This is not my experience at all. I know many people who got jobs at top banks despite (seemingly) no connections or prestige. They are more meritocratic than you give them credit for (and the average applicant is worse!).
Doing investment banking? Or doing other things at investment banks? It’s a very rare phenomenon. You might see some people who were accepted that way, but you’re not seeing the hundreds of equivalent people who weren’t. If you want a job then you network your way in or go to a target school—that is the standard advice you will get from any good source. I wasn’t speaking from anecdotes, I was speaking from sources (anecdotally, I did learn that it’s extremely rare for anyone to get accepted by a cold online application, but I wasn’t relying on that as a source).
Yes, some people believe that. On the other hand, I’ve seen people be promoted to senior positions, over more qualified people, explicitly because the firm needed more ‘diversity’.
Well thanks for your anecotes. When people look up the issue on their own like I referred them to, maybe they will find other stories like yours.
You shouldn’t deter people from applying to the industry on the basis of “some people believe” while not even mentioning the fact that they receive objective advantages that will help them.
I don’t think I “deterred” anyone. I pointed out that it was a possible issue and referred them to do their own research. I don’t think it’s better to make accusations of anti-white discrimination and call it a day.
40 or so? I did work in investment banking for a while.
Good for you. I’ve met a couple dozen investment bankers, and I’ve been sufficiently convinced that it’s not “full of jocks.” You do realize that culture varies by city as well as firm, right?
You’re writing a “Finance Careers for Earning to Give” guide and don’t consider “being an EA who is interested in applying to banks” a relevant reference class?
Nope. It’s very small, and being an EA encompasses many kinds of people who are essentially distributed across the same demographics and characteristics as people who join investment banking for non-EA reasons. It’s not much better than taking a random sample of bankers. What kind of mystical, deranged idea do you have of all the other investment bankers, that you think they’re really passionate for their job? They’re doing it for money and for exit opportunities, just like EAs would.
No, if everyone trying something (EtG in a bank) decided it was a bad idea, that is definitely valuable information.
No, if a few anecdotes turned out to be people who didn’t like it, that’s not valuable information. It’s a very small sample with a weak prior for there being a significant difference. It’s also a sample of people that is consistently being told that investment banking is too demanding and who is consistently being warned about “burning out,” and therefore entering with all kinds of preset expectations about how they might react to it. If you want a self-fulfilling prophecy, it sounds like a great example.
Doing investment banking? Or doing other things at investment banks? It’s a very rare phenomenon. You might see some people who were accepted that way, but you’re not seeing the hundreds of equivalent people who weren’t. If you want a job then you network your way in or go to a target school—that is the standard advice you will get from any good source. I wasn’t speaking from anecdotes, I was speaking from sources (anecdotally, I did learn that it’s extremely rare for anyone to get accepted by a cold online application, but I wasn’t relying on that as a source).
Well thanks for your anecotes. When people look up the issue on their own like I referred them to, maybe they will find other stories like yours.
I don’t think I “deterred” anyone. I pointed out that it was a possible issue and referred them to do their own research. I don’t think it’s better to make accusations of anti-white discrimination and call it a day.
Good for you. I’ve met a couple dozen investment bankers, and I’ve been sufficiently convinced that it’s not “full of jocks.” You do realize that culture varies by city as well as firm, right?
Nope. It’s very small, and being an EA encompasses many kinds of people who are essentially distributed across the same demographics and characteristics as people who join investment banking for non-EA reasons. It’s not much better than taking a random sample of bankers. What kind of mystical, deranged idea do you have of all the other investment bankers, that you think they’re really passionate for their job? They’re doing it for money and for exit opportunities, just like EAs would.
No, if a few anecdotes turned out to be people who didn’t like it, that’s not valuable information. It’s a very small sample with a weak prior for there being a significant difference. It’s also a sample of people that is consistently being told that investment banking is too demanding and who is consistently being warned about “burning out,” and therefore entering with all kinds of preset expectations about how they might react to it. If you want a self-fulfilling prophecy, it sounds like a great example.
Sorry mate, I don’t remember the references.