Wall Street jobs and internships are extremely tough to score, and JPMorgan is no exception.
That firm receives tens of thousands of applications for internships every year.
So if you’re one of those people, you definitely want to avoid making any big, obvious mistakes.
JPMorgan’s head of firmwide campus recruiting, Michelle Bucaria, has seen it all.
She’s held multiple human-resources positions at JPMorgan, and worked on the front lines of campus recruiting early on in her career in the 1990s.
Bucaria told us about some of the most common mistakes that she and her recruiters encounter.
Take notes.
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No typos on the résumé!
“Read it,” Bucaria said.
Seriously, you’d think this would be a given. But according to Bucaria, “It’s reasonably common — more than you think.”
The last thing you want to do in investment banking is look sloppy.
Don’t be too narrow with your “objective” on the résumé
It’s not a bad idea to clearly state your objective at the top of your résumé. But you need to be really careful about it. You don’t want to inadvertently state an objective that doesn’t describe the program you’re applying to.
The most common mistake here is that students will say they want to work “in investment banking.” That indicates to recruiters that they have no interest in the finance program, the commercial bank, or any other program except for the investment-banking division. But in reality, that’s often not the case!
“That can dismiss you when you didn’t even mean to be dismissed,” Bucaria said.
Don’t forget to speak to recruiters before the résumé drop
Most investment banks hold events and presentations on campuses long before it’s time for students to actually submit applications. The idea is for students to ask lots of questions about the firms, get to know some recruiters, and schedule some informational interviews.
But if you go to an event and just listen, Bucaria said, “Nobody’s walked away with any other different impression of you than when you came in.”
She said a big part of the evaluation comes before résumés are even submitted, when students are at events or interacting with the company and doing informational interviews.
“Make sure you’re asking questions — be inquisitive,” she said.
(But also beware of overtalking at campus events — nobody likes an attention hog.)
