Can you walk us through your journey into investment banking and how your MBA experience helped shape your career path?

I arrived at Booth with a background in digital transformation, working for a healthcare consulting firm. Beyond a 6-week seminar and handful of networking calls, I had no exposure or experience in finance. But the MBA program changed that completely. I took my first ever financial accounting class with Professor Wendy Heltzer and absolutely loved it. It pushed me to take as many finance class as possible. With each course, I became more certain that my next career step would be at the intersection of finance and healthcare. 

Investment banking emerged as an opportunity to apply all I’d learned, accelerate my professional development, and work with some of the most influential firms and companies in the world. I was also impressed by the wide array of resources offered through on-campus recruitment – I would not have to navigate this new career path on my own. 

The Chicago Booth Banking Club (CBBC) did an incredible job guiding us through this process, offering support and feedback every step of the way. The co-chairs and candidates became a tight-knit support system. We spent hours on technical drills, celebrated successful interviews, and picked each other up after tough calls. I am excited about our upcoming chapter in investment banking. Wherever our paths ultimately take us, I am certain the friends I made in this process will become professionals I look up to for the rest of my career.

Describe your experience in investment banking at Booth and how you think it will affect your future career endeavors. Can you think of a way where someone has or will “pay-it-forward”?

The investment banking recruitment process is intense. But as a candidate, there are so many people invested in your success. Between the banking club co-chairs, career services, and fellow candidates, I had so much support throughout the process. The student co-chairs especially went above and beyond for the recruitment class. They held weekly strategy sessions, familiarized us with coverage-specific resources, and encouraged our technical preparation. I did not anticipate that degree of support from fellow students. But it made me more fully understand Booth’s “pay-it-forward” culture. 

There were also several Booth alumni who took time out of their intense schedules to offer specific advice about recruiting their region or team. I was initially surprised by their warmth and generosity with their time. But it turned out that other Boothies had done the same thing during their recruitment process years ago.  The strength of the Booth network has already made an incredible impact on my career. I fully intend to pay it forward to future students, as a CBBC co-chair next year and throughout the rest of my professional journey.