How to make it when you're not the typical WASP?

Denzera
Fri, 25 May 2007 10:07:54 +0000

Interesting profile - sounds like the key is to get noticed, rather than to expand your business-skills toolbox. You should find out if any top firms recruit at your school. If not, it’s very hard to get noticed in the pile of “external” apps. For top banks, there are usually positions that are posted on their website, but the kinds of positions that would interest you tend to get filled either by recruiting at top schools, or via recruiters. If you can get your resume in to various top recruiters out there (think Glocap and the like), you may stand a shot.

As an alternative you suggested, a few top programs in the US offer one-year “Financial Engineering” masters degrees, which are typically interpreted as math/quant-driven subjects but will at least get your foot in the door with most financial institutions. I know Columbia has one and Princeton has one, but I imagine other schools do as well.