Breaking Into Wall Street Sample Story Template From Engineering to Finance

You can use this template if youre an engineer looking to break into investment banking (or
related fields in finance). If youre confused, heres what that means:

You are at the undergraduate (or even potentially Masters or PhD) level and you have
completed a technical major, such as engineering, math, or science
or, youve been working full-time in an engineering-related role at a company (it
could be a technology company, but doesnt have to be) for some time.
And you are NOT planning to go to business school or enroll in a Masters in Finance
program, and you therefore must use networking to break in.

Since you have a technical background, no one will doubt your ability to do math and stay
focused for long periods of time but they will have other objections:

Can you talk to people? Do you have social skills?

Are you really interested in finance? Or did you just get interested when you saw the
new BMW your friend bought with his bonus?
Are you prepared to work 80-100 hours per week rather than the easier, more 9-to-5-ish
lifestyle you could get in an engineering role?

So you need to address those objections upfront when telling your story. The most difficult one
to address will be objection #1 about not being able to talk to people you have to explain that
one tactfully without sounding like youre a sociopath.
Bad reasons to say that you want to do investment banking coming from this background:

Anything about the pay or advancement opportunities.

Saying that you dont want to stare at a computer screen all day (what do you think you
do in finance?).
Citing any other negative about engineering always focus on positives in interviews.

Better reasons to say you want to do investment banking:

Youre passionate about finance, investing, and learning how transactions work.
You want to do work that makes at an impact at more than just your own company.
You want to eventually become an advisor to companies in the industry youve worked
in (e.g. Internet or Software if youre a computer science major).

The 5 most important points of your story are as follows:

The Beginning: Educational Background + Engineering Experience

Investment Banking Spark: Bankers You Met, Work Project, or Hobby/Interest
Growing Interest: Conversations with Bankers
http://breakingintowallstreet.com

Why Youre Here: Your Background + Investment Banking = Success

The Future: Become an Advisor

You do not want to copy or memorize this template 100% word-for-word use it as inspiration,
but you need to change it around to match your own background.
Interviewer: Why dont you start by walking me through your resume?
Interviewee: Sure. So I went to [School Name] for [Undergraduate / Masters / PhD], and
majored in [Major Name] since thats what I was most interested in at the time I had done a
lot of [Describe Work / Activities] in engineering when I was younger, and was pretty sure I
wanted to be an engineer and do technical work after graduation.
I started working in engineering once I graduated, as a [Position Name] at [Company Name].
It went well and I definitely learned a lot about [Skills Related to Banking Teamwork,
Analytical, Attention to Detail, Leadership, etc.] since I worked in a team that worked fairly
closely with external clients and with our sales force. We responded directly to customer
requests and I got a fairly good handle on what users were looking for and what the market
was like.
On one project, [I got exposed to investing / business development and partnership
opportunities / a potential M&A or financing deal or you could even use a hobby/interest
like day trading here] and started to become more interested in the business and finance side.
Before that I had actually been interested in it as a hobby, because I [Link back to following the
markets on your own, a certain deal you were interested, trading, etc.], and this prompted me
to do more research on my own.
Since then, Ive started speaking to more bankers on my own and also [Describe financerelated activities. Pick a few interesting stocks/companies to discuss and talk about any
recent investing youve done or any recent market related news and deal. Discuss your
insights. i.e. I started analyzing the stock market and traded my own portfolio / Ive also been
following the IPO market in the tech sector lately given the underperformance of some mega
IPOs in the sector.]. And Ive found that my personality is much better-suited for investment
banking, because I enjoy the work, the client interaction, and the fact that your work makes a
broader impact.
I know what Im getting into in terms of the hours, and Im confident I can handle it because I
often [Worked double-shifts, up to 80 hours per week, during crunch time on many
engineering projects over weeks to months at a time] and I know I can do that again.
Im interviewing here today because I want to combine the analytical, teamwork, and project
management skills Ive gained in engineering with the finance skills and deal work you do in
investment banking and work on M&A transactions and financings in the [Industry Name]
industry.
http://breakingintowallstreet.com

In the long-term I want to become a trusted advisor to companies in the [Industry Name]
industry and contribute to their strategy and deal execution, and joining your firm is the ideal
way for me to get there.

Anything that requires your input is in bold. You can and should change around the specific
wording and expand on some of the points within, but always stick to 2-3 minutes max for
your story. In fact, shorter is better 60 seconds is great if you can condense it down to that.
You always want to hit on the 5 key points The Beginning, Your Spark, Your Growing
Interest, Why Youre Here, and the Future but beyond that, your focus depends on your
background. If your engineering experience has been in a particular industry, such as
technology, consumer/retail, or energy, and the finance firm happens to focus on that, leverage
your experience for all its worth.
A few points to note here:
Notice how he describes the sales and client relationship parts of his engineering
experience in the beginning to implicitly address the no social skills objection thats
common when interviewing engineers.
The spark here could come from your work experience, but it doesnt have to it
could be an outside hobby or interest such as an investment club or trading on your
own
but it also needs to be something you can link back to previous history and
experience. Since youre making a fairly substantial career change here, you dont want
to seem like you just had an epiphany last week link it back to a few things youve
done in the past, and show how youve become more and more serious about this new
endeavor.
Finally, if you can point to any evidence of learning about financial modeling, valuation, or
more of what investment bankers actually do, thats even better because it shows your
commitment and proves that you can hit the ground running.
You want to show them that youre serious about making this career change not that its
something that you just randomly thought up because your roommate told you it was a good
idea.

http://breakingintowallstreet.com