Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know at Columbia, with whatever description you feel appropriate of why one might listen to my critique of this note.
Dominic Connor's take on the 'Columbia Note:
>It has come to our attention that some of you have already managed to become notorious for their willingness to elbow their peers out of the circle around senior bankers and virtually attack the bankers with questions, thus preventing other students from networking and participating in the conversation.
This is banking dear, wake up and smell the roses. This game is played to win.
*Of course* you prevent your competitors from getting access. My only serious criticism is the quality of the tactics. A superior neophyte banker will form an alliance with a few friends to form an efficient blocking screen, but at the same time provide mutual support in terms of helpful remarks and physically occupying the space. Scouting is also useful, to work out which banker is useful and which is not. Forming a gang to screw your opposition is called 'teamwork' and prized highly in all corporate life from banking to supermarkets.
This is never a good strategy
Yes it is, I am right, you are wrong. This is why I am a senior headhunter in financial markets.
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and acting in a socially undesirable way runs a strong risk of branding you as undesirable not just to your classmates but also to recruiters.
No, it does not. Looking like a jerk does this. The ideal here is Sean Connery as James Bond, he shafts his opponents with charm and style, with a wry smile and a joke. Banks don't want to hire jerks, they love Sean. Even the women Bond kills, love him.
>Once you feel that you have asked a couple of questions, and perhaps received a business card, do not monopolize the banker’s time by standing around awkwardly or asking additional questions.
This is nearly true. As my late drama teacher told me, "always leave them wanting more", but why does this note not include the obvious advice to make sure
you have a card to give them. Odds are it will be binned of course, but it's a shot.
> Let your classmates play as well.
No. No. No.
You have a team, set up don't you ?
As the chat reaches it's natural end, catch they eye of a buddy and say "Hey Steve, I've been talking to Alex here, and he's really into commodities, you're the class whizz on natural gas, you should talk".
I'm going to alienate some here by citing modern evolutionary theory that states the best place for uneaten food is in the stomach of your friends, who now value your friendship. The banker is food, and you've just set your friend up, a smart friend now owes you.
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Furthermore, such behavior shows that you are aggressive and non-collegial, and therefore not a pleasant person to work 100-hour weeks with.
To work 100 hour weeks you have to get the job first, combine charm and edge.
>Bankers are very observant people.
Chinese people are inscrutable, Belgians are fat, Americans can't do irony, Russians drink too much, and the Irish are the best lovers, and like all generalisations it tells us little that is useful.
Some are, some aren't.
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Moreover, it is much easier to remember somebody with a bad impression than with a good impression – do not smother the bankers with too many questions.
Being remembered is only one possible payload, if you realise this person isn't going to like you anyway, then you might as well pump them for more info.
>If you see a classmate standing behind you, step aside and let them in the circle around the >banker – it shows team work
Nearly, but not quite right.
If you can't get a member of your team, then randomly signal to some person who seems to be faring badly in the scrum. Firstly they will be less of a competitor, and although yes it shows team work, a good leader looks after the weaker members of his team. Strength is the ability to help others. Some people are shy, have poor English skills, or do not have sharp elbows, help them because you are a good person, but because this is a cynical note, make sure you get the credit, actually say out loud "Chin isn't getting much of this", beckon them over and help them put together a question, possibly by highlighting something they are good at.
>Ask a couple of questions and then move on or remain silent and let your classmates interact as well
I fail to see any reason to do that at all.
>§ If there are 6-7 students around 1 banker, you do not want to ask more than one or two questions
Who are you to tell me what to 'want' ?
The optimum number of questions is the number that gets the most information and leaves the best impression. I've seen 30 drones around a well known banker, makes no difference.
When you do end the interaction however, make sure that you say something like "I shouldn't monopolise your time, this has been good, can I call you ?" This gets buy in for a follow up, and maybe a card from someone who has been holding back.
Why in the name of Brian this is not in this note is beyond me. It is both courtesy and a standard part of networking.
>§ If there are 2-3 students you can ask a few more questions if you feel you are bonding well, but always be considerate toward your classmates – use your best judgment
Always
*look* considerate.
>§ If the banker has run out of business cards and you have one, offer to share with your classmates
I actually had to step away from my keyboard when I read this because the warranty doesn't cover damage from vomit.
For a start these are trade items, giving them without a quid pro quo is only good where you have an honourable reason, like repaying a favour, or some pooled effort. Also business cards are printed in packs of 50. When a banker says he has "run out", the odds are that he doesn't really think he wants you to phone him, so if you have a card and others don't you have won something in his eyes. Either way if you did your preparation right you don't need the card, you did prepare, didn't you ?
>§ Remember that these events are also meant to screen for those who can one day win business from clients – treat the recruiters the way you would treat a multi-billion dollar client
Some of my clients are *very* rich, and my standard way of dealing with them at crowded venues is to identify somewhere we can go which is less crowded.I certainly don't introduce them to my competitors, unless I can do it in a way that makes them look bad.
>§ Do not monopolize recruiter’s time – especially the senior bankers. Talk to the junior bankers as well – they often are take the first stab at drafting invite only lists
This is sort of useful, if you can spot senior bankers reliably by eye alone. I'm a headhunter of some experience and I confess for all to know that I can't do that with great reliability, I don't see how newbies can do this well, but if you somehow can, and banking doesn't work out, give me a call.
Do identify the HR minders, they have potentially enormous power, but also since they aren't hiring managers, you can legitimately ask them who you should be talking to, after explaining your situation. Being asked for advice is always flattering, and that allows you to approach the right banker and say "X says I should talk to you about..." A much better way of starting a conversation isn't it ?
>§ Do not be fake and superficial in your attempt to shine – bankers interact with tens of people >on a daily basis and can easily spot fake from genuine behavior
Another generalisation.
Some bankers are amazingly incisive about people, some are borderline autistic, some oscillate between those two states. As in the careers guide I wrote with Paul Wilmott you need to practice sounding enthusiastic.
>Do not overwhelm bankers with questions when they are taking a small break (i.e. chewing food) – remember they are also human beings and have had a very long day at work.
Let others do that to make you look good. Use the time to think up better questions.
But even that is weak. When you see him without sustenance, and you are not in control of the conversation, catch his eye and say "wine or juice ?". Shows that you are considerate, and you should note the choice of words for what we sales droids call "assumptive close".
You are presenting two options, either of which serves your goals. Then you can politely walk next to the great man, politely wait for the current supplicant to finish, and hand him the glass, ideally giving the impression that the current student is actually saying something interesting to show you are polite. If you've identified him as not useful to you personally,get one of your team to deliver the drink, making them look good, and showing your virtue as a leader.
>§ Do not get drunk or gobble down food in front of bankers no matter how hungry and tired you are
Actually very good advice.
The stories I hear about students and alcohol are awful, some are true.
>§ Do not be intimidated to let your personality shine – being stuck-up is never a good strategy – be pleasant, be fun, smile, and stay professional
As above you do need to practice this.
>Your aim at these sessions is not to compete with your classmates,
Yes it is, but to do it smoothly.
>Be smart about it – this is not rocket science!
I have two children, I know now how to make them smarter, send them an email telling them to "be smart". All that time wasted, never mind.
OK, lets move on to my own points:
They key to success is preparation, why a major business school doesn't say that is beyond me, probably because unlike the CQF (
Certificate in Quantitative Finance) they don't have a headhunter on the faculty.
Get a list of who is coming. A little research with google and/or LinkedIn will glean useful things to make your interactions look smarter. A sharp banker may notice, but he's probably also wise enough to realise that you were the one student who took the trouble to find out who he was and what he did. That's both flattering and gives a good impression. One day you will be meeting clients, same thing applies.
Go find some girls.
Most senior bankers are men, as are bankers in general. If you're a newbie you may not have spotted that many recruiters and others who sell stuff to banks are women. Do you really think this is a coincidence ?
They should form part of your tag team.
You are their leader.
Because you read this note and they did not. Explain that you will help each other as above, and this can include pooling of cards and intelligence acquired in the melee.
A good team knows each other's strengths, and if you're going to do the tag game I mentioned above make sure you have some idea that your friend really does know something about gas prices before you put him in front of a senior trader.
Jointly identify good targets, especially the HR. Get there as early as you possibly can. HR are often the first to arrive because it's their job, and the bankers often are hard to get out of the office.
A good team needs trust, so as their leader you need to go out and kill some prey and bring it back to camp. (more evolutionary stuff). So you share what you learn from HR, and help the others pick target that suit their ends.
You will screw this up at least a bit. I'm conscious as I write this that your plan is based on something you got from guy called Dominic Connor, not your professors who wrote the original note. Learn from errors because there are other events, and if you haven't found them you're doing it wrong.
Also many people do individual tasks better if they feel part of a team. They don't like letting the side down. This is especially important here, because most people find going up to strangers and talking to them at least mildly hard. Being part of the team helps your resolve.
I mention the idea of getting a girl or two into your team, and it is at least possible that a girl reads this. No reason why a team leader should not be female, but you do have to sound enthusiastic. Quite regardless of the culture they come from, I have found women on average to sound less enthusiastic and generally to put less effort into networking. This hurts their careers.
As above, make sure you have a follow through. Many bankers will want to go home to their families, and/or be up at some hideous hour in the morning. But maybe your team identifies some younger bankers (or divorced older ones), who you can spirit away to rather better wine or food.
Ideal places have big tables, but are low on background noise.
Then you debrief the team. Cards are pooled and intelligence shared. Help each other write nice little follow up notes. If someone hasn't pulled their weight they are dead to you, and will be replaced.
It doesn't really matter if you're the leader of this temporary gang, or even if others get more out of it than you do. What matters is that you get more than you would have on your own, "we all come out ahead" is not a battle cry to lead troops into the valley of death, but good enough for a drinks party with consequences.
