The Fast Track: The Insider’s Guide to Winning Jobs in Management Consulting, Investment Banking, & Securities Trading
Products for Sale — By Shopping Blogs on October 9, 2009 3:56 pm
Product Description
Get an Insider’s Edge on Launching Your Career.
Are you thinking about working for the likes of McKinsey, Merrill Lynch, or Salomon Brothers? Thousands of undergraduates, MBA students, and others are rushing for prestigious entry-level positions in the highly competitive and lucrative fields of management consulting, investment banking, and securities trading. How are you going to compete? In The Fast Track, experienced recruiter and fast-track insider Mariam Naficy helps you make the right decisions every step of the way as she guides you through the rigorous, highly specialized recruiting process. The Fast Track includes:
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Tags: Banking
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5 Comments
Like some of the others had mentioned, this book is more targeted towards students with degrees from elite schools. This book actually gave me further insight into how discriminating the hiring processes are. Basically, everything in your life that happens between the youthful ages of 18-22 will determine whether or not you can get into investment banking.
This industry ignorantly rewards people who succeeded during an age when they were barely out of their parents’ watchful eye. Certainly, such Ivy Leaguers deserve credit for their achievements; but why must such ignorance exist? What about someone with a 4.0 from an above-average university (ie. Univ. of Wisconsin, UCLA, Miami of Ohio) who didn’t attend an Ivy League school merely because they didn’t exceed a 1300 on an SAT AT THE AGE OF 17????
In short, this book reaches a limited audience, and reveals how narrow-minded the recruiting processes of the industry are. After reading this book, I learned that if you haven’t been perfect (or close to perfect) in your academics by the age of 18 or so, you can kiss a career in investment banking good-bye…
Rating: 1 / 5
My Background on this book
Personally, I never heard of this book or knew anything about it prior to my intensive interviewing process. I was fortunate to make the final rounds at several I-banks without this book, but this book kept me in check and focus.
Key Advantage of this Book
It’s difficult when you are interviewing for both consulting and i-banking positions at the same time. This books helps you to hone in the facts and create a fine line between the two. Especially, when the firms are ready to hire you but is simply making sure that you are ready to commit. If they are ready, you must definitely be ready. During these circumstances, your interviewer will usually buzz you a few questions about your aspirations, other options (career-wise), and take on job functions and differences. You definitely don’t want to screw up there. You should reply exactly what they want to hear.
Conclusion
This book helps u get by the final round and can also carry you through the earlier rounds. However, you’ll probably realize that the earlier rounds are probably more technical oriented than the final rounds, so you should probably focus more on those brain-teasing cases and questions for the earlier rounds. However, please do not kid yourself. If you know u don’t have the GPA or work experience needed, this book will be no help at all.
Personal Results
Received offers from 5 banks. However, the bank I chose rescinded its offer to me but gave me the signing bonus $10k nonetheless, due to the dismal IPO market. I quickly gave the other banks a call, one of them gave me an offer and I went there, then got laid off and received severence plus pro-rated bonus. Now, I’m on the buy-side and is well compensated. I love this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book is clear and useful. It’s a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it to anyone getting started
Rating: 5 / 5
Why more authors can’t or won’t write books which give a good overview of their subject the way Naficy’s book does is a mystery.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the best book u can buy to get a job. The resources save u so much time on research. I have to admit that the audience is intended for top notch students though.
Rating: 5 / 5
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