<p>Right now I'm a junior at USC majoring in economics with a minor in marketing, though I doubt that the minor will help me with anything at all.</p>
<p>Some steps I've taken to try and boost my odds so far. . .
-Internship at an independent wealth advisory firm as a mergers and acquisitions research assistant
-Internship at UBS financial (basically making cold calls though I embellish on my resume)
-Business fraternity on campus
-Entrepreneurship club on campus</p>
<p>Do any of you have any good advice, aside from keeping up a high GPA, to make sure or increase my odds of landing a decent ibanking job when I graduate? I still have my junior year summer open for an internship and I'm not sure what to shoot for. But aside from that last internship oppourtunity I'm open to any and all suggestions. Who I should contact, what activities I should pick up, who I should be networking with, etc. etc.</p>
<p>obviously try to get a summer analyst position. otherwise network with alumni or mba students who are in the ibanking field. like write them an email introducing yourself and asking some questions you have about ibanking. if you can try to get an informal interview. from my experience people are usually quite helpful to undergrads. lastly, read the a vault guide about ibanking or something similar if you haven’t already, so you can show people that you did your homework.</p>
<p>I don’t think USC is a target so I would try to network with alums. Also, make sure you can answer all the technical questions about DCF, mergers, LBOs, etc.</p>
<p>WallStreetOasis is great to get a feel for banking (it’s a web site/forum… for bankers). Other good websites are DealBreaker, Leveraged Sellout, and Mergers and Inquisitions. </p>
<p>I’d also read some general accounting/finance texts and browse WSJ/CNN/Businessweek/Forbes/Economist, with an emphasis on the WSJ.</p>
<p>Could anyone recommend a list of topics that I should have down sufficiently before I step foot into the interview? That way I know exactly what I should be focusing on.</p>
<p>You should really consult with your school’s career office especially if you are at USC. They should have someone who can walk you through mock interviews. Most people I know applied for internships through the career office that’s why target schools are so important.</p>
<p>I’ve actually been to the center a couple times and have participated in their mock interview exercises. However, these exercises are fairly generic and consist of questions that are not at all specific to ibanking, finance, etc. I figured these boards would be a good place to get a suggested list of topics that I might be “quizzed” on during a formal or informal interview for a summer analyst position</p>