviously higher scores and the upper-tier schools > Don’t get me wrong I’m not frustrated, I’m the > fighter type but I would like to know how I can > change the situation. Dermot81 provides a good summary of what’s going on. of course, i no longer work in equity research, but even in my last days at my firm, we received an overwhelming number of resumes from people that either had advanced degrees or prior experience in research. sorry dude, you just have to keep your head in the game and be persistent about it, but i have to go a step further than what Dermot81 said. specifically, he noted that it may take “longer than average” for you to find a gig in research, but i think that is an understatement…the current hiring environment, when taking into account all the recent layoffs across the different banks and most notably BofA/Prudential, just doesn’t favor inexperienced candidates. your best bet at this point would be to keep pounding the pavement and just e-mail people in research…hopefully someone will want to bring you in eventually
Thanks for the response people. I’ll send an email to you Niblita75. Also Numi, I understand its hard but then should I go an alternate route if there is any, rather than be unemployed? I graduated college from UC Davis, I know its not a target school but I can’t control that aspect now. These days I am full on preparing for level 2 and looking for jobs in ER. I want to do ER because I have passion for researching stocks. I have been covering VMW, LPSN, INFY over the last 8 months or so and I really love it. I create my own Excel Spreadsheets to come up with calculations and write reports, 4 so far, just in case someone wanted to see this. As I said, I really have a passion for this and it doesn’t take much effort for me to do it, it just comes out interest. I am trying to tell you the truth rather than give you a convincing argument for the heck of it. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
I think getting any experience in middle-office or front-office finance beats being unemployed. Being unemployed, at least voluntarily, is probably the worst thing you can be doing for your job prospects and for your life. I guess you’re in a different situation if someone is paying the bills for you, but most people don’t have that luxury. Similarly, for that reason, I can’t advise anyone to quit their job in order to look for another one unless they absolutely have to, but I digress… Anyway, I can’t give you any “tricks” for getting into ER…just be persistent and leverage your networks and relationships. I appreciate your frankness and I’m trying to be realistic with you as well. I can’t offer you any other suggestions because your background is very similar to a lot of people trying to get into this biz. You just have to be persistent and continue to persevere.
I wasn’t looking for any shortcuts but after passing L2 if I do so in June, how can that not separate me from the lot. Thats the whole reason I’m doing it, is because I know I have a similar background to many and being from a non target school makes it harder. I’ll keep punching thats for sure.
preetchawla Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wasn’t looking for any shortcuts but after > passing L2 if I do so in June, how can that not > separate me from the lot. Thats the whole reason > I’m doing it, is because I know I have a similar > background to many and being from a non target > school makes it harder. I’ll keep punching thats > for sure. a lot of people pass level 2 so that definitely will not separate you from the lot. importantly, it doesn’t give you a leg up over people who already have work experience, and there are a lot of people that have work experience that are looking for jobs right now. maybe it will help you get into a smaller shop but because you don’t come from a target school and also don’t have finance experience, you will find it difficult to get noticed by any of the larger firms as your background is not one that stands out. i do think passing level 2 will help you get into smaller firms, and you’re definitely better off getting that type of experience than by staying on the outside looking in…i guess you just have to start somewhere. anyway, the biz is still tough to break into and that’s the reality. nobody says it’s impossible to get into research but just don’t underestimate how challenging it is. but i guess that’s not an issue, because even by your own recognition, you have a similar background to many, and this lack of differentiation on your part will require you to persevere if you hope to get into the biz.
Preetchawla, Also remember that there is sell-side equity research outside of the BB firms. Not sure what’s out there in Cali, but firms like Stifel Nicolaus, Jefferies, BB&T, etc. all have decent size research departments and have a fair amount of turnover among the associates. I was hired at Stifel after passing Level I although I did have prior financial experience, just not in equity research. Good luck with your search!
I’m in ER with a major BB firm - the rumour I am hearing is that there’s a freeze on hiring at the moment, and management is looking at potential headcount reductions. I’ve also noticed quite a few people from our India office around here studying what associates are doing. Basically, if you want a position in ER, you should go to India, because that’s where I think our jobs will be heading.
I guess this all goes back to the “is BB sell-side research dying in North America and Europe” question. If so…there are only so many buy-side shops and boutique shops to go around…
Interesting on the India trend, are these the same jobs being filled in Indian offices, same banks etc? Does anyone know a good headhunter in Mumbai/Bangalore they have experience with?
I was in a similiar position as you last year, looking for jobs in Equity Research. At that time I passed CFA level 2 but had very little experience in the field. I managed to land a couple of interviews at BB banks, so I think I can offer you some useful advice. First thing, CFA level2 counted very little in my application process and interview process, so don’t bank your hopes of getting an interview in passing the exam. CFA only matters if you get the charter. Now, what you need to do to stand out is to show them initiative in teaching yourself about equity research, even though you have no experience in the field. You mentioned that you have followed a couple of stocks in the pass 8 months, and that is a very good start. Now you need to formalize your work - compile your research into a succint report, stating your recommendation for the stock and your reasoning and logic that backs-up your recommendation, along with a financial model (if you don’t know how to do this, start teaching yourself) After you have all the materials ready, and have come up with a good story to sell yourelf, start contacting the ibanks. Do some research and find out the name,email, and direct line of the Analyst of the sector you are interested in, or the head of research if you don’t have a sector preference. Spend a day on google and you should be able to find out most of this information. Next step, send out a email with your resume, research report, and financial model, stating at the end of the email that you will call in a couple of days to follow up. Then call the guy up a couple of days later, reminding them who you are, and ask if they have any openings that you can fit in. Hope this helps Good Luck
BB I work for is hiring but given the job market and level of demand, most analyst are looking for research experience. Heck, my group turned down a candidate with banking experience, although this was mostly due to fit. It’s a bleak picture, but I’m just painting the reality of the current landscape.
dont forget that ur chances at middle-market banks like Stifel are NIL if you need H1 or any kind of visa sponsorship. trust me, i worked for them in ER and I was let go coz I didn’t make the 2007 lottery. their management doesn’t have a global mindset at all, and their only international employee i know of is in their indianapolis regional brokerage office that came to them as part of the macdonald investments buyout.
niraj_a Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dont forget that ur chances at middle-market banks > like Stifel are NIL if you need H1 or any kind of > visa sponsorship. trust me, i worked for them in > ER and I was let go coz I didn’t make the 2007 > lottery. > > their management doesn’t have a global mindset at > all, and their only international employee i know > of is in their indianapolis regional brokerage > office that came to them as part of the macdonald > investments buyout. wow - sorry to hear that…i had heard this happen to a couple of people at the smaller banks too, but i wasn’t sure if this was normal or just exceptional situations. why is it that they won’t sponsor your visa? is it just that economically unfeasible for the firm? i admit that i don’t know much about the visa process, so your insights would be appreciated. btw, what are you up to now? did you decide to stay in finance, or move onto something else?
numi, well they are - 1) cheap, even though the process costs only USD 2-3k which is 100% reimbursed if something goes astray. 2) don’t want to deal with the hassle for the sake of 1-2 employees. they have 3 small institutional equity sales teams in europe that came as part of acquisitions too and they didn’t want to deal with sending me there due to economic unfeasability, even when there was a near-guaranteed visa available. and this is even though my peers and managing directors gave me outstanding reviews. for now, i’m a consultant for my alma mater - indiana university in their auxiliary accounting group. i’m responsible for overseeing the financial statements for units that are part of the univ. that make money, such as housing, parking, bookstores etc. so its a financial control/consulting position. looking actively into mba school to get outta here and on to wall street hopefully. what do you do? have you finished L2?
hi niraj, i just did cfa level 1 and that’s it. i used to work in equity research for several years but recently moved to private equity. sorry to hear about what happened at your old firm, but if that happened, it’s probably not the kind of firm you want to be at anyway, at least for the long haul. good luck with the business school apps!
Even with the all talk of “firms not hiring” you guys are making it seem easy to get into ER. Due to my lack of success thus far, it seems like one needs more then luck to get in and more then basic credentials (this includes passing all 3 levels, maybe even a graduate degree, with excellent experience).