Finance Recruiting Guide

We are certain you are aware that the Finance program is demanding and challenging. In addition to the academic demand, you will be recruiting this fall for Summer 2024 internships.

Taking a strategic approach to recruiting, by being very intentional and well prepared, will increase your ability to find a career that you will both learn from and enjoy. If you participated in FIN 180, some of the information in this guide will be familiar to you.

Due to the unprecedented circumstances that we have experienced over the last months, future employment rates are unpredictable. Since you will be graduating within the next 2-3 years, this will impact you. Considering this, your well-planned individual recruitment  efforts are critical. 

Securing a Finance internship for Summer 2024 will be a top priority for most everyone, especially for juniors. To do this successfully, it is important that you know yourself and what you are looking for in a career. The more you know what you are looking for, the more likely you will find it.

Consider the following:

A. Vocation. What type of finance sub-discipline am I interested in? See Determining Your Sub-Discipline for more information.

B. Location. What areas of the country or world are these companies located? Be aware that some opportunities could be temporarily virtual.

C. Corporation. What companies have this type of career?



Then, take these steps:

1. Make a list of the top 10-20 companies that fulfill your vocation and location criteria.  
2. Find BYU students that are interning or have careers at those companies/firms. 
3. Reach out to current students and alumni via the BYU Marriott alumni database,  LinkedIn, family, and friends to request an informational interview. Work to develop a  professional relationship for them to mentor, help, counsel, and guide you on your career  path.  
4. For companies that recruit on campus, attend their information sessions, career fair  events, Meet the Firms, etc., or whenever they are virtually on campus during the Fall  2022 recruiting season. 
5. For companies that do not recruit on campus, make connections through upperclassmen students, BYU Marriott School of Business Alumni Database, LinkedIn, family, friends,  etc. 

Doing this type of preparation will focus your energy and time when September recruitment occurs. Ideally, this preparation process will help you:

• Determine your finance career sub-discipline  
• Determine where you want to be geographically  
• Determine a list of companies you want to work for  
• Apply at and secure interviews with companies/firms you are interested in  
• Earn the internship offer(s) for Summer 2023 
• Have a successful internship during Summer 2023 
• Receive and secure a return offer post-graduation  

Once an internship is secured, it can allow you to focus more time and energy on your academics and to enjoy other activities.

In addition to “on-campus” recruitment, you are strongly encouraged to independently seek out job opportunities from companies/firms that do not actively recruit at BYU.

Since many of the upperclassmen students currently work or have worked in the finance industry, we encourage you to reach out to these students to discuss their experiences and what helped them determine and progress on their career path. You can also reach out to the Finance Society, the FS sub-associations, or the Business Career Center (Finance Career Specialists).

The BYU Marriott School of Business Database (MSD) and Qualtrics surveys, sent out by the Finance Career Specialists, are extremely IMPORTANT and can provide great benefits to you as a student. The data collected helps in many circumstances including:

• Filtering data to determine which students to reach out to when recruiters have  internships, jobs, or special events (i.e., one-on-one time with company executives, small  group informational interviews, and other professional growth experiences)  
• Using the data so students can network and connect with other students who have  interned or worked at a company  
• Utilize aggregated salary data to help companies ensure their offers are competitive  (often to help increase your total compensation package) 

Private Banking & Wealth Management Association byuawma@gmail.com

BYU Real Estate Association byurea@gmail.com

Corporate Finance & Advisory Association byu.cfaa@gmail.com

Investment Banking Association ibcofficers@gmail.com

Management Consulting Association mcabyu@gmail.com

Private Equity/Venture Capital Association byupema@gmail.com

Women in Finance Association byuwomeninfinance@gmail.com

Each association meets once a week during the school year. Please email the association leadership for details on their meeting times.

If you have a specific interest in careers within healthcare, please reach out to Julia Moorhead at julia.moorhead@byu.edu or her team at healthcarecareers@byu.edu.

The first step in the recruiting process is preparation. The more you prepare, the better equipped  you will be for the later steps. This is the most crucial step to land interviews.  

1. Resume
   
   1. Your resume is the most important document that you will submit to an employer. Even small  errors can cause a resume to be dismissed. Please use the Finance Society Resume Guide for  detailed instructions on building your resume. Resume standards can vary by sub-discipline. We  highly suggest that you set up a time with a FS Association President or a Student Career Coach  to discuss how to tailor your resume to the sub-discipline that you are pursuing. 
2. VMock
   
   1. VMock is a smart resume platform that scores your resume and  gives instant, targeted feedback. The system uses AI paired with  the BYU Marriott School of Business resume template to  identify areas of improvement and make your resume stand out  on applications. Follow this link to see how you can start using  VMock. VMock should be your first resource for resume reviews but should not be your last. We  recommend you complete several resume reviews before submitting internship or job applications. For additional VMock training videos click here. 
3. Cover Letter
   
   1. Although attaching a cover letter is usually optional, it is an excellent way for your application to  stand out from other applicants. A cover letter should tell a story that is not already on your  resume. Writing a cover letter gives you the opportunity to impress and show the recruiter your  immediate value, unique fit, personality, and enthusiasm. Just like careful consideration is put  into each word included on your resume, the same importance should be placed when crafting  your cover letter. The header of both your resume and cover letter should match for  continuity. Consider using words within the job description in your cover letter. Click here to  look at a cover letter template. 
   2. For a step-by-step guide on creating your cover letter, please review this PDF. 
4. Determine Your Sub-Discipline
   
   1. There are several sub-disciplines within the Finance program. It is often overwhelming to choose  between the many options available. We encourage you to do extensive research and use the  materials below to find what sub-discipline is right for you.  
   2. The sooner you can determine your sub-discipline, the easier it will be to channel your time and  energy into recruiting for a position in that area of finance.
   3. While exploring different sub-disciplines, be prepared to do the following: 
      
      1. Do your research. To see a brief description, typical roles, characteristics, and salary of each  sub-discipline, follow this link. 
      2. Attend Finance Society Associations. Learn what companies recruit, and what skills are necessary to be successful in this sub-discipline.  
      3. Reach out. Set up informational interviews with association leadership, Student Career  Coaches, and Finance juniors and seniors for additional information. 
   4. Although many sub-disciplines recruit during the Fall, some recruit at various times throughout  the year (i.e., Investment Banking, Private Equity/Venture Capital, and Real Estate). By  attending association meetings, you will have the most updated recruiting information for the  sub-discipline you are interested in. 
5. Determine Vocation, Location, Corporation
   
   1. Vocation: What type of finance sub-discipline am I interested in?
   2. Location: Where are these companies located? Would I be willing to live there?
   3. Corporation: What companies have this type of career?
6. Company Recruiting Tracker
   
   1. A Company Recruiting Tracker is a compilation of 10 – 20 companies that you would like to  apply to and resources that will help you network with individuals at those companies. This list  should guide your application process and narrow your focus and recruiting efforts. This will be  an assignment in FIN 326, so we highly encourage you to complete this as soon as possible. 
   2. Listed below are the top companies where BYU students typically place. Using 2019-2020 data,  we gathered the top 20 Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 firms. 

Top 20 Non-Fortune 500	Top 20 Fortune 500
Scalar Analytics	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Zions Bancorporation	JP Morgan
Qualtrics LLC	Dell Inc.
Brigham Young University	Credit Suisse Group
University Growth Fund	Bank of America
Corient Capital Partners, LLC	Walmart Inc.
IndustryPro	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Peak Capital Partners	Honeywell International Inc.
Nu Skin Enterprises	Lazard
Sundance Bay	Cisco Systems, Inc.
Greystar Real Estate Management	Adobe Systems, Inc.
PwC	EY, LLP
Grandeur Peak Global	Wells Fargo
Peterson Partners	Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
PEG Development, LLC	Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
CreweCapital, LLC	Citigroup
ServiceNow	Deloitte & Touche LLP
Economics Partners	Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Hewlett-Packard Company	doTERRA Intl, LLC.
Bridge Investment Group Holdings	Amazon

1. Please do not limit yourself to only these companies. This data is included to give you a general  idea of companies that have a current relationship with BYU.  
2. To start creating your Company Recruiting Tracker,  use this link to download a template. For a more detailed explanation of creating this list, please see  this video.

1. Due Diligence
   
   1. Due diligence is the process by which you learn about a company. Before networking, research  the company and industry. 
   2. The graphic below gives you a general idea of what topics to cover when preparing due  diligence. Most of this information can be found in a 10-k (if the company is public), or a general  Google search. 

1. LinkedIn
   
   1. When a company is considering an applicant, they often look to their LinkedIn for additional  information. For you, having a professional and updated LinkedIn is essential to securing an  internship. Consider the checklist here to see if your LinkedIn is the best it can be.
2. Aspire 
   
   1. To help students better network and recruit, the Business Career Center has provided access to a  software called Aspire. Aspire has the capability to evaluate, score, and provide helpful feedback  to make your LinkedIn profile professional and marketable. To start using Aspire, follow this link. 
3. On-Campus Internships 
   
   1. On-Campus Internships (OCI’s) are excellent opportunities to gain real-world experience and  expand your personal network. OCI’s give you exposure to a wide range of companies and  emphases, from large corporations to non-profit firms, from credit underwriting to marketing  strategy. An OCI can add experience to your resume, networking opportunities, and possibly  lead to summer internships and/or full-time offers. Visit the OCI website for further information  on how to apply, available projects, and benefits.
   2. *FIN 487R provides finance-specific OCI’s 

*C-SIP internships offer internships focused on social impact issues for major companies

1. Every company conducts their interviews differently. Some companies have an extensive  interview process (multiple rounds), whereas others may not. It is best to talk to students that  interned with the company in the past or to the corporate recruiter at the company to understand how they structure their interview process. Additional information can be found on  Glassdoor. 
3. Traditionally, an HR representative will reach out to schedule a first-round interview. If there are  multiple rounds, this is typically a quick screening interview, and often over the phone.  During additional rounds of interviews following the initial HR screening, you can expect to see  both behavioral and technical questions. First interviews are generally about fit. It is critical that  before you start the interview stages you do your  due diligence to know as much about the firm  as possible.  The first few seconds of the interview will define the interview. This is where you need to  express gratitude, confidence, make eye contact, share a short introduction, listen to learn, and  use manners (i.e., thank you, you’re welcome, and please). 
4. Types of Interviews 
   
   
   1. Behavioral - Job interview technique where candidates are asked to provide specific  examples of how they demonstrated certain behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities.
   2. Technical - Focuses on questions that are specific to the role applied for, so interviewers  can confirm proficiency and requisite skills. This often requires hard skills including  calculations and modeling.  
   3. Case - The applicant is given a business scenario to investigate and propose a solution;  case interviews are designed to test the candidate’s analytical skills within a realistic  business context.
5. When preparing for an interview, you must develop a story bank to use when responding to behavioral questions. There are a lot of resources to build these answers out including this question bank built out by the Finance Society.  
6. Big Interview
   
   
   1. Interviewing can be an intense process. Big Interview is an online platform that allows students  to practice live or virtual skills through online mock interviews. Click the link to find out how  you can start using this resource.  
7. What to Bring  
   
   
   1. Padfolio & pen 
   2. Extra copies of your resume 
   3. Never bring food, drink, or gum with you 
   4. ID – can be required to get into some offices 
8. Dress Standards 
   
   
   1. You should always wear business professional clothing to interviews unless stated otherwise. It  is better to overdress than to underdress. Think about what you would wear if you presented to  the CEO of the company you are interviewing with.  
9. Try to avoid 
   
   
   1. Bright/clashing colors 
   2. Anything revealing 
   3. Clothing that fits poorly 
   4. Distracting clothing
10. Clothing:  
    
    
    1. Business suit with skirt or slacks  
    2. Blazer with skirt or slacks  
    3. Professional dress with blazer or sweater 
11. Shoes: 
    
    
    1. Women: closed-toe low heels or flats  
    2. Men: conservative dress shoes 
12. Hygiene & Accessories: 
    
    
    1. Men: clean-shaven, well-kept hair 
    2. Women:  
       
       
       1. Wear subtle jewelry and make-up  
       2. Remove chipped nail polish  
       3. Well-kept hair 
13. Elevator Pitch
    
    
    1. It is important to assess the setting that you are meeting with a recruiter and decide how long of  an elevator pitch to give. If you are meeting with them in a career fair where other students are  waiting as well, it is best to keep it to 10-15 seconds. If you are in an interview, your elevator  pitch should answer the “Tell me about yourself” question and should last 1-2 minutes. 

Below is the elevator pitch template that we recommend students use. Click here to access an editable version.

1. After the Interview

Make sure to end each interview by following up with a “Thank You” email. This should be sent within 24 hours of the interview. Do not underestimate the importance of the thank you email. Some companies will not consider hiring an applicant if they do not send this email. Make sure this is not the reason you don’t receive an offer! You should ask for their email after concluding the interview. If you do not get a chance to ask them for it, contact the HR recruiter for their email. It is also appropriate to connect with your recruiters on LinkedIn after an interview. Feel free to send them a note there as well. For additional interview tips, please use this resource..

1. Accepting an internship/full-time job offer is so fulfilling! Please complete the following so the  Finance program is aware of your offer acceptance. Keeping your profile up to date can help the  Finance program communicate relevant opportunities to you. 
2. Update the Student Database
   
   
   1. Please update your internship search status, graduation date, job search status, and report any offers received. To update this information, click here.  
   2. The following images show how to input an offer into your Marriott School Profile. By clicking  the next arrow on the bottom of the page, you will be directed to your profile. Once you have  updated your profile, your survey response will be complete. 
   4. To report any offers received later, go to the Marriott School of Business Website>My  Tools>Placement Survey to update your profile.
3. BYU Reneging Policy
   
   
   1. Please be aware of BYU’s reneging policy. Upon acceptance to the Finance program, you are  required to comply with these guidelines. 

"Students attending Brigham Young University are obligated to follow established ethical practices when seeking employment and/or internships. One of these practices is the expectation that students will no longer seek or consider other positions once a job or internship offer has been accepted. This holds true even if a more appealing offer is received at a later date. BYU students represent not only themselves, but the standards and character of Brigham Young University, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all individuals associated with these organizations – past, present, and future. Consequently, reneging on accepted offers has negative repercussions that extend far beyond the student’s own reputation. Therefore, students who renege on accepted offers of employment and/or internships will be barred from accessing Handshake and other services provided by BYU Career Services. In addition, students will be required (in conjunction with appropriate campus entities) to professionally address and rectify the situation."